MUST READS

A December 7, 2019 CNBC article speculated that the FDA may ask Biogen to conduct an additional trial, to prove its positive aducanumab results were not a fluke, before granting the drug's approval to market for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “The FDA will be under immense pressure from advocacy groups, patients and families living with the disease to approve the drug when Biogen submits it to regulators, likely in early 2020.” Senior Mizuho Securities biotech analyst Salim Syed postulates that if the FDA approves the drug without additional data, it has “essentially validated [the beta-amyloid] hypothesis.” Also covered by New Atlas.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A December 6, 2019 Medscape article looked at the experimental tau inhibitor hydromethylthionine for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. In a phase 3 trial, the drug produced a reduction in participants’ cognitive decline and brain atrophy. According to Claude Wischik, MD, PhD of TauRx Therapeutics (the drug's producer), “The effect was around 7.5 points, or three times that seen from current routine Alzheimer's treatments, and would be equivalent to an 85% reduction in cognitive decline over 65 weeks.” Study findings further indicate that symptomatic AD drugs interfere with the disease-modifying effects of hydromethylthionine.

A December 4, 2019 Medpage Today article spotlighted research on the effects of statins, drugs used to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and prevent coronary heart disease, on memory, global cognition and brain volume in elderly people in Australia. A large, six-year study concluded that the overall rate of cognitive decline did not differ as a result of statin use among participants between 70 to 90 years-old. According to the article, “Exploratory analyses revealed that starting statins significantly attenuated decline in a memory-domain test. They also observed a decreased rate of cognitive decline in normotensive persons with statin use, especially continuous use. APOE-4 carriers at higher risk for cognitive decline also had their rate of decline slowed by statin use.”

HUMAN INTEREST

A December 8, 2019 CBS Sunday Morning broadcast segment spoke with internationally renowned flutist Eugenia Zukerman, who has Alzheimer’s disease. She spent 20 years interviewing other world-class musicians about their craft for “Sunday Morning.” Zukerman’s daughters helped her get a diagnosis. In response, she started penning poetry, releasing her book, “Like Falling Through a Cloud.” On keeping her positive outlook, “Oh, there's so much to take joy in. Here I am in this beautiful wooded place, and the animals that I love, and the people in this area are fantastic. I'm lucky.  I feel very lucky.”