Pauline Anderson A second phase 3 trial investigating bapineuzumab IV in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) has been stopped, essentially spelling the end of the program to investigate this agent in patients with this type of dementia. The 18-month, randomized, double-blind, multicenter studies were examining the efficacy and safety of bapineuzumab, a…
High levels of a family of lipids called ceramides in the blood may be predictive of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study suggests. Women with the highest levels of ceramides had a 10-fold higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s compared with those with the lowest levels, said Michelle M. Mielke, PhD, from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester,…
Pfizer Inc has announced topline results of a phase 3 trial of bapineuzumab showing treatment failed to meet the co-primary endpoint of change in cognitive or functional performance versus placebo in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) who are positive for the apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) risk allele. Bapineuzumab is an investigational monoclonal antibody…
Over the past 18 months, 81-year-old Bill Bunnell has visited the doctor a half-dozen times to take memory tests, provide blood samples, and undergo a spinal tap and imaging scans. It’s all part of the most extensive study ever conducted on Alzheimer’s. Now researchers are about to take an even closer look at Bunnell, a…
A study of senior citizens in Florida found that drinking coffee could delay the onset of or help prevent Alzheimer’s disease. The study, carried out on adults over the age of 65 in Miami and Tampa, found that those with higher levels of caffeine in their blood avoided the onset of Alzheimer’s in the two-…
Response from Gayle Nicholas Scott, PharmD Assistant Professor, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia; Clinical Pharmacist, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake, Virginia Coconut oil and a related medical food, Axona® (Accera, Inc; Broomfield, Colorado), are being promoted as treatments for Alzheimer disease (AD). Obtained from the kernel of the coconut palm (Cocos nucifera),[1] coconut oil…
May 18, 2012 — An ambitious National Alzheimer’s Plan announced this week by the Department of Health and Human Services to address the growing threat of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the United States includes funding for the first prevention trial in people genetically predisposed to develop early symptoms. The double-blind, placebo-controlled study will test the…
May 23, 2012 — Deep brain stimulation (DBS), a therapy already approved for use in Parkinson’s disease, may also be useful for treating some patients with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a pilot study suggests. After 1 year of continuous DBS, a clinically meaningful increase in cerebral metabolism in the hippocampal area was observed…
May 25, 2012 – There is a large body of evidence for an association between hyposmia and Alzheimer’s dementia (AD), but the predictive value of olfactory dysfunction in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is uncertain, a new review of the topic concludes. “We establish through a systematic review the lack of proven evidence that…