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Alzheimer's, Dementia, Mental Health News
Faulty Brain Molecule Found to Lead to Alzheimer's
Disease
Researchers say this could lead to preventive
treatment for AD
 July 6, 2006 - A recent study directed by Mount
Sinai School of Medicine identifies a faulty molecule in the brain found
in cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Researchers say this faulty
molecule may be responsible for the progression of MCI to mild
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) dementia. The study, which appeared June 10th
online in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, may lead to preventative
treatments for AD.
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Autopsies Show Mild Cognitive Impairment Leading to
Alzheimer's
Brains
had plaques and tangles beyond what's expected in normal aging
May 8, 2006 – Autopsies of persons who had only
mild cognitive impairment revealed structural changes in the brain that
indicate these people with slight behavioral symptoms were on their way
to developing Alzheimer's disease. Mild cognitive impairment has been
considered a strong early predictor of AD but this is one of the first
autopsy studies of such patients.
Read more...
Alzheimer's Dementia Drug Approved for Parkinson's
Dementia
Exelon gains FDA approval as first to treat this
dementia
June 28, 2006 – Exelon (rivastigmine tartrate), a
drug already used to treat mild-to-moderate dementia associated with
Alzheimer's disease, got the nod yesterday from the Food and Drug
Administration to become the first medication available for the
treatment of this condition when associated with Parkinson's disease.
Read more...
Pre-Alzheimer's Memory Loss May Affect More of Brain
than Assumed
Follow-up
planned to this small study
revealing problems in frontal lobe
June 27, 2006 - Memory loss associated with early
Alzheimer's disease (AD) may be linked to altered activity in several
areas of the brain, and not just the temporal lobe, according to a study
in the July issue of Radiology.
Read more...
Do Alzheimer's Victims Produce Too Much Harmful
Protein, or Not Clear It Fast Enough?
Chicken or egg study could lead to answers by
monitoring protein
June 26, 2006 -
Read more...
Read more
Alzheimer's,
Dementia, Mental Health News |
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An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s
disease and presently there are no known cures or effective preventive
strategies.
“Alzheimer’s Disease is a growing health concern
that affects millions of people, “says Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D.,
Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the
Neuroinflammation Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and
lead author of the study.
“We hope our research provides direction for
preventative treatments to delay the onset of AD dementia by eliminating
amyloid plaque-causing peptides in the brain.”
People with AD exhibit elevated levels of beta-amyloid
peptides that cause plaque buildup in the brain (the main characteristic
of AD). In the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s, beta-amyloid peptides are
on the rise, especially in the two connected brain regions critical for
memory functions-- the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex.
In this study, Dr. Pasinetti and colleagues at
Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York suggests one reason for that
early increase of beta-amyloid peptides: an enzyme that breaks down
beta-amyloid peptides, also referred to as an insulin-degrading enzyme
(IDE), is not active in the brain in the cases at high-risk for
developing AD. To assess possible changes in IDE during MCI, the
investigators measured protein levels and enzymatic activity in
postmortem brain tissue from 46 elderly subjects.
Implications
A loss of IDE activity has been previously shown to
occur in severe AD dementia, and the current results raise the
possibility that a deficit in degradation of amyloid peptides from IDE
could raise levels of toxic beta-amyloid peptides even before AD
dementia is diagnosed. If these results are confirmed, Mount Sinai
researchers suggest that boosting IDE activity pharmacologically may
reverse beta-amyloid peptide accumulation. This new finding may provide
a pharmacological therapeutic angle to preventing AD dementia.
Dr. Pasinetti and colleagues also measured levels
of beta-amyloid peptides in the entorhinal cortex and found that the
amount of beta-amyloid was inversely correlated with IDE activity they
measured in the hippocampus. These results support the idea that
alterations in IDE might be causally related to beta-amyloid peptides
accumulation, starting in the earliest stages of AD.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Located in Manhattan, Mount Sinai School of Medicine is internationally
recognized for ground-breaking clinical and basic-science research, and
innovative approaches to medical education. Through the Mount Sinai
Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Mount Sinai trains biomedical
researchers with an emphasis on the rapid translation of discoveries of
basic research into new techniques for fighting disease. One indication
of Mount Sinai’s leadership in scientific investigation is its receipt
during fiscal year 2005 of $174.1 million in research support from the
NIH. Mount Sinai School of Medicine also is known for unique educational
programs such as the Humanities in Medicine program, which creates
opportunities for liberal arts students to pursue medical school, and
instructional innovations like The Morchand Center, the nation's largest
program teaching students and physicians with "standardized patients" to
become not only highly skilled, but compassionate caregivers. Long
dedicated to improving its community, the School extends its boundaries
to work with East Harlem and surrounding communities to provide access
to health care and educational programs to at risk populations.
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