News

Alzheimer’s Texas Cuts Ties with National Group Over Funding Dispute

Austin-based Alzheimer’s Association Capital of Texas Chapter (known as Alzheimer’s Texas) announced that the organization has separated from the national organization, based in Chicago. The organization, a leader in Alzheimer’s care, education, and support in Central Texas, and the state’s pre-eminent force for new funding for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia research, says that the…

New Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Positive Dose-Response in Phase 2 Trial

Anavex Life Sciences Corp. reported that a positive dose-response relationship has been observed in its ongoing Phase 2a clinical trial of ANAVEX 2-73 as a potential treatment for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The announcement came as part of a planned, interim study analysis. The ANAVEX 2-73 Phase 2a study is a multicenter trial…

Sulfur Metabolism Imbalance in Alzheimer’s Disease Is Focus of New Research

University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) researchers will study the catalytic processes of sulfur-oxidizing enzymes, especially the chemical mechanism of a key enzyme, cysteine dioxygenase. Their work could lead to new therapies for Alzheimer’s and autism, diseases in which sulfur metabolism is known to be disrupted. Dr. Brad Pierce, a UTA assistant professor of biochemistry,…

Alzheimer’s and Diabetes Exhibit Same Neuronal Damaging Process

Researchers at the Scintillon Institute for Biomedical and Bioenergy Research, San Diego, have discovered that the high blood sugar levels that mark type 2 diabetes and the plaque-forming β-amyloid protein found in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cause the same alterations in several brain enzymes. The findings explain the association long observed between AD and diabetes. The results,…

Alzheimer’s Disease Appears to Be Driven by Brain Inflammation

British researchers recently identified a protein driving brain inflammation, CSF1R, which they think may be the driving force behind the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study, “Pharmacological targeting of CSF1R inhibits microglial proliferation and prevents the progression of Alzheimer’s-like pathology” and published in the journal Brain, could be a significant step forward in…

Alzheimer’s Drug Moves into Phase 1 Safety Study

Tetra Discovery Partners, in collaboration with the NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics Network, announced the start of Phase 1 safety trials of BPN14770, a drug Tetra is developing as a potential treatment for neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and one that aims to both improve memory and slow disease progression. The NIH Blueprint Neurotherapeutics…

Alzheimer’s Review Highlights Importance of Epigenetic Changes

A recent review discussed how genes implicated in aging and Alzheimer’s disease exhibit epigenetic changes, indicating the same changes might exert a pathogenic role in dementia. The study, titled “Epigenetics of Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease: Implications for Pharmacogenomics and Drug Response,” was published in the International Journal of Molecular…

Alzheimer’s GeneMatch Aims to Advance Research into Disease Prevention

GeneMatch, a novel program developed by the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute (BAI), is now identifying and recruiting people interested in participating in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research studies who are at risk of developing the disease based on their APOE genetic information. The APOE gene is a genetic factor associated with a higher Alzheimer’s risk and a higher…