October 07, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Nobel Prize winners open "intriguing new window onto dementia," Mary Woolley calls for increased NIH research funding, and the next generation of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry (read more). 

Must reads

  • An October 6, 2014 Reuters article reported that "The discovery of cells in the brain that act as the body's internal global positioning system, which won three scientists the Nobel Prize for medicine on Monday, opens an intriguing new window onto dementia." According to the article, "The battle against Alzheimer's has been long and frustrating. Global cases of dementia are expected to treble by 2050, yet scientists are still struggling to understand its basic biology and drug development is littered with failures. The work by O'Keefe and the Mosers will not lead to immediate breakthroughs but by explaining how cells function -- and then fail to function -- in two very specific regions of the brain it is seen as vital for unpicking how Alzheimer's develops. Dementia, of which Alzheimer's is the most common form, already affects 44 million people worldwide and that number is set to reach 135 million by 2050, according to Alzheimer's Disease International, a non-profit campaign group."
  • An October 6, 2014 Roll Call opinion piece by Mary Woolley underscored the need to invest in NIH research. According to Woolley, "The immediate impact of this funding gap is the loss of hundreds of promising proposals for research not only for ALS, but also for cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and the Ebola virus. But the NIH’s impact extends far beyond dollars and cents. The results of the NIH research are deeply personal to us all, translating to days, years and lives of loved ones that medical research could prolong, and even save. Medical research is America’s most powerful means of combatting global epidemics such as Ebola, keeping our shores safe. It is also the best way to find cures for diseases that touch each of us in the lives we lead here at home. Our nation’s elected representatives must take a stand for medical research now, and act for the NIH." Mary Woolley is president and CEO of Research!America.
  • An October 6, 2014 Forbes interview with Bernard Munos highlighted the next generation of innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. According to Munos, "The second driver is technology, which is transforming science, medicine, and research tools. We don’t do biology today the way we did 10 years ago. The digitization of medicine is changing the way we practice it, and the massive volume of data generated by mobile devices and biosensors will soon give us unparalleled insights into many poorly understood diseases. These new data won’t replace traditional randomized controlled trials, but they will inform and improve them by helping us formulate better hypotheses about what causes diseases. One of the problems that we face in drug R&D is that it’s difficult to design drugs for diseases that we don’t understand very well. Look at Alzheimer’s. We have spent many billions of dollars on clinical trials that keep failing because they are based on incorrect hypotheses. We don’t know what causes the disease, so we keep guessing, and developing drug candidates based on erroneous assumptions. If by magic we suddenly knew what causes Alzheimer’s, our capabilities are so great that we could probably come up with disease-modifying drugs within months." Bernard Munos is the founder of the InnoThink Center for Research in Biomedical Innovation, a consultancy that focuses on pharmaceutical innovation. 
  • An October 6, 2014 MinnPost letter-to-the-editor called for increased investment in Alzheimer's research. According to the letter, "This year alone, we will spend over $200 billion to care for those with Alzheimer’s. This cost of care is expected to increase 5.25 percent every year, leading to us spending $1.2 trillion annually on this by 2050. We cannot sustain this increase in cost year over year. “Demographics show this is going to be a health crisis. That’s the reality,” Paulsen said…As summed up by Rep. Ellison, “If we spend money now, we will save money down the road.” For our long-term future, we need to increase spending on Alzheimer's research. We can’t wait. We've already been waiting long enough."