June 07, 2013
Today's Top Alzheimer's News
Over 9 million people in China have dementia, coffee and the brain, and Pfizer looking for drug development partners (read more)
Must reads
- A June 6, 2013 Agence France Presse (AFP) article reported that a recent study published in the journal Lancet found that "Around 9.19 million people in China had dementia in 2010, compared with 3.68 million 20 years earlier." According to the article, "They calculate that in 2010 there were 9.19 million people with dementia in China, of whom 5.69 million had Alzheimer's. This compares with 3.68 million cases of dementia in 1990, of whom 1.93 million had Alzheimer's. The 2010 estimate means that China that year had more individuals living with Alzheimer's disease than any other country in the world, says the study."
- A June 6, 2013 Tulsaworld.com editorial advocated for increased medical research funding and against sequestration. According to the editorial, "Alzheimer's, the incurable, always-fatal brain disease that most often shows up in older people, is like a tidal wave that threatens to engulf U.S. health care, including Medicare and Medicaid...If is imperative that the U.S. support increased medical research into finding ways to prevent and cure these devastating and costly diseases and others…A federal funding policy that limits or cuts valuable research projects and encourages the brightest young scientists to take their talents and expertise to other countries simply ignores the human and dollar costs that the U.S. faces from Alzheimer's, diabetes other medical issues."
Research and science
- A June 6, 2013 New York Times article reported on the impact of coffee on the brain. According to the article, "In a 2012 study of humans, researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Miami tested the blood levels of caffeine in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, or the first glimmer of serious forgetfulness, a common precursor of Alzheimer’s disease, and then re-evaluated them two to four years later. Participants with little or no caffeine circulating in their bloodstreams were far more likely to have progressed to full-blown Alzheimer’s than those whose blood indicated they’d had about three cups’ worth of caffeine."
Pharma
- A June 6, 2013 Financial Times article reported that according to Pfizer CEO Ian Read, the company "sees scope for joint ventures with competitors for developing a range of drugs and expanding in different geographical markets." According to the article, "The comments mark a fresh sign of willingness by pharmaceutical groups to share costs, risks and commercial benefits…The company already has a joint venture with Johnson & Johnson concerning Alzheimer’s."