USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A January 30, 2019 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s statement from Chairman George Vradenburg responded to the termination of clinical trial testing of crenezumab Alzheimer's drug by Roche and AC Immune. “To the participants and families in this trial we say thank you. Your role as citizen scientists is vital to advancing our understanding of the disease and accelerating treatments and cures. We commend Roche and AC Immune for their commitment to help the 5.7 million people in the U.S. and more than 50 million worldwide living with Alzheimer’s today. Across industry and the healthcare system, we must increase our investment so that we can take as many shots on goal as possible to beat Alzheimer’s. We’ve waited long enough.”

MUST READS

A January 31, 2019 Science News article spotlighted the newest theory that gum disease may cause Alzheimer’s disease and cautioned not to be swept away by headlines. The Science Advances study fits in with the idea that bacteria, viruses and fungi are potential causes of AD. According to Dr. Rudolph Tanzi of Massachusetts General Hospital, “We went in expecting to see periodontal bacteria in the brain. That was a leading hypothesis. One of the biggest pools of bacteria in your body lives in your gums if your gums are not clean. We expected to find them, but we didn’t. The bottom line is that the jury is still out on this… People should not be freaking out just because they didn’t floss enough. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get Alzheimer’s.” Also covered by Healthline. 

A January 30, 2019 BioPharma Dive brief looked to Wall Street analysts’ reaction in the wake of Roche's announcement that they are abandoning their crenezumab Alzheimer’s disease trials. The success of Biogen’s aducanumab AD drug is a major variable in Wall Street's estimations of Biogen and its future growth prospects. According to the article, “Crenezumab's setback also leaves Biogen alone at the front of the industry's much-battered pipeline of anti-amyloid Alzheimer's therapies. “There is essentially no first-to-market competitor left,” wrote Mizuho analyst Salim Syed in a Jan. 30 note to investors.”

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A January 30, 2019 New Scientist article reacted to the news that a bacterium behind gum disease could be a cause of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “Over the past decade, we have been amazed to discover the wide-ranging roles the microbes in our guts and on our skin play in shaping our health. The delicate balance of species that make up our body’s microbiome has been implicated in everything from allergies to diabetes… Only further research can tell us the extent to which one of the bacteria behind gum disease – Porphyromonas gingivalis – causes Alzheimer’s.”

A January 29, 2019 Medical Xpress article reported that Harvard Medical School geneticists created a new model-in-a-dish of sporadic Alzheimer's disease, marking the first time the same molecular abnormalities have been identified across multiple sporadic AD lines. The model accounts for more than 90 percent of cases, which tends to strike people without a family history. It arises from an array of genetic and environmental risk factors and points to a potential treatment target.

CAREGIVING CORNER

A January 30, 2019 Medical Xpress article warned about the heightened threat of extreme winter weather to people with Alzheimer’s disease. According to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, “Wandering is a common problem among people with Alzheimer's or dementia, and that is especially dangerous in cold weather. Be sure to have an action plan in case your loved one wanders off. That includes using a permanent marker or sewing identification into their clothes with your contact information.”