Author Archives: Janet Stewart, MSc

Eisai and Biogen had hoped that using an advanced statistical method to analyze Phase 2 clinical trial results would show at 12 months rather than the normal 18 that their Alzheimer’s therapy BAN2401 was effective. But an independent trial review body declared the 12-month results inconclusive, so the Japanese and…

Certain variations found in genes that correlate with intelligence and may affect “cognitive reserve” are evident in people with higher levels of education and appear to work to protect against Alzheimer’s disease (AD), new research shows. Better educating young adults may help to reduce the expected rise in AD incidence as…

Alzheimer’s patients who take benzodiazepines for anxiety, agitation, and insomnia are at a 40 percent greater risk of death than those who don’t take the therapies, a study reports. The research, “Risk of death associated with new benzodiazepine use among persons with Alzheimer disease: A matched cohort study,” was published in…

Biogen  and Eisai have deepened their partnership by agreeing to work together on the continued development of the Alzheimer’s therapy aducanumab (BIIB037), which targets harmful beta amyloid protein clusters. The U.S. and Japanese companies are already collaborating on the development of elenbecestat (E2609) and BAN2401, which also target beta…

The founders of Edelman Financial Services have donated $25 million to a group called the Alzheimer’s Disease Team to help it compete for a global XPRIZE. Jean and Ric Edelman announced the donation at the 2017 XPRIZE Visioneers Summit in Los Angeles on Oct. 19. The Alzheimer’s team, which received the…

Scientists are coming closer to understanding how the gene variant apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) raises the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Blocking ApoE4 — one of several variants of the ApoE gene — in the brain may prevent cell death and inflammation and lead to a treatment for Alzheimer’s, concludes a study, “ApoE4…

The use of antidepressants in patients with Alzheimer’s disease increased their risk of head injuries, a Finnish study recently found. The risk of head injuries in these patients previously had not been studied. Head injuries are often a consequence of falls in older people.

E-Scape Bio, the Gladstone Institutes’ spin-off company working to develop therapies for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, announced that it has raised a total of $63 million in Series A financing from investors. The biotech startup is developing small-molecule drugs that target apoE4, a gene thought to increase the risk…

Prof. Shi-Jiang Li, PhD, is the recipient of the 2017 Alzheimer Award granted every year by the associate editors of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (JAD). Li was singled out for his and his team’s outstanding work published in the journal about a new index called the “characterizing Alzheimer’s…