Alzforum News

Immune Cell Receptor Gives Aβ a Toxic Edge

18 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Despite ample evidence implicating Aβ in Alzheimer’s pathology, scientists still struggle to understand how the peptide harms the brain.

Lilly Halts Phase 2 Trial of BACE Inhibitor Due to Liver Toxicity

14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Eli Lilly and Company announced yesterday that they have terminated the Phase 2 trial of their BACE inhibitor LY2886721 due to liver abnormalities.

In Familial AD, Aβ Production Up, Clearance Down

14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Researchers have long assumed that people with familial Alzheimer’s disease make too much Aβ42 in the brain, but they lacked proof.

Prevalence of Dementia, AD, in China Eclipses Predictions

14 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

A report on global disease burden found that the number of deaths in China due to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias doubled between 1990 and 2010.

DSM-5: Debated? Yes. Important for AD Diagnosis? Maybe Not

13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

After more than a decade in the works, the long-awaited fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) arrived last month to little fanfare.

Do Biomarkers Improve Diagnostic Accuracy?

13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

It’s a scenario familiar to many clinicians: A patient diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment asks if he or she will eventually develop Alzheimer’s disease.

Building a Roadmap for Shared Combination Drug Trials

13 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

As potential AD drugs continue to post disappointing Phase 2/3 results, many in the field are considering upping the artillery by testing experimental drugs in combination.

Genotype-Based Meta-Analysis Suggests Serum Iron Protects Against PD

11 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Though iron gets a bad rap for accumulating in the brains of older people and individuals with neurodegenerative disease, could an abundance of this metal in the blood bode well?

Mouse Brain Circulatory System Knows No Bounds

9 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Tiny blood vessels in the mouse brain crisscross the cortex, passing from one neural column to the next, like multiple streets between interconnecting city blocks...

Satori Pharmaceuticals Shuts Down, Abandons γ-Secretase Modulators

7 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Satori Pharmaceuticals, which had been developing γ-secretase modulators for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, has closed its doors...

Newborn Neurons Abundant in Adult Human Hippocampus

7 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Using carbon-14 to estimate the age of neurons, researchers calculate that the human brain produces around 700 new neurons per day...

Brain Changes Speak Volumes About Normal Aging and Dementia

7 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Brain atrophy plagues more than just people with neurodegenerative disorders...

Methylation a Turn Off for Disease Gene C9ORF72?

6 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Since the discovery of nucleotide repeats in the C9ORF72 gene, the hexanucleotides have presented a puzzle for scientists...

Single-Blind Trial: Diabetes Drug Helps Parkinson’s, Maybe

3 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EST

Could an approved diabetes medication treat Parkinson’s disease?...

Does Shrinking Temporal Lobe Make AD Patients Overly Sensitive?

31 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Though typically seen as a cognitive disorder, Alzheimer’s disease can throw emotions off kilter, making people unusually sensitive to others’ feelings and moods...

G8 to Set Sights on Dementia

31 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

This June, leaders from the globe’s eight richest countries, the G8, will assemble to discuss major economic issues—among them, the rising threat of dementia in aging populations...

Alzheimer’s Disease Snags High-Profile Prize

29 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

The focus of the next XPRIZE is Alzheimer’s disease...

The Power of Three: Genetic Trios Yield ALS Gene Candidates

29 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

The May 26 Nature Neuroscience online debuts 25 new candidate genes for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis...

Limited Protein Shapes May Explain Drug Side Effects

28 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

A new study explains why many drugs come with similar side effects...

Aβ Fibrils Drive Oligomer Formation, New Model Suggests

24 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

As attention shifts toward free-floating Aβ oligomers as the prime molecular culprits in AD, there is still plenty of confusion over the role of fibrillar amyloid...

Finally, Therapies Targeting Huntingtin Poised for Clinic

24 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Twenty years after the identification of the mutant gene that causes Huntington’s disease, scientists are ready to take therapies that target it into human trials...

A Protein-Based Study of Parkinsonism’s Incidence

24 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

In a study, scientists included rare types of parkinsonism and categorized them by their underlying proteinopathy...

Bexarotene Revisited: Improves Mouse Memory But No Effect on Plaques

23 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Researchers reported in 2012 that the cancer drug bexarotene swiftly cleared amyloid-β and restored memory in transgenic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease...

Paper Alert: B Vitamins Slow Atrophy in AD Vulnerable Brain Regions

23 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Results of a two-year clinical trial suggest that a mixture of B vitamins slows atrophy up to sevenfold in areas of the brain that are vulnerable to degeneration in AD...

Controlling Blood Pressure May Lower Amyloid in ApoE4 Carriers

22 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Scientists report that reducing hypertension may ward off amyloid pathology in people who have the ε4 version of the ApoE gene...

Scientists Create Human Stem Cells by Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer

22 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Scientists report the first successful generation of human embryonic stem cells via somatic cell nuclear transfer...

Larry Sparks, of Alzheimer’s-Cholesterol Fame, Dies at 63

18 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Alzheimer's disease researchers expressed sadness this week at the sudden death of Larry Sparks...

Skin Cancer Linked to Lower AD Risk—But Don't Hit the Beach Just Yet

17 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Skin cancer, a common and typically curable malignancy, may carry a fringe benefit—protection from Alzheimer’s disease...

Study Finds Ways to Predict, Track Huntington’s Disease

17 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Anticipating future clinical trials for Huntington’s disease, researchers are seeking sensitive measures that will predict onset and track progression...

Dementia Incidence Said to Drop as Public Health Improves

17 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Are fewer people getting Alzheimer’s disease now than they did 20 years ago?...

Ubiquitin System Awry in Ataxia, Intellectual Disability

17 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Two new papers this month shore up the connection between cell waste disposal and function of neurons...

Yueming Li and Lennart Mucke Win MetLife Foundation Award

15 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Today, the MetLife Foundation honored Yueming Li and Lennart Mucke with its 2013 Awards for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s Disease...

Could Longevity Factor, Epilepsy Med, Treat AD One Day?

14 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

At a San Francisco conference addressing Alzheimer’s and related disorders, the agenda featured a diverse mix of topics—occasionally even from the same lab...

Paracrine Signal From BACE1-Clipped Neuregulin Rescues Myelin

13 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

As β-secretase inhibitors head into Alzheimer’s disease trials, researchers are paying close attention to what else BACE1 does besides snip amyloid-β from APP...

Endocytosis Pulls α-Secretase From Synapses

13 May 2013 00:00:00 EST

Scientists report that endocytosis whisks α-secretase away from the cell membrane in a process that seems regulated by neuronal activity...