USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A February 12, 2020 Hapres AGMR (Advances in Geriatric Medicine and Research) viewpoint piece by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg advocated for adopting as a national goal a two-pronged “optimal system of care” relating to Alzheimer’s disease. Such a system would include pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions delivered via a properly prepared healthcare system. According to the piece, “…UsAgainstAlzheimer’s intends to look at the emerging issues in Alzheimer’s from the perspective of what matters most to patients and caregivers; the urgent need for clinical trials to include more women, African Americans and Latinos; and the increasing importance of early intervention and prevention even as research continues to search for effective treatments.”

Please join the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease (CEOi)-Duke-Margolis public webinar, “Addressing Challenges in Payment and Access to Treatments for Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease.” February 13, 2020 from 11am-12pm (EST). Mark McClellan, former head of CMS and Director of the Robert J. Margolis Center for Health Policy at Duke, will lead a discussion about issues that innovative Alzheimer’s disease treatments will face as they come to market. UsAgainstAlzheimer’s is a convener of CEOi.

MUST READS

A February 10, 2020 The New York Times article focused on the impact of the failure of the DIAN-TU study, on the drugs gantenerumab and solanezumab, for the treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “…The studies of anti-amyloid drugs completed so far have repeatedly failed. Companies have spent billions of dollars on the drugs… Many researchers say they are not yet ready to give up.” The majority of early-stage studies, 30 out of 46, are now focusing on other (non-amyloid targeted) potential prevention and treatment methods.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A February 11, 2020 The State Press article spotlighted work from Arizona State University scientists on improving single-DNA base editing in human stem cells in order to find the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Arizona has the highest projected growth rate of AD in the country. According to the article, “The improvement of CRISPR's success rate, which is often low due to its complexity, has emboldened the lab to take steps toward new studies, including figuring out the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. “We plan on utilizing the technology in our lab to generate different models related to Alzheimer’s disease and different neurodegenerative diseases,” [UA graduate student Nicholas] Brookhouser said.”