Articles related to ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD)

Top-line data from an open-label Phase 2 study of 216 people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease treated with simufilam tablets at 100 mg twice daily for a year revealed a minimal decline in cognitive ability overall, as measured by the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog-11). Simufilam was found to be safe and well tolerated, and it alleviated depression and dementia-related behaviors in patients, which were two exploratory trial goals.

These researchers explain that long-term high fructose intake sustains our primal foraging response, which causes the brain to constantly seek high fat, sugary, and salty foods. When constantly fed, this response can ultimately lead to neural inflammation, creating the conditions that lead to Alzheimer’s.

Plasma P-tau217 significantly predicted longitudinal cognitive decline in both cohorts in this prognostic study of data from two preclinical AD cohort studies involving 171 cognitively unimpaired individuals with cerebrospinal fluid or positron emission tomographic measures of β-amyloid positivity. These findings imply that plasma P-tau217 could be used in clinical trials of novel disease-modifying treatments as a supplement to CSF or PET for participant selection.

Only 5 to 10 percent of Alzheimer’s cases are diagnosed in people under the age of 65. However, a BCBS report shows that from 2013 to 2017, there was a 200 percent increase in Alzheimer’s diagnoses in people ages 30 to 64. This case reports the youngest patient yet diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Yes, you read that right. According to a recent study in Scientific Reports, Chlamydia pneumoniae assaults the central nervous system by traveling up via the nose canal and into the brain. When the bacteria reach the brain, they encourage the production of amyloid beta protein, which is regarded to be a defining feature of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

This neurology news roundup from MedPage Today includes four highlights of note: First, a JAMA Internal Medicine article pointing out that gabapentin will not solve the opioid crisis in the US. Second, ublituximab, approved for relapsing MS at the end of December, has been included in the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review’s report on comparative effectiveness. Third, the same organization says that the newly approved Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab will need to be priced below $21,000 per year to be cost effective. And finally, a link to Neurology‘s crystal ball view into neurology education in the coming decade.