News as of 4/7/98
For more information call Ed Cabic 410-992-7197
The local Florence Bain Alzheimer Information is at
http://www.connext.net/~seniors/infoad.htm

Drugs
Metrifonate Effective For AD Symptoms - This new drug from Bayer enhances more than cognitive abilities of patients with AD. Metrifonate is a cholinesterase inhibitor which increases levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain by blocking acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine. Presentation at Am. Assn. Of Geriatric Psychiatry

Drug Therapy Slows AD - Report of treatment with Metrifonate (not yet approved by FDA) slowed the rate of cognitive decline by 20% in AD patients and the probably of the patients being institutionalized would be reduced by 5% over a 5-year period. Presentation to Am. Medical Directors Assn (3/6/98)

Estrogen Reduces AD Protein - Postmenopausal estrogen replacement therapy may prevent AD by reducing the synthesis of beta-amyloid peptides, the short proteins that make up the brain plaques characteristic of the disease. Nature Medicine April 98 (1998;4:447-451)

A Drug Cocktail Seems to Slow AD - Ingredients are vitamin E; ibuprofen (Motrin), an anti-inflammatory drug; and donepezil (Aricept), a cholinesterase inhibitor. The three ingredients have a positive effect on people diagnosed with early AD. Family Practice News

Asian Ginseng Extract May Sharpen Brain Powder - Eight week study on healthy middle aged adults using Asian ginseng (Panax ginseng) --those taking the material performed better on tests of abstract thinking and reaction time. Both groups performed equally well on tests of memory concentration and other skills. Herbs for Health (March/April 1998)

Forest Laboratories Licensed for LU 2109 - - H. Lundbeck A/S licenses to Forest this compound which is a selective muscarinic agonist for AD which is presently in Phase II/III clinical studies in the U.S.

Acadia Pharmaceuticals Identifies Selective Muscarinic Agonists for Treatment of AD - Such agents that target the m1 subtype of muscarinic receptors have the potential of being breakthrough treatments that will avoid the cardiovascular and gastrointestinal side effects of nonselective agents. Acetylcholine is the natural ligand for the 5 muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, and the m1 receptor subtype is found in the regions of the brain thought to be involved in cognition. www.acadia-pharm.com

Leading Services Corp. In Study of Drug that May Improved Deficits of Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) - Study to be conducted with Duke Univ. will test the efficacy of Aricept in patients suffering from memory impairment as a result of TBI.

Vitamin C Supplementation May Enhance Antioxidant Effectiveness of Vitamin E, Taiwanese Study Finds - Study on high-fat diets has found that Vitamin C may increase the antioxidant effectiveness of Vitamin E, the vitamin that has been widely studies for its role in preventing heart disease, cancer, AD, Parkinson's disease and other age-related diseases. Foods for the Future

New Data shows Seroquel Reduces Aggression in a Wide Range of People with Psychotic Disorders, and is Well Tolerated - This newest of the atypical antipsychotics, reduces hostility and aggression in people with psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia and AD. Meeting of Am. Assoc. Of Geriatric Psychiatry (3/98)

Protease Inhibitors (PI) May Reverse AIDS Dementia - While PI have been effective in blocking viral replication, it was not though they could cross the blood-brain barrier well, and so were expected to be ineffective on people with AIDS dementia. However, a study found a strong link between the drugs and improvement in cognitive function of people with advanced AIDS and dementia. JAMA

Forbes Files Patent for AD - Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. filed on a method to prevent and delay the onset of AD using its unique plant sterol compositions. While conducting cardiovascular research with apo-E deficient mice they noted mental improvement in mice treated with their compound. There is growing evidence of the co-existence of cardiovascular disease in as much as 70% of AD patients, suggesting a possible linkage between these two major diseases.

Genes & Genetic Issues
Study Finds Risk for AD Differs Among Ethnic Groups - APOE-e4 increased risk of AD among whites, but not African Americans or Hispanics in New York City study. However, in those who did not have APOE-e4, risk of AD was 4 times higher for African-Americans and 2 times higher for Hispanics than whites. The findings suggest there are other genes or environmental risk factors that contribute to increased risk of AD in African-Americans and Hispanics. JAMA 3/11/98

Other News
Sniffing Revs Up the Brain - The act of sniffing may alert the brain to the imminent arrival of a smell. The processing of either sniff or smell signals could be defective in people who lose their sense of smell which includes about 200,000 Americans a year. Smell dysfunction affects most people with Parkinson's or AD, often emerging as an early symptom of those conditions. UPI 3/18/98

Designing Beta-Amyloid Plaque Inhibitors in AD - Case Western Reserve Univ. team has used NMR and circular dichroism to see what happens as the beta-peptide, which is originally soluble in water, slowly changes into the insoluble plaque that is toxic to cells. The first step in the process, which may be triggered by a changing biochemistry as one ages, has now been determined to be the formation of extended chain-like structures that fold back on themselves to form the toxic structure. Presentation at Am. Chem Soc. Mtg. Dallas 4/2/98

Alzheimer's Original Case Reexamined - The microscope slides of brain tissue from the 51 year old women who was Alzheimer's first case of that disease have been found and it shows neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques. This contradicts the speculation of some that she might have had multiple stokes or other conditions that can mimic AD. Neurogenetics Journal

Seeing How the Brain Changes During Aging - Team from Brookhaven has used radioactive tracers and PET scan to watch how dopamine systems work. The enzyme MAO B breaks down down the level of the dopamine. Levels of MAO B increase as we age, contributing to dopamine deficiency. A drug called L-Deprenyl inhibits MAO B and is used to treat patients with AD. The team says that if we can do things to enhance the activity of dopamine in the brain, we may be able to slow down some of the cognitive and motor declines in aging and it might be helpful to determine what dose of the drug would be most beneficial to an individual. Presentation at Am. Chem Soc. Mtg. Dallas 3/29/98

Using PET Scans to .. Predict Who Will Develop Alzheimer's - PET radiotracer techniques can be used to identify the early metabolic alterations of degenerative diseases of the brain such as AD prior to even the appearance of symptoms. Presentation at Am. Chem Soc. Mtg. By UCLA Dallas 3/29/98

Analysis Shows 1,619,377 of Maryland Residents at Risk of Getting AD in 21^st Century - Of a total 1996 Maryland residents of 5,071,604 the baby boomers (born 1946-1964) constitute 32% of the state's population. Early in the next century they will move into the age of highest risk of AD. Alzheimer's Assn.

Stress on Caregivers Measured. - Study by Stanford Univ. of 81 women caregivers shows that caring for relatives with AD is more physically stressful on daughters than wives. In psychological studies, daughters show more resentment, anger, and a sense of being trapped. "Most children don't expect they'll be playing that kind of role." But wives tend to have a greater sense of duty about caring for their husbands, as part of their martial vows. UPI 3/27/98

Columbia Univ. Establishes Two New Programs in Cognitive Neuroscience - One program will forge links between ongoing genetic molecular-based studies in mice and imaging studies in normal human subjects and patients with disorders of memory and other aspects of cognition. The other program will explore a range of topics from studies in mice on how genes contribute to memory, development and perceptual plasticity, to studies in humans on cognitive plasticity.

U.S. Doctors Group Seek Better End-of-Life Care - American College of Physicians published a new ethics manual that calls for the group's members to strive urgently to improve end-of-life care in the U.S. Report notes that patients with uncertain prognoses such as AD often do not qualify for hospice or similar programs. Annals of Internal Medicine (4/1/98)

Seniors Don't Want to Stop Driving - Researchers at U of N. Carolina found that most people do not plan for the time when they should stop driving. There is no clear-cut point, even once you have been diagnosed with something as serious as AD, to say: "You can't continue to drive safely." Diseases like AD may impair a person's ability to recognize his or her own limitations. Reuters (3/24/98)

Is Senility Preventable? High Blood Pressure Could Mean Higher Risk of Dementia - 20 year Swedish study found relationship between those who had high blood pressure in their 50s and brain dysfunction in their older years. The connection was particularly strong in those men not receiving treatment for high blood pressure. Hypertension: Journal of the Am. Heart Assn. (3/98)

Proxmire Suffering from AD - The 82 year-old Wisconsin Democrat says he suffers some memory loss, but he is able to keep a daily routine in his small office in the Library of Congress. UPI 3/15/98

A Final Act of Faith and Charity - Washington Post article on the 678 nuns who signed up in 1990 for the Nuns Study. Discusses the 43 Baltimore area sisters and how they are still being tested. WP 3/19/98 A1

Walking Helps Take Edge Off Those with AD - A brisk walk may help calm people with AD who are disruptive and sleepless at night. When these patients used a walker specifically designed to prevent tipping, for 2 hours per day they showed significant improvement in mood and sleep habits, and participated in more activities. Family Practice News

Faith Influences Euthanasia Debate - Polls finds American with strong religious beliefs are less likely to approve physician-assisted suicide than more secular individuals. There was less support for assisted-suicide when it involved patients with AD, compared to patients with cancer. "Diseases such as AD present a unique problem since it may be difficult to know the true desires of the sufferer, even if before the onset of the disease the patient had expressed a desire for euthanasia." Social Science and Medicine (1998;46(1):73-81)

Canadian Space Agency -- Canadian Experiments Back for Mir - Investigations are being done on unique space-made protein crystals which it is hoped will hold a key to the development of new drugs and medical breakthroughs in the treatment of many life-threatening diseases such as diabetes, breast cancer, AD and hypertension. No further details about AD.

Stroke Recovery Might be Speeded by Electrical Stimulation of the Brain - By stimulating the nucleus basalis it is believed to command regions of the brain to secrete the neurotransmitter acetylcholine where the amount of the molecule released corresponds to the speed of learning and strength of memory. In AD, treatment aims to boost the supply of acetylcholine available within the brain, without focusing on a particular brain region. Science 3/13/98

Early AD Diagnosis Possible? - A 7 Minute Screen is said to be highly sensitive to AD, but the Alzheimer Association says that it is not an acceptable method for diagnosing AD. Archives of Neurology (1998;55:339-348 and 349-355)

Possible New Cause of AD Found - Report that aging cells seem to be plagued by mistakes in protein assembly, possibly contributing to the brain degeneration characteristic of AD. A team of Dutch scientists found a new kind of faulty protein in the abnormal plaques and tangles. Science (1998;279 (5348):174 and 242)

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