August 19, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

MUST READS

An August 19, 2015 The Augusta Chronicle article reported that a new study from the CDC  "shows a greater rise in death rates for Alzheimer’s than six other causes that were tracked, and experts say the U.S. needs to be better prepared to deal with it.” According to the article, “The Vital Statistics Rapid Re­lease was prepared by the Cen­ters for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Cen­ter for Health Statistics. It is the first look at the mortality rates for 2014 and the first quarter of 2015. It follows seven major causes of death that are public health concerns.Most measures saw only small increases or decreases from 2013. But the death rate for Alzheimer’s increased 8 percent from 2013 to 2014, the largest rise of any of the seven. Compared with the first quarter of 2014, the first quarter of this year saw a 27 percent rise in the Alzheimer’s death rate.” 

An August 19, 2015 The Washington Post article reported “scientists are crediting the Ice Bucket Challenge for breakthroughs in research.” According to the article, “But one year and more than $220 million in donations later, scientists at Johns Hopkins are claiming a major breakthrough in ALS research and are partly crediting the success to the massive influx of public interest…The breakthrough research unravels the mystery about a protein called TDP-43. About a decade ago, researchers discovered that ALS patients often had clumps of the protein outside the nuclei of their brain cells, but it was unknown whether that was a cause or an effect of the disease…When the researchers inserted a special protein designed to mimic TDP-43 into the neurons, the cells came back to life and returned to normal. That's sparked fervent interest that the treatment could possibly be used to slow down or even halt the disease.”

An August 18, 2015 The National Journal article reported that Republican presidential candidate John Kasich announced he supports doubling NIH research funding. According to the article, “At one point, the Ohio governor and former House Budget Committee chairman noticed a young man in the crowd wearing a purple Alzheimer's-awareness shirt. "Standing for something, huh?" Kasich said. ‘Yeah, we do need to double the NIH [National Institutes of Health] budget and begin to do the vital medical research, and it should be a priority of the government.’”

An August 18, 2015 The Huffington Post article reported that “Scientists at Ohio State University say they've grown the first near-complete human brain in a lab.” According to the article, “The brain organoid, if licensed for commercial lab use, could help speed research for neurological diseases and disorders, like Alzheimer's and autism, Rene Anand, an Ohio State professor who worked on the project, said in a statement Tuesday. ‘The power of this brain model bodes very well for human health because it gives us better and more relevant options to test and develop therapeutics other than rodents,’ Anand said.”


REGULATORY POLICY AND UPDATES

An August 13, 2015 PharmExec.com article reported that patient advocates are pushing the FDA “to expand and empower its Office of Health & Constituent Affairs (OHCA) and its Patient Liaison Program to better coordinate interactions with individuals and physicians seeking expedited access to experimental therapies.” According to the article, “Elevating OHCA within FDA’s Office of the Commissioner would enhance its ability to coordinate access programs among the agency’s diverse Centers regulating drugs, biologics and medical devices and improve the agency’s processes for vetting compassionate use requests.”