RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A July 24, 2019 Biocompare article spotlighted scientists at the University of Tokyo who created a model of amyloid beta sheets, the protein structure building blocks that cause Alzheimer’s disease, and found that the chemical interactions that determine protein shape may be weaker and more numerous than previously thought. According to the article, “The beta sheet structure is made up of long chains of protein folded at regular intervals and stacked one on top of another into a flat sheet. Through-space bond path interactions [atoms located far apart whose electron clouds can influence each other] within and between the protein chains likely stabilize the structure and may help it clump together into disease-causing plaques. Abnormal accumulation of amyloid beta sheets may cause Alzheimer’s disease or some cancers.” Also covered by Science Daily.

OPINION

A July 19, 2019 Daily Breeze opinion piece by Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA), Co-Chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, reflected on last week’s annual AAIC gathering in Los Angeles. According to Waters, “As I walked the halls of the AAIC, I was so pleased to learn about scientific advancements, such as the possibility of a new test to determine an individual’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s and new research suggesting that healthy lifestyle choices – including a healthy diet, exercise, and cognitive stimulation – can significantly reduce the risk of dementia.” Regarding her track record on AD, “I led a years-long effort in the House to create the first ever Alzheimer’s semipostal fundraising stamp, which was formally accepted by the U.S. Postal Service in November 2017. The stamp has already raised $915,000 for Alzheimer’s, and more than 6.7 million stamps have been sold.”

BRAIN HEALTH

A July 24, 2019 Mind Body Green Health article highlighted a new study which found that being overweight (bigger waistline and high body mass index) is associated with reduced gray matter, and may accelerate aging in the brain by at least a decade. Gray matter is important for cognition and its loss may be associated with Alzheimer’s disease. “These results are exciting because they raise the possibility that by losing weight, people may be able to stave off aging of their brains and potentially the memory and thinking problems that can come along with brain aging,” said study author Tatjana Rundek, MD, PhD of University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.

CLINICAL TRIAL SPOTLIGHT

A July 24, 2019 Globe Newswire release via Yahoo! Finance reported that Cognition Therapeutics was issued patents in Japan and China for their drug Elayta™, developed to stop synapse damage and loss, which is linked to Alzheimer’s disease. “With the issuance of these patents, Cognition patent portfolio now extends globally, including the three major pharmaceutical markets - US, Europe and Japan - as well as other key countries. Elayta’s worldwide patent coverages reflects the enormity of the societal tsunami that is Alzheimer's disease, positioning us to reach all major geographies in the future,” said Cognition lead Kenneth I. Moch.

According to a July 24, 2019 Medscape article, a small phase 2 study found that the drug lemborexant was beneficial in people with Alzheimer’s who had irregular sleep-wake rhythm disorder (ISWRD). ISWRD, which is common in people with AD, is a circadian rhythm disorder where people tend to take numerous naps and cannot sustain consolidated sleep at night. “Compared with placebo, treatment with lemborexant 5-mg and 15-mg was associated with significantly lower nighttime activity levels and significantly higher relative amplitude, reflecting the strength of the circadian signal and differentiation between daytime and nighttime activity levels,” reported lead investigator Margaret Moline, PhD of Eisai.