AstraZeneca PLC and Mental Health Research Institute in Australia Announce Collaboration to Improve Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease
Researchers aim to find out whether testing cognition at short intervals (every one to three months) over an eighteen-month period will make it possible to identify individuals just at the point at which they are beginning to suffer cognitive decline as a result of Alzheimer's disease.
The study will be conducted in conjunction with The Australian Imaging, Biomarker & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL), which aims to improve understanding of the causes and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, and help develop preventative strategies.
Alzheimer's disease is a degenerative brain disease for which there is currently no definitive diagnostic tool. Doctors rely on their clinical judgment to diagnose the disease once it has become symptomatic, but the pathologic process very likely starts a few years beforehand.
Professor Paul Maruff, from the Mental Health Research Institute says, "When assessing cognitive function in an individual at risk for dementia on the first occasion, it is often difficult to determine whether their performance on cognitive tests has declined from some previously higher level. The repeated application of a set of brief and simple cognitive measures could therefore help to identify accurately the point when the onset of Alzheimer's disease was imminent in individual people. This could ultimately lead to a more personalized approach with more effective treatments being given to the right patients at the right time."
Dr Judith Jaeger, Director of Neuroscience Early Clinical Development at AstraZeneca adds, "We recognize that in addition to searching for new medicines, we urgently need to find new ways to identify those at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease before they begin to experience symptoms. In addition to developing a novel approach to diagnosing cognitive decline, we hope that our collaboration with the world-class researchers at The Mental Health Research Institute will provide insights that aid our search for new treatments and ways to prevent disease progression."
About AstraZeneca
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of meaningful prescription medicines and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of US$ 31.6 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines. For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca.com/
About AIBL
The Australian Imaging, Biomarker & Lifestyle Flagship Study of Ageing (AIBL) aims to improve understanding of the causes and diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, and help develop preventative strategies. The study, consisting of a patient cohort of 1112 participants, will help researchers develop and confirm a set of diagnostic markers biomarkers and psychometrics that can be used to objectively monitor disease progression and to develop hypotheses about diet and lifestyle factors that might delay the onset of this disease. For more information, please visit: www.aibl.csiro.au
About MHRI
The Mental Health Research Institute (MHRI) located in Melbourne is Australia's premiere psychiatric research centre and is working to understand, detect, treat, and prevent mental illnesses. The Institute is formally affiliated with the University of Melbourne and Monash University.
SOURCE AstraZeneca