News

Abnormal levels of calcium in the mitochondria, the cell’s powerhouse, may lead to neuronal death in Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, according to researchers at Temple University’s Center for Translational Medicine. Scientists presented their study, “Imbalance of calcium in a cell’s energy factory may drive Alzheimer’s disease,” at the 61st Meeting of the Biophysical Society,…

Caffeine, along with 23 other compounds, increases levels of a neuroprotective enzyme called NMNAT2 (nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferase 2), with potential implications for the treatment of dementia, new research shows. The study, “Screening with an NMNAT2-MSD platform identifies small molecules that modulate NMNAT2 levels in cortical neurons,” appeared in…

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and Cerveau Technologies are partnering in research on the stages of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Wisconsin established the center in 2009 to focus on preclinical Alzheimer’s. Cerveau is a partnership between Enigma Biomedical Group and Sinotau Pharmaceutical Group. It was created to…

The diabetes drug Symlin (pramlintide) may help scientists develop novel and faster diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a study indicates. The research, “An amylin analog used as a challenge test for Alzheimer’s disease,” was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions. At…

Israel’s Neurim Pharmaceuticals is now recruiting up to 500 U.S. patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease for a Phase 2 trial to study the safety and efficacy of its experimental drug, piromelatine. Alzheimer’s is caused by the accumulation of faulty proteins that lead to the formation of beta-amyloid plaques, which greatly…

Roche and MorphoSys will partner on experimental Phase 3 clinical trials to study the effectiveness and safety of gantenerumab in patients with early to mild Alzheimer’s disease. Roche, a Swiss global healthcare company, will start preparing two studies soon, according to MorphoSys, a German biotechnology company that developed gantenerumab. The trials will…

Genentech will start a second Phase 3 clinical trial of crenezumab, an anti-Amyloid-beta antibody for treating Alzheimer’s disease that was developed by its partner, AC Immune. This trial, CREAD2, will complement the current randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group Phase 3 clinical trial (CREAD1, NCT02670083). CREAD1 is evaluating the effectiveness and…

Neurotrope has finished dosing and monitoring patients in a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate Bryostatin-1, the company’s lead drug candidate for treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT02431468) is assessing the safety, tolerability and efficacy of bryostatin-1 in 148 people…

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center has passed a key hurdle in its quest to develop a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease with the announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a Phase 1 clinical trial of the therapy. The development marks one of the few times that a university…

Yet another Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial (NCT01741194) has ended in disappointment. Accera, noting that its Phase 3 trial of AC-1204 showed the drug offered no benefits over placebo, blamed its failure on an inadequate uptake of AC-1204 into the bloodstream. “The trial result is disappointing for us and the millions…