Category Archives: Drugs

Alzheimers drug Amyvid raises ethical questions

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Last Friday, the FDA approved Amyvid, a drug for Alzheimer’s diagnosis that was created and developed by Penn faculty Daniel Skovronsky and Hank Kung. It dyes brain deposits of amyloid plaque, which are correlated with Alzheimer’s disease.

However, the FDA has treaded cautiously, approving Amyvid only for limited uses. If brains scanned with Amyvid test negative, then the patient will be deemed Alzheimer-negative.

Cases where the Amyvid scans test positive will only signify the patient has significant levels of plaque, but will not confirm an Alzheimer’s Disease diagnosis.

Since there is no drug on the market that successfully removes amyloid plaque, Saboury said there should be no rush to market the tracer. How useful can it be for patients to know they are at risk when there is no cure or treatment?

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Antibiotics for Alzheimer’s?

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Researchers believe they have gained key insights on the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

The findings could lead to the development of antibiotic treatments that could prevent the onset of the devastating illness.

Investigators have learned that a key protein, called a tau-protein, transforms from being a critical component of normal brain function to a sinister malformed villain that destroys brain cells.

Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) developed the technology that distinguishes the two tau isoforms — one healthy and one disease-causing. Their research shows that only the disease-causing isoform is found in the neurons of Alzheimer’s patients and is exhibited at a very early stage of disease.

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Alzheimer’s Families Clamor for Drug

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In the wake of research suggesting a skin-cancer drug may have benefits in treating Alzheimer’s disease, physicians and advocacy groups are getting a flurry of calls from patients seeking to use the drug off-label.

The clamor underscores how urgently patients want solutions to the rising tide of Alzheimer’s. But experts caution that more research is needed to determine whether the drug, bexarotene, is effective in humans at all, not to mention what the dosage should be.

The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, was conducted in mice, and the road to an effective Alzheimer’s treatment is littered with failures that looked promising early on in animals.

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Avraham Pharmaceuticals reports interim Alzheimer’s trial success

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Avraham Pharmaceuticals Ltd.The interim report on ladostigil’s safety profile found no serious or exceptional side effects, so the trial can continue from the safety aspect. The interim results also showed a positive trend in the drug’s efficacy. The interim results are based on 179 patients, 66 of whom have undergone six months of therapy. The company added that the number of patients planned for the study was enough to provide statistically meaningful final results, and the expert panel therefore recommends pursuing the study. The company expects to complete the trial and obtain the results by the end of the year.

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Centre helps to trial experimental Alzheimer’s drug

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A SWINDON research centre is taking part in a global study of an experimental drug to treat a form of Alzheimer’s disease.

Prodromal AD is a condition in which a person’s memory loss is worse than can be expected by the normal ageing process alone, even though their ability to get on with daily activities is not affected to such an extent that they would be diagnosed with dementia.

In the past, people with the condition would have been considered to be showing symptoms of old age but it is now becoming more recognised.

The Kingshill Research Centre is taking part in the Scarlet Road Study, which is taking place in approximately 100 centres in about 15 countries, with about 360 people required to take part.

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Alzheimer’s drug fails for Pfizer, Medivation

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Pfizer and Medivation ended their collaboration on the experimental drug Dimebon for Alzheimer’s disease after the medicine failed in another late-stage clinical trial.

Dimebon was one of two drugs Pfizer had in its late-stage pipeline to treat the neurodegenerative disease. The other is bapineuzumab, which Pfizer is developing with Johnson & Johnson. The treatments have different mechanisms of action.

Dimebon didn’t show statistically significant results in a study that evaluated the compound when added to a standard treatment in patients with mild to moderate forms of the disease, the companies said Tuesday. The companies will end development of the drug for all uses, and will stop a current study.

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