USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A February 26, 2019 Knox News opinion piece by Global Alzheimer’s Platform (GAP) Lead John Dwyer, Jr. and Paul Newhouse (Vanderbilt) encouraged people to participate in Alzheimer’s disease trials. In particular, in Tennessee there are a number of clinical trials recruiting now. “Your participation could be the key to finding treatments that relieve the suffering of millions of Americans and improve the quality of life for all of us as we age.” GAP is an initiative of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.

MUST READS

A February 27, 2019 Medscape article looked at the idea that Alzheimer’s disease is caused, at least partially, by pathogens (viruses). The theory could help to explain why seemingly unrelated diseases appear similar, namely AD, diabetes and atherosclerosis, and heightened risk for one means heightened risk for all. According to the article, “If Alzheimer disease is caused by a virus, then suppressing the virus should help, a theory that is supported by some emerging evidence. In Taiwan, where data on infections are carefully maintained, researchers found that HSV-infected patients treated with antiherpes agents had a 5.8% risk of developing senile dementia, whereas HSV-infected patients who were not treated had a 28.3% risk for senile dementia.”

MUST WATCH

A February 27, 2019 CBS 3 Philly broadcast segment spotlighted an experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment at West Virginia University, an MRI-guided ultrasound targeting the hippocampus (crucial to memory). Microscopic bubbles injected into the blood stream are shaken by the ultrasound, opening the blood brain barrier which activates the brain’s immune system, clears plaques and improves symptoms. “I really had significant improvement in cognitive memory that was pretty impressive,” said study participant Judi. “It was something that I wanted to do. I can’t change my diagnosis, I can’t change what the trajectory is going to be, but I can change what may be in the future for other people.” 

ALZ TECH

A February 27, 2019 DW article interviewed neurology Professor Emrah Düze, whose company, Neotiv, created an app to study the early stages of neurodegenerative disease. The app tracks participants’ cognitive performance, both people with Alzheimer’s disease and a control group. According to Düze, “One of the hardest aspects of Alzheimer's research is understanding the impact of intermittent health conditions on the main symptom of the disease, which is memory impairment. There are so many intermittent and unpredictable health events that it's hard for science to know their effect… We can design tests in such a way that they first address the brain areas that are affected initially, and then consider how the disease might progress.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

A January 6, 2019 The San Diego Union-Tribune article spotlighted work on developing drugs that promote brain health and slow down age-related brain changes, as a way to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Abrexa Pharmaceuticals will conduct a clinical trial of a Salk Institute-developed AD drug, J147, which aims to to slow down these harmful changes. The drug is the product of a “phenotypic screen,” looking at potential drugs to find those that reduce symptoms and disease signs. “Based on the multiple causes of cognitive decline and dementia, the phenotypic screen approach selecting for agents that are more broadly neuroprotective makes sense,” said of Gregory Cole of the Mary S. Easton Alzheimer Center.

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Join the National Institute On Aging’s 2019 Alzheimer’s Disease-Related Dementias (ADRD) Summit, March 14-15, 2019. The event will bring together top experts in AD-related dementias, share new and updated recommendations for ADRD research in the next 10 years, and much more. Find a full agenda and list of speakers here. Register for the Summit here. Register for the webinar here.