A Peony For Your Thoughts: May Brings Progress in Alzheimer's Research

May has been fruitful for research into the prevention and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, the mechanisms behind early symptoms, and potential treatments to prevent symptoms that come later in disease progression.

Alzamend Neuro’s Phase IIA Clinical Trial for Dementia Treatment

The first doses have been administered to participants of a Phase-IIA study investigating the safety and maximum tolerability of Alzamend’s AL001. The therapeutic candidate features a uniquely formulated delivery system of lithium-salicylate-L-proline.

The study design includes twelve months of treatment in a multiple ascending dose schedule. Bioequivalence data from the Phase I study suggests that sufficient evidence may be available to avoid the need for Phase II and III studies that would demonstrate safety in larger participant pools. Instead, safety is demonstrated through the bioequivalent lithium carbonate matches that have already gained regulatory approval.

New In-Vitro Test for Diagnosis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given approval for the commercialization of a Lumipulse G β-Amyloid ratio (1-42/1-40) test, which was earlier granted Breakthrough Device designation. The test will be available for patients 55 years of age and older who are showing clinical symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Using a sample of cerebral spinal fluid, doctors can receive same-day data without subjecting a patient to the high radiation levels of PET scans.

Physicians are expected to use data from the Lumipulse test in conjunction with other means of confirming an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Potential Target Uncovered to Reduce Apathy

As Alzheimer’s causes the brain to slowly degenerate, psychiatric symptoms and cognitive decline can present as personality changes, such as the development of apathy. A study published in Molecular Psychiatry suggests the development of apathy may be linked to dysregulated expression of the neurotransmitter, glutamate, in the brain’s nucleus accumbens region. If true, glutamate could be blocked pharmacokinetically with medication, preventing or slowing the psychiatric changes.

Good Cholesterol and Alzheimer’s

An article published by the Alzheimer’s Association explains that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels may influence a person’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s. The lead researcher, Hussein Yassin, M.D. explains that HDL particles “may be involved with the clearance and excretion of the peptides that form the amyloid plaques we see in Alzheimer's disease.”

The research is motivated by finding ways to prevent the cardiovascular issues that often go on to cause Alzheimer’s, such as harm from smoking or high blood pressure. Physicians can now confidently advise patients that high levels of HDL-C can lower the risk of developing neurodegenerative disease. Anyone that wishes to increase HDL levels should focus on general health promotion activities, such as exercise, healthy eating, and minimizing their intake of alcohol.

Beneficial Dietary Supplement or Harmful Gimmick?

A study conducted by the University of California, San Diego researchers that investigated the role of phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase (PHGDG) enzymes in the development of Alzheimer’s has led to a warning for patients to avoid certain supplements.

PHGDG enzymes are involved in the production of serine, an amino acid naturally found in the human body. Serine supplements are often taken by Alzheimer’s patients with the belief that they will benefit. The study found that patients with Alzheimer’s already have higher levels of PHGDG than neurotypical patients, leading to the conclusion that supplementation of serines could cause harm.

Two Proteins Linked to Alzheimer’s

Massachusetts General Hospital has conducted research into the role played by amyloid-β and tau proteins in Alzheimer’s patients may explain how the brain responds to accumulations of the proteins. The study involved the analysis of PET and MRI images from over 6,000 patients of one family. This family had a high prevalence of Alzheimer’s.

The analysis revealed a link between those that would go on to develop Alzheimer’s, as indicated by a Presenilin-1 E280A mutation, and high levels of amyloid-β nearly twenty years before cognitive symptoms began. The study will aid in understanding the mechanisms of early dementia.

Corn Protein Could be Key in Alzheimer’s Vaccine

Researchers at the University of Kansas may have found a way to induce an immune response in patients that are developing the characteristic beta-amyloid plaques seen in Alzheimer’s. While the idea of increasing immunity to Alzheimer’s using a vaccine that prevents plaque build-up isn't new, few might have thought that a key component to the vaccine, methionine sulfoxide, might be found in corn.

Researching this hypothesis, mouse models were used to determine whether injections of a methionine-sulfoxide-rich antigen impacted the development of Alzheimer’s, compared to mice that were not engineered with a predisposition to the disease. Overall, the experimental mouse group showed “roughly 50-percent improvement in short-term memory, better long-term memory and lower levels of beta-amyloid in the blood plasma and brain.” The immune system and antioxidant activity also increased in the experimental group.