February 12, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

MUST READS 

A February 11, 2015 Forbes article by the Urban Institute's Howard Gleckman explored the cost of developing an effective Alzheimer's treatment and called for better patient and caregiver support to improve quality of life and cut costs. According to Gleckman, "All of us hope that researchers find cures for dementia. But instead of releasing reports that exaggerate cost savings in an effort to boost government funding for drug therapies, I wish the Alzheimer’s Assn. and groups like it would focus more energy on supporting those who already have these conditions and their families.Better care could reduce hospitalizations and vastly improve the quality of life of those with memory loss. And, by the way, it too would save money."

A February 11, 2015 The NorthJersey.com article profiled the impact of early onset Alzheimer's on individuals and families. According to the article, "Early-onset Alzheimer's can strike people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, and generally runs its course between four and 10 years. A degenerative disease of the brain seen primarily in elderly people, Alzheimer's is associated with the development of abnormal tissues and protein deposits in the cerebral cortex. Though doctors say everyone is different, generally it starts with gradual memory loss. There is eventually an inability to learn new things, difficulty using language, sometimes agitated or even violent behavior and trouble recognizing loved ones…Zaentz notes that while promoting home care is all well and good, it simply isn't for everybody. "One of the tragic parts of this disease is it takes such an emotional toll on the caregiver that they become the secondary patient. Sometimes, the caregiver even predeceases the person with Alzheimer's, just from the 24/7 constant caregiving," he says."  


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A February 12, 2015 Scientific American article reported on the progress of an eye test for Alzheimer's disease. According to the article, "Getting Alzheimer’s drugs to market requires long and costly clinical studies, which some experts say have failed thus far because experimental drugs were tested too late in the disease process. By the time people show signs of dementia, their brains have lost neurons and no current therapy can revive dead cells. That is why drug trials are looking to recruit seniors with preclinical Alzheimer’s who are on the verge of decline but otherwise look healthy. This poses a tall order. Spinal taps are cumbersome and PET costs $3,000 per scan. “There’s no cheap, fast, noninvasive test that can accurately identify people at risk of Alzheimer’s,” says Brad Dolin, chief technology officer of Neurotrack. The company is developing a computerized visual test that might fit the bill. Several scientists outside the company think the test is promising because, unlike other cognitive batteries, it requires no language or motor skills. Participants simply view images on a monitor while a camera tracks their eye movements. The test draws on the research of Neurotrack co-founder Stuart Zola of Emory University who studies learning and memory in monkeys. When presented with two images—one novel, the other familiar—primates will fixate longer on the novel one. If the hippocampus is damaged, as it is in Alzheimer’s, however, the subject spends equal time looking at each image."

A February 12, 2015 Bloomberg article profiled "Novartis’s push to produce the first legitimate anti-aging drug." According to the article, "In the years since, rapamycin has been adapted for numerous uses. Like penicillin, it’s a biological agent, so it can’t be patented, although derivatives of it can. It’s now used routinely as a coating on cardiac stents to prevent scarring and blocking. Derivatives of rapamycin have been approved for use against certain kidney, lung, and breast cancers. That may be just the beginning. Over the past decade, it’s shown promise as a drug that not only can extend life by delaying the onset of aging-related diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s disease, but also postpone the effects of normal aging. With an eye toward changing the way millions grow older, Novartis, the $260 billion Swiss pharmaceutical giant, has begun taking the first steps to position a version of rapamycin as the first true anti-aging drug…The promise of rapamycin, he and others contend, is to treat aging as a contributing factor to the chronic diseases that kill people later in life, the way we now lower cholesterol to prevent heart disease. “I view it as the ultimate preventive medicine,” says Kaeberlein, who’s leading a rapamycin study on dogs."