Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Novel drug therapy treats brain diseases

Pankaj Karande, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, is among a new generation of scientists and engineers developing exciting and novel new techniques to treat some of the most complex brain illnesses, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury, and brain cancer.

8 Dec 2010

Research to improve prognosis for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Research on preventing the devastating onset of dementia is about to break new ground as McGill University, in partnership with Pfizer Canada, has announced today the creation of a professorship for the prevention of dementia and Alzheimer's-related diseases.

8 Dec 2010

Cephalon, Mesoblast to develop, commercialize novel adult MPC therapeutics

Cephalon, Inc. and Mesoblast Limited, today announced they have entered into a strategic alliance to develop and commercialize novel adult Mesenchymal Precursor Stem Cell therapeutics for degenerative conditions of the cardiovascular and central nervous systems.

8 Dec 2010

Cognitively-impaired human research subjects need better protection

Practices for protecting human research subjects with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions that make them incapable of giving informed consent are widely variable and in need of more concrete ethical and legal guidance, according to a study in IRB: Ethics & Human Research.

7 Dec 2010

New analysis shows that common diseases are not lined to genetic factors

The case for a substantial role of genes in susceptibility to the major human diseases is now scientifically refuted argues a groundbreaking new analysis published by the public interest science organization, The Bioscience Resource Project.

7 Dec 2010

Restless legs syndrome during pregnancy may reappear later on

Women with transient restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy appear to be at a higher risk of developing a chronic form of RLS later in life or have the same symptoms during future pregnancies, according to new research published in the December 7, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. RLS is a sleep-related motor disorder that causes an unpleasant feeling in the legs. The condition generally worsens during rest at night and improves with movement. Symptoms tend to progress with age.

7 Dec 2010

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals announces US patent for cognition enhancement

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent 7,842,683 entitled, "Neurotherapeutic Compositions and Methods."

7 Dec 2010

Ligand Pharmaceuticals reports preclinical study data on erythropoietin receptor agonists

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) announced data from a preclinical study on the erythropoietin (EPO) receptor agonist LG5640 at the upcoming 52nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting being held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center, December 4 - 7, 2010.

6 Dec 2010

University of Portland's school of engineering named after Bjork-Shiley heart valve inventor

University of Portland's school of engineering will now be known as the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering in recognition of the late Donald Shiley, a 1951 graduate who was an engineer, inventor, entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and loving husband and father. Among his many groundbreaking inventions was the Bjork-Shiley heart valve, an innovative medical device that has been credited with saving more than a half million lives.

4 Dec 2010

Positive results from Neuraltus NP002 Phase 1/2 study for levodopa-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease

Neuraltus Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing high-impact therapeutics that address critical unmet medical needs, primarily for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, announced today top-line results from the Company's Phase 1/2 clinical study of NP002 for the treatment of dyskinesias (muscle movement disorders) resulting from levodopa therapy for patients with Parkinson's disease.

4 Dec 2010

Pharnext receives French approval for Pleodrug Phase II clinical trial in Charcot-Marie Tooth disease type 1A

Pharnext SAS, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of innovative treatments for severe neurological diseases and other major unmet medical needs, today announced that the French Agency for Healthcare Product Safety (AFSSAPS) has authorized a Phase II clinical trial with the first drug (a Pleodrug™) generated by the company's Pleotherapy™ technology platform in patients suffering from Charcot-Marie Tooth disease type 1A (CMT1A.

4 Dec 2010

Chaperone protein study could lead to effective therapies for Alzheimer's, neurological disorders

Dynamic regulation of the chaperone protein Hsp27 was required to get rid of abnormally accumulating tau in the brains of mice genetically modified to develop the memory-choking tau tangles associated with Alzheimer's disease, a University of South Florida-led study found.

4 Dec 2010

Merck to present multiple clinical studies of dinaciclib at ASH Annual Meeting

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that multiple clinical studies of dinaciclib (SCH 727965) will be presented by Merck at the upcoming 52nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting being held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center, December 4-7, 2010.

4 Dec 2010

Obama praised for enhanced health care reform for Alzheimer's community

According to the Society of Actuaries, the leading cause of U.S. long-term care claims is Alzheimer's, the brain disease that renders over 5 million Americans unable to handle all the acts of daily living unaided. Who cares? Evidently President Obama does, having written a pro-active column in the Fall, 2010, issue of care ADvantage, published by the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.

3 Dec 2010

Scripps scientists find way to transform mature human cells into stem cells

Scripps Research Institute scientists have made a significant leap forward in the drive to find a way to safely reprogram mature human cells and turn them into stem cells, which can then change into other cell types, such as nerve, heart, and liver cells. The ability to transform fully mature adult cells such as skin cells into stem cells has potentially profound implications for treating many diseases.

3 Dec 2010

UCLA findings could lead to enhanced health supplements, progress on Parkinson's

The discovery by UCLA biochemists of a new method for preventing oxidation in the essential fatty acids of cell membranes could lead to a new class of more effective nutritional supplements and potentially help combat neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's disease and perhaps Alzheimer's.

3 Dec 2010

NIAID researchers develop new method to detect prion diseases

A fast test to diagnose fatal brain conditions such as mad cow disease in cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans could be on the horizon, according to a new study from National Institutes of Health scientists. Researchers at NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) have developed a highly sensitive and rapid new method to detect and measure infectious agents called prions that cause these diseases.

3 Dec 2010

Dysfunction in blood vessels plays a role in Alzheimer's disease development

A dysfunction in the lining of blood vessels that is linked to cardiovascular illness also appears to play a role in the development of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in Circulation Research: Journal of the American Heart Association.

3 Dec 2010

FDA accepts IND application to initiate human clinical trial to evaluate BNC

QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Investigational New Drug application (IND) to begin human clinical trials and evaluate the safety and efficacy of the company's second product, bisnorcymserine (BNC).

3 Dec 2010

Soy bean derived compound could treat Sanfilippo genetic disease in children

Scientists from The University of Manchester say a naturally occurring chemical found in soy could prove to be an effective new treatment for a fatal genetic disease that affects children.

2 Dec 2010