Drug rescues memory lost to Alzheimer's disease

[midnight]

Source: Bio-Medicine

The drug, called PMX205, prevented inflamed immune cells from gathering in brain regions with Alzheimer's lesions called amyloid plaques. Cell inflammation in these areas accelerates neuron damage, exacerbating the disease.

For 12 weeks, Tenner and colleagues added PMX205 to the drinking water of mice genetically altered to develop age-related Alzheimer's-like symptoms. The treatment occurred at an age when plaques were accumulating in their brains.

Scientists gave the treated mice learning and memory tests and then examined their brains for evidence of the disease. Alzheimer's mice that were not given the drug performed significantly worse on the test than normal mice. But in all but one case the treated Alzheimer's mice performed almost as well as the normal mice. Those with the rescued cognitive ability had more than 50 percent fewer Alzheimer's lesions and inflammatory immune cells than the untreated diseased mice.

PMX53, a similar drug that can be taken orally, passed Phase 1 human clinical trials for safety with no major problems reported. Possible side effects include



Read more: http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news-1/Drug-rescues-memory-lost-to-Alzheimers-disease-51674-1/

---

For those of who have friends or family who are dealing with Alsheimers, I thought you might find this encouraging information.

[KatyaR]

1. Very good news--

15 years too late for my mom, but since I now have a 50% change of developing the same disease, hopefully there will be treatment when I need it.

[astroBspacedog]

33. Wow !

Both my parents suffered from Alzheimer's and both have died in the last 5 years. Does this put me at a 100% chance. I've certainly known that I'm in the cross hairs but I didn't think it is that certain.
Oh well, I'm 55, guess I'd better start looking into this new medication when the FDA decides it's OK, --- ten or so years from now.

In the mean time I'd better just start having fun and enjoying life to the max

[No Elephants]

53. Having fun and enjoying life to the max is a good idea regardless. But, I

don't think you have a 100% chance.

[kimmerspixelated]

64. Or maybe look into nutritional

choices that they are finding have a significant effect on the chance of developing ALZ???

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

2. thanks

[happygoluckytoyou]

3. in a related story, Reagan still can find his jellybeans, and W is hiding his own easter eggs...

[Twinguard]

5. I'm sorry,

but Alzheimer's is nothing to joke about.

My mom and her mom both died from this terrible disease. I would expect more from people than to joke about a disease that the victims have no (known) control over. Your joke is in poor taste and probably hurts more people that it amuses.

[Kali]

8. I'm sorry you lost family to this HORRIBLE disease

I have too. But there are funny moments and to not be able to joke about it would make it even worse. For me it was a coping strategy and I know had he known, he would have joked about it too.

[Twinguard]

9. I understand coping mechanisms...

But when people make the "hide their own Easter eggs" joke, it just really gets me. I don't find it funny. Maybe I just lack a sense of humor about it all. There's many things I find funny, but joking about Alzheimer's isn't one of them. I rank it up there with "haha, he has cancer" and "haha, AIDS cracks me up."

[bertman]

4. How does this relate to standard, garden variety dementia? Does it help with that too?

My mom had Alzheimers and after 13 long, lingering years, finally wasted away. Now my father-in-law has dementia, so we're watching the same thing happen to him.

If I ever start getting either of those diseases I hope that I will be lucid enough long enough to ease myself on into the hereafter.

Recommend.

[Twinguard]

11. I know how hard it is to watch a loved one "waste away"

and that's why I'm glad that the state I live in has legalized doctor-assisted suicide.

My mom and my grandma both wasted away due to Alzheimer's, and my wife is fully aware that if I am diagnosed with it, I am totally taking that option. I don't mean to be a wet blanket or anything, but I'd rather go out on my own terms than force my family to suffer the hell that my dad and I went through. It will be a tough time for sure, but nothing, and I mean NOTHING, is harder than watching a loved one "waste away."

[CountAllVotes]

6. good news for a change

my grandma died of "arthritis of the brain" they called it way back then.

It was in fact Alzhemier's - often called "senility" in the olden days.

It is worrisome having this genetic problem in a family.

Recommend!!

:kick:

[david13]

7. Yeah, sure it does, and it only costs $98 a pill, and it's not covered

by medical or medicare and it only lasts for one day, then wears off.
dc

[stray cat]

20. and eventually it will be cheaper and if approved covered

still cheaper than full time around the clock help for victims of it.

[democrat2thecore]

21. *Everything* doesn't have to be turned into a political comment. This is GOOD news. -nt

[Q3JR4]

52. Lets see, take a

pill that I pay $98 a day for or loose my cognitive ability.

Speaking as a person who works full time with an Alzheimer's patient whose family pays that much in doctor bills, ineffective medication, as well as the living costs and pay for one full time guy and one part time gal, I'm sure they'd rather pay $98 a day and get their mother/grandmother/sister/aunt back.

Q3JR4
Says to david13: Don't be an ass.

[valerief]

62. And it's probably got a parallel 'natural' food item but Monsanto will kill all those crops. nt

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. Thank you!

This is good news for my father-in-law. :hi:

[canoeist52]

12. Cheers for the mice...I'll wait for the larger human trials.

I'm a caregiver for my mom who has Alzheimer's. Always there are side effects to worry about. Just read "The Myth of Alzheimer's" by a former drug researcher, Peter Whitehouse M,D. Ph.D., about the profit motive in pharma trials and research.

The rest of the article;

"Possible side effects include an increased susceptibility to some infections. PMX205 is a modified version that may be more potent for treatment of brain disorders."

"This approach may work even better if combined with treatments targeting other problems in the Alzheimer's brain," said Tenner, also a professor of pathology and neurobiology & behavior, as well as a member of UCI's Institute for Immunology and Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, or UCI MIND.

[TexasObserver]

13. Recommend

[hay rick]

14. K & R

[maxsolomon]

15. good news. now hand 'em over.

i don't want dementia.

[Peregrine Took]

16. RIght - when will they be available for people?

I have a relative who is in mid stage A.D. - this would be great for her.

[StarryNite]

17. It truly is the long goodbye

I would not wish this disease on anybody. My mother-in-law has been going through it's horrible stages for over 8 years now. She's in a memory care home and it is so depressing to see the people there that have literally lost themselves to this disease. I see no point in living when you don't even realize you're alive and there is no possible way of ever gaining that realization back.

[democrat2thecore]

22. I'm watching my dad lose a little of himself each and every day. It IS awful. -nt

[emilyg]

29. It is awful. Lost my Dad

to it. :hug:

[Thor_MN]

18. Probably too late for my uncle

My cousin's lost their mother to Cancer and within a year their father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. He is 58 and pretty far along.

[Stephanie]

30. 58? OMG

My grandmother couldn't remember who I was, kept saying she'd like to introduce me to my mother. But her onset was in her 80's. I didn't think it could happen so early...

[JanusAscending]

My Mom had no sooner retired from her sweat shop job,

and finally got her drivers license when she began showing signs of it. Once when she got lost driving home from Church, my Dad took the keys away!! She was 65 and lived with it at home for 5 yrs. and in a nursing home for 6 more before pneumonia took her, mercifully! I'm already 70 with no symptoms yet, so I think I dodged the bullet! This is indeed good news for many. It will provide hope when there was none! JA

[No Elephants]

54. My cousin's wife died of Alzheimer's att 40. I don't know how old she was when diagnosed. That

is the youngest I've ever heard of.

[Thor_MN]

57. His father lived to 93, his mother 79

It's amazing how much he now looks like his father, at a much older age. My uncle did three tours in Viet Nam as a helicopter mechanic, I often wonder if he was exposed to something that promoted the Alzheimer's.

[fishnfla]

19. great ceasar's ghost give me some

i thought the first word of the thread title was "dog" and the third word was "money"

Dog rescues money lost to alzheimers

good grief

[and-justice-for-all]

23. K&R..nt

[xchrom]

24. recommend

[dugaresa]

25. to be honest I would sign an agreement to be a guinea pig for this kind of treatment

if I was a victim of alzheimers because I would rather someone try something out on me than have what happens happen. I have seen folks die like this and it is awful.

[MADem]

26. K/R. Hopeful news for those suffering from this awful condition... nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

27. I need me some of that.

[MannyGoldstein]

28. What About Ibuprofen?

Long-term use (5+ years) cuts Alzheimer's risk by 50% or so, and it's reasonably safe, e.g.: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/5156.html

[iris27]

31. They're starting to say similar things about caffeine.

Early studies show prevention of future inflammation, and reduction of existing plaques and tangles (the brain deformations that cause memory loss).

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-11-05-caffeine-alzheimers_x.htm

[MannyGoldstein]

32. If Something Cheap Works Dramatically Well, It Gets Little Press Coverage

At $100 a pill, however things get lots and lots of press coverage.

[anigbrowl]

38. Well the caffeine thing was all over the news a week or so back

so there goes that theory.

[Divine Discontent]

40. I looked at that link for a minute. would you say that people 60+ would be safe in ingesting 1 tab

a day? 3 sounds like it could cause kidney probs as I've heard in other studies about the use of ibuprofren.

[Maru Kitteh]

46. Duration seems to be more important than dosage - 1 should be safe!

Sounds like a good plan. I usually take 2-4 a day for my hips anyway.

[Divine Discontent]

50. blessings to you. thanks for answering. eom

[riverwalker]

34. Ibuprophen and other NSAIDS have also been effective

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=89272

[chimpyisstillsatan]

41. until they were actually tested in a rigorous, double blind placebo controlled trial.

when they weren't. See the results of the ADAPT trial and the recent phase III results from Myriad Genetics.

[Maru Kitteh]

47. link?

[Q3JR4]

55. ....

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17460158?dopt=Abstract¹
http://www.biospace.com/news_story.aspx?NewsEntityId=101850&Source=TopBreaking²

Q3JR4

1. Googled "ADAPT Alzheimer's trial"
2. Googled "phase III alzheimer's Myriad Genetics results"

But Google-ing is HARD...

[mainer]

35. "possible side effects include an increased susceptibility to infections."

what?!! Which infections? How serious? I want to know more!

[chimpyisstillsatan]

44. most people who die with AD

succumb to infections (usually pneumonia). The other common cop de gras is vascular failure (bleeding out on the inside).

[earcandle]

36. There is hope for the Mad Cow Disease cure!

[Maru Kitteh]

49. Not the same thing at all. The prion proteins involved are different in important ways.

Alzheimer's involves the protein PrPc whereas transmissible spongiform encephalopathies involve their crazy assed neighbors with the surplus tank from Korea - the PrPsc prion proteins.

The most promising research I've seen so far for TSE's is a group that found an exposed amino acid side chain in PrPsc's and a drug that broke it. I believe it was in animal testing with hopes for human trials in the next 5 years or so. I wish I had a link for you, but if you care to I'm sure you can google it.

[earcandle]

58. thanks for the update! I will research that point.

[Javaman]

37. My mom has it. Maybe it will be ready for general use in time for her.

I hope for that.

[Divine Discontent]

39. my best to you... hope so. look at the ibuprofen & caffeine comments above. eom

[garthranzz]

42. My father has Alzheimer's

We suspect either his injury in WWII or his triple-bypass was the catalyst. Or both. He's had it almost eight years. Katrina's after-effect pushed him from mid to late stage, robbing him of some good years.

Caffeine, proper diet, exercise, mental activity - these are known to help delay, prevent, diminish.

I hope this drug - or others - work. Even small good news is important.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

43. Not to be a wet blanket, but...

Phase 1 trials do not test efficacy, they show a drug can be tolerated at the expected dose, usually in normal volunteers. The PMX53 clinical data are almost meaningless with regard to AD.

I've worked with these mice and other AD models, and IMO they are piss-poor representations of the human disease. All roads to a "cure" that depend upon these models have failed thus far. We have no idea how to accurately model the human disease because we simply do not understand AD pathology well enough. I predict that both major theories (tau and amyloid hypotheses) will ultimately be proven a major distraction, and will not yield any effective drugs in the next 10 years.

What IS interesting is that this approach sort of gets away from other established tau- and amyloid-centric therapeutic approaches, and heads in what I think is a better direction (controlling inflammation). Still, it tests the same old endpoints in the mouse model, meaning it too may be a false lead. Time will tell.

[ruggerson]

48. personally

I think both AD and Parkinson's will ultimately be shown to be neuroinflammatory or immunoinflammatory diseases that are facilitated by cytokine stimulation, particularly tumor necrosis factor. Drugs that suppress tnf-a (and anti inflammatory drugs in general) may be able to stop the degeneration and cell death in both diseases.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

67. you may be right

you are almost certainly right about the inflammation angle. As to TNFa, I really hope it's that simple.

[mainer]

56. What's your opinion of BMAA being an etiologic agent?

I've been reading quite a bit about it (and cyanobacteria) as a link in New Hampshire, regarding ALS and possibly also AD.

[mainer]

65. Clarification on what BMAA is

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMAA

[chimpyisstillsatan]

66. seems possible, but unlikely

I think we're going to find that there are lots of environmental stressors that predispose to AD, ALS, PD, and other neurodegenerative diseases. It's intriguing that the exact same risk factors are seen for vascular disease and AD are the same, and fall in the same rank order.

BMAA would certainly be a suspect in some locales (among bat-eaters in Guam, for example), but it seems unlikely that any one will predominate as a culprit. I don't know if BMAA also predisposes to CV disease, but that would seem to me to be a prerequisite for it to be a reasonable suspect as a causal agent. Any idea if this is the case?

[mainer]

68. I would disagree that AD and CV are linked

As for BMAA, this link with AD/ALS/Parkinson's has been theorized since the Chamorro research. Also finding alarming clusters of ALS cases in areas with cyanobacterial eruptions.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19254284
http://www.pnas.org/content/100/23/13380.full

Fascinating and scary stuff, particularly since global warming may be changing the global distribution of cyanobacterial blooms.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

69. linked? yes. Causal...who knows?

The epidemiology is not really in question, but the mechanism of the linkage is still a mystery (see below, for example)

P.S., Interestingly, Downs syndrome patients almost always get AD-like plaquesin their brains and circulatory systems, and often show AD and CVD symptoms, too.


---
J Alzheimers Dis. 2008 Jul;14(3):353-9. Alzheimer's disease prevalence can be lowered with non-invasive testing.
de la Torre JC.
Center for Alzheimer's Research, Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AR 85351, USA. [e-mail]

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease are reported to be major risk factors to Alzheimer's disease (AD). These risk factors mainly affect the elderly (over age 60) and previously were believed to only promote vascular dementia (VaD). Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular pathology involving structural lesions of the heart and carotid or vertebral artery stenosis stemming from intima media thickening or vessel plaque formation can insidiously reduce blood flow to the brain. Since heart and carotid artery disease are common findings in elderly patients and can provoke chronic cerebral hypoperfusion, we submit that individuals with even very mild memory complaints should undergo screening using echocardiography and carotid Doppler ultrasound. These non-invasive, safe, cost-effective ultrasound techniques can often detect correctable or treatable early lesions involving the carotid arteries and the heart that contribute to cerebral hypoperfusion. Inasmuch as cerebral hypoperfusion can be a pathophysiologic trigger of AD, its prevention or attenuation should tangibly reverse or at least delay the onset and impact of severe cognitive meltdown. This clinical approach may have an important impact in reducing the number of new AD and VaD cases and lessen the catastrophic socio-economic burden these dementias are expected to have on the US healthcare system in the near future.

[chimpyisstillsatan]

70. interesting articles, thanks for the links

I'll dl them at work and take a look. For now though, scroll down to the citing articles at the bottom of the PNAS abstract. It looks like there may be some controversy surrouinding the analytical chemistry in the brain.

Not that the BMAA data is an artifact, but I'm reminded of the aluminum/AD link that was proposed in the late '80's. It turned out that the Al they were finding in the AD plaques came from a contamination in the water they used to dilute thier tissue stains. D'oh! I hate to think of all the money wasted after that mistake.

[Flaxbee]

45. oh, I hope so! My mother takes

Aricept, and it has worked miracles. Just jaw-droppingly incredible benefits for her; it would be wonderful if there were more strides for people who don't respond as well to Aricept, or something else that can work in tandem with other drugs.

I am not a proponent of many drugs, but the difference in my mother's behavior and quality of life has been astounding; if strides continue to be made, it's great news.

[Fearless]

51. I heard about some promising research about a year ago...

I'm glad that it's coming to fruition.

[goclark]

59. Please let it be Hurry,hurry,hurry

Mom is 90 and please let this be one of the answers for so many.

[Swede Atlanta]

60. This is terrific news but a bit late........

My father is in fairly advanced stages of Alzheimers but otherwise physically fit. As his doctor told us it isn't going to be his heart or other key organs that cause his death.

This is wonderful news for the future but the testing/approval process is too long for it to be of any benefit to him. Why couldn't he have contracted this disease a few years later than he did. Maybe then this might have been a treatment for him.

[irislake]

61. It's just wonderful what they can do for mice!

Only a week ago I read that coffee prevented and cured Alzheimers in mice. Never mind that my mother drank about 20 cups a day all her life and continued to drink at least six per day in the nursing home where she was confined for her Alzheimers. Please!

[valerief]

63. Hey, they're just trying to sell coffee. Just like they tell us wine is good for us.

All BS.

[prayin4rain]

71. Thank goodness... I watched my grandma die of this and I am terrified of getting it. n/t