Alzheimer Related News Items

News For Sept. 2003 meeting as of 8/10/03 *

For more info on these abstracts write/call Ed Cabic (edcabic@comcast.net or 410-992-7197)

NOTE - e-mail address change to new address as of 2/02

For more AD information, see Alzheimer Information athttp://www.connext.net/~seniors/infoad.htm

Copies of these reports are posted there

This web page was started at the Florence Bain Senior Center in Columbia MD

* There was no News Report for August 2003 since the Support Group did not meet. This report contains news that would have been presented at the August meeting. The next report in October will include the news from later in August, September and early October.

Study May One Day Resolve AD Debate - New research has provided a possible way to settle the long-running debate about the molecular causes of AD. Two events occur: Tangles of a protein called tau form inside dying brain cells. And plaques composed of protein fragments called beta-amyloid form outside those cells. Now, two researchers at Northwestern University report a direct relationship between those two molecular processes -- a discovery that could eventually lead to an effective therapy for a condition that is now virtually untreatable. That connection centers on a family of enzymes called caspases, which promote cell suicide, says Dr. Vincent L. Cryns, an associate professor of medicine at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Recent research has shown that beta-amyloid activates caspases, and this latest study uncovered what happens next. “We have shown that exposing neurons [brain cells] to caspases causes caspases to cut a piece off the tau protein,” Cryns says. “The shorter version of tau assembles into tangles much more rapidly than the normal version. So we have shown a connection between the two major brain abnormalities that occur in AD.” By Ed Edelson HealthDay Reporter 7/28/03 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Aug 19, 2003, 100(17) 10032-10037

Drugs

Zoloft Improves Depression in AD Patients - The antidepressant Zoloft is helpful for treating the depression that often accompanies AD, a new study shows. Doctors treating AD patients may have been reluctant to look for depression because they didn’t feel they had any treatments that worked, the researchers note. The new findings, which show Zoloft can work, may help change that attitude, they add. The study was done by Dr. Constantine G. Lyketsos, from the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues. When Zoloft lifted a patient’s mood, they became more active and had fewer behavioral problems. However, even a strong response to the drug did not help patients think more clearly. Reuters Health 7/25/03 Archives of General Psychiatry 2003; 60:737-746

Study: Painkillers May Protect Against AD - Common painkillers may lower the risk of developing AD and the longer they are taken the greater the benefit, scientists said on 7/18/03. They reviewed 15 studies that examined the effect of painkillers known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and found people who take them are less likely to develop the illness which is the leading cause of dementia in the elderly. “We have analyzed the existing data and based on our analysis we’ve shown that NSAIDs may have a preventive effect,” said Dr. Mahyar Etminan, of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, Canada. “But before we can advocate the regular use of these drugs to prevent AD we need to wait for the results of ongoing trials looking specifically at this issue,” he added in an interview. NSAIDS, such as ibuprofen and aspirin, are drugs that relieve pain by blocking the action of enzymes called cyclooxygenases (COX), which control inflammatory responses. Although they are effective against pain, the drugs can cause ulcers and dangerous stomach bleeding. The analysis showed that any NSAID seems to have a protective effect but aspirin has a less significant impact. “People who took them for two years or longer seem to have a larger benefit than those who took them for less,” Etminan explained. Scientists believe NSAIDs may reduce the risk of AD by relieving inflammatory processes in the brain. By Patricia Reaney Reuters 7/17/03 The British Medical Journal 2003:327:128 (19 July)

Genes & Genetic Issues

Key Enzyme Shown to Protect Against AD - An enzyme that helps brain cells function normally also protects against AD, scientists said 7/30/03 in a finding that could lead to better treatments for the illness. Brain cells need the enzyme called Pin1 (poly1 isomerase) to stay healthy but researchers in the United States, who identified it in 1995, have discovered it can also prevent tangles of protein in the brain which are a characteristic sign of AD. “This will allow people to look in different directions in thinking about how AD develops in the first place,” Dr. Kun Ping Lu, of Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, said in an interview with Reuters. Lu and Tony Hunter of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, demonstrated that Pin1 prevents the formation of the tangles by comparing amounts of the enzyme in certain areas of the brain in AD patients and people without the illness. In studies of transgenic mice which lacked the Pin1 gene, the scientists also discovered that the deletion of the gene was enough to cause age-related brain changes in the animals. By Patricia Reaney Reuters 7/30/03 Nature 424, 556-561 (31 July 2003)

Families Wanted for AD Gene Bank - Families with several members afflicted with AD are being recruited for a new gene bank that may help speed new treatments or even prevention of the mind-robbing ailment. The program was announced 7/22/03 by the Chicago-based Alzheimer’s Association, which is working with the National Institute on Aging to create a gene bank with samples from more than 1,000 families affected by late-onset AD. “By getting large samples like this we should be able to start zeroing in on these genes,” said Creighton Phelps, director of the NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Centers network. The network comprises 29 centers nationwide that will help collect blood samples for the gene bank. The NIA is funding the initiative at a cost of about $2 million a year. It is expected to take about three years to identify patients and collect and analyze samples, Phelps said. Interested families should contact local association chapters or check NIA and association Web sites at http://www.nia.nih.gov or http://www.alz.org . Information also is available at the Indiana University repository at 1-800-526-2839. By Lindsey Tanner AP 7/23/03

Caregivers

Nursing Homes Accused of Bias Against HIV-Positive - HIV-positive patients across the country are alleging that live-in health care facilities discriminate against them. Stephanie Buckner, an investigator at the health and human services’ civil rights office, said she sees a steady flow of such discrimination cases. “Discrimination in nursing homes is a constant,” she said. “It’s the nature of the culture, cherry picking.” She described “cherry picking” as giving preference to private payers and patients who need less complex care. People with AIDS, AD and behavioral problems are at the bottom of most facilities’ wish lists, she said. Allison C. Altmann, The National Law Journal 8/7/03

Intel and AD Group Join Forces - The Alzheimer’s Association and the Intel Corporation announced 7/24/03 that they were forming a research consortium to explore the application of computing technologies and sensor networks to the care of patients with early and advanced cases of AD. They have a vision of existing and future computer-related devices that would be modified to permit AD patients to live independently for longer periods, as well as elaborate monitoring networks that might help reduce the burden of caring for patients with advanced cases. The project, Everyday Technologies for Alzheimer’s Care, will initially to finance more than $1 million in research to develop systems for AD care in the home. The project, which will be managed by the association, will initially pursue research to develop affordable systems that can delay the effects of disabling symptoms and provide automated support to postpone the need to put patients in facilities where they require constant care. Intel researchers cited examples like simple drill-and-practice memory systems, which might be displayed on a home television. These would help people practice recognizing co-workers, so they could hide the effects of the disease and continue to work. For patients with more advanced cases, the researchers held out the possibility of systems that use artificial intelligence techniques to determine whether a person has remembered to drink fluids during the day. By John Markoff NY Times 7/25/03

Testing

Finding AD Earlier - A new electrical brain test can detect the onset of AD at stages earlier than ever before. The study by brain researcher Dr. Eric Braverman suggests the 10-minute electrical brain-mapping test could be an important aid for doctors. That’s because early detection of AD means more effective treatment options with higher rates of success. He tested more than 1,500 people who were patients at his New York City practice. “For the first time, this test gives us the ability to identify patients who are developing AD before they actually get the disease,” says Braverman, who is physician-director of PATH Medical, a neuro-psychiatric research group. HealthDay 8/09/03 Journal of Clinical Electroencephalography Aug 2003

Researchers Compile ‘Atlas’ of the Brain - A computerized “atlas” of the brain is for the first time giving researchers and medical experts a map for unlocking the puzzles of the mind. The 10-year project “was born out of frustration,” said Dr. John Mazziotta, chair of the department of neurology at the University of California, Los Angeles, medical school. “Unfortunately, the brain is different in every single person. There is a tremendous amount of variance.” As a result, researchers and radiologists have essentially relied on their own experience to measure brain activity or diagnose disease. But the atlas, which the researchers recently started making available for use, will allow specialists to compare a patient’s brain with those in the data base. This may enable them to detect crucial differences in the brains of sick people and thus diagnose and treat them. The atlas is available on-line at http://www.loni.ucla.edu/ICBM , and it enables brain experts worldwide to access four- dimensional details -- time as well as the three dimensions of space -- of brain structure and function, descriptions of how the brain changes as we age and how and where neurological disease occurs. By Deena Beasley Reuters 8/8/03

Prevention

Overweight Elderly at Higher Risk for AD - Overweight elderly people are more likely than those who stay trim to be stricken by AD, researchers reported today, the first strong evidence linking the burgeoning weight crisis with the increasingly common brain affliction. The study followed several hundred elderly Swedish people for 18 years clearly showed that those who were heavy at age 70 were markedly more likely to get AD in their eighties. This study by Deborah Gustafson, who conducted it while at Utah State University, offers perhaps the most compelling reason to stay slim even into old age: reducing the danger of suffering the agonizing loss of thinking abilities. By Rob Stein Washington Post 7/14/03 Archives of Internal Medicine 2003; 60:923-924

Eating Fish Might Reduce Risk of AD - Older people who eat fish at least once a week could cut their risk of AD by more than half, a study done by Chicago’s Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center suggests. Researchers found that people 65 and older who ate fish once a week had a 60 percent lower risk of AD than those who never or rarely ate fish. Meals included tuna sandwiches, fish sticks and shellfish; amounts were not specified. The study involved 815 Chicago residents 65 and older. Follow-up tests nearly four years later found that 131 participants had developed AD. Dr. Rachelle Doody, professor of neurology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, questioned the conclusions, saying the researchers “can show an association, but they can’t show cause and effect” between fish and AD. AP 7/22/03 Archives of Neurology 2003; 60:923-924

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