News

Verubecestat (MK-8931) indeed failed to slow cognitive and functional decline in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s patients despite some reduction in beta-amyloid levels seen, final results of a Phase 2/3 study closed early by Merck for lack of efficacy confirmed. The researchers behind this study suggested these findings may call into question…

The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) is searching for participants to enroll in one of the largest and longest trials on Alzheimer’s disease. This ongoing study aims to develop biomarkers for the early detection and tracking of Alzheimer’s over time. Researchers need to enroll approximately 800 participants,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Tonix Pharmaceuticals’ investigational new drug (IND) application to support the start of a Phase 2 trial of TNX-102 SL in Alzheimer’s patients with agitation. In December 2016, the treatment candidate was granted breakthrough therapy status — a process designated…

A rat model genetically engineered to express high levels of two genes can help researchers learn more about the disease mechanisms that lead to Alzheimer’s disease, a new study shows. The study, “Memory deficiency, cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and amyloid-β plaques in APP+PS1 double transgenic rat model…

Biogen and Ionis Pharmaceuticals are expanding their strategic collaboration through a new 10-year agreement to develop novel RNA-targeted therapy candidates for a broad range of neurological diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. This agreement builds on the collaboration that produced Spinraza (nusinersen), the first and only approved treatment…

Sleep deprivation in healthy people leads to the accumulation of a protein fragment associated with abnormalities in brain function and Alzheimer’s disease. The study, “β-Amyloid accumulation in the human brain after one night of sleep deprivation,” published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the…

A stem cell therapy developed by the biotech company Nature Cell and the Biostar Stem Cell Research Institute, both based in South Korea, has been formally approved in Japan and is now available there to treat mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease patients. This is the first time ever that a stem cell therapy for…

Brown University has received a $100 million donation from alumnus Robert J. Carney and Nancy D. Carney to advance research into some of the world’s most challenging diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease. The gift triggered a change in the name of the already well-established Brown Institute for Brain…

A simple test of amyloid-beta protein levels in a person’s blood may offer a way to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease up to eight years before any clinical symptoms are evident, a study shows. The study, “Amyloid blood biomarker detects Alzheimer’s disease,” was published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine.

CurePSP and the Rainwater Charitable Foundation (RCF) have joined forces to launch the “Prime of Life Brain Initiative,” an effort to support research seeking new treatments and cures for neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, the initiative will focus on frontotemporal disorders, or conditions where tau protein forms toxic “tangles” that…