USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A February 5, 2019 STAT opinion piece by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Chairman George Vradenburg and Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Fund's Howard M. Fillit, MD implored the President to “declare war on Alzheimer’s,” comparing it to Nixon’s “war on cancer” in the 1970’s. According to Vradenburg, “Other world leaders are waking up to the global scale of Alzheimer’s and taking action. In fact, the fight against it was on stage at the World Economic Forum last month. It’s time for America to take the lead, otherwise we will be on the losing end.” They outline five steps to help develop new Alzheimer’s drugs.

MUST READS

A February 5, 2019 NIH Director’s Blog by Dr. Francis Collins addressed the link between loss of sleep, tau and Alzheimer’s disease. Many with the disease have trouble sleeping, and a chronic lack of sleep may worsen it. According to Collins, “While more study is needed, the findings suggest that regular and substantial sleep may play an unexpectedly important role in helping to delay or slow down Alzheimer’s disease. It’s long been recognized that Alzheimer’s disease is associated with the gradual accumulation of beta-amyloid peptides and tau proteins… It has only more recently become clear that, while beta-amyloid is an early sign of the disease, tau deposits track more closely with disease progression and a person’s cognitive decline.”

INDUSTRY UPDATE

A February 4, 2019 BioPharma-Reporter article looked to the future of the Alzheimer’s disease drug pipeline in the wake of last week’s news about Roche’s shut-down of its crenezumab clinical trials. According to James Kupiec of ProMIS Neurosciences, “For the last few years, I’ve been very enthusiastic about the field - our understanding of the molecular biology, biomarkers have been developed and there’s going to be a real focus on combination therapies. I expect by 2025 there will be one or two disease-modifying therapies for AD approved, and there will be a panel of biomarkers that can be used to determine if there is a biologic pathology of AD going on in a patient’s brain.”

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A February 5, 2019 Medical Xpress article reported on the role of fibrinogen in cognitive decline. Gladstone Institutes scientists showed for the first time that the blood-clotting protein triggers events that can destroy synapses. According to the article, “Previous studies have shown that elimination of synapses causes memory loss, a common feature in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. Indeed, the scientists showed that preventing fibrinogen from activating the brain's immune cells protected mouse models of Alzheimer's disease from memory loss.” Also covered by GEN.  

MUST WATCH

A February 5, 2019 KDKA 2 CBS Pittsburgh broadcast segment focused on an early-stage Alzheimer’s disease study at West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. The study utilizes an MRI to deliver ultrasound probes via a special helmet, sending highly-focused energy to the hippocampus, which is important to memory. The concept is that it activates the brain’s immune system, clearing toxic plaques and improving AD symptoms. According to study participant Judi, “I really had significant improvement in cognitive memory that was pretty impressive. It was something that I wanted to do. I can’t change my diagnosis, I can’t change what the trajectory is going to be, but I can change what may be in the future for other people.”

FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE DAY

A February 1, 2019 CNN article spotlighted 11-year old Ruby Kate Chitsey, who started Three Wishes for Ruby's Residents to raise money for nursing home residents who can't afford simple things that bring them joy. The project has raised more than $70,000 to-date. According to the article, “The majority of nursing home residents have dementia and can't ask. So Ruby Kate and her mom fill in the gaps… She ordered lumbar pillows because the chairs don't have back support, and neck pillows for residents with dementia who can't hold their heads up well. They also ordered dolls that look like real babies for lonely residents to hold. “Those are awesome for dementia residents,” Chitsey said.”