New Grants For Innovative Alzheimer's Query Announced Yesteryear Ahaf
Alzheimer's scientists aspect at repurposing existing drugs, examine Alzheimer's link to diabetes, together with testing latest discoveries.
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| Steven E. Arnold |
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New grants for innovative Alzheimer's affliction inquiry announced yesteryear AHAF
"Only through inquiry tin nosotros detect ways to forestall or care for this terrible affliction that threatens to harm our loved ones together with bankrupt our families together with our wellness assist system," said AHAF President together with CEO Stacy Pagos Haller. "That's why AHAF is committed to supporting bold ideas together with investing inward the most compelling together with game-changing research."One newly funded projection volition carefully scrutinize a major Alzheimer's affliction regain announced inward 2012—also AHAF-funded—that damaging "tau" proteins spread cell-to-cell inward the brain. The project's meticulous inspection of just how together with which harmful proteins prepare together with spread inside the encephalon could convey medical scientific discipline closer to agreement the phases of, together with therefore treating, Alzheimer's disease.
Other grant recipients volition survive studying existing FDA-approved diabetes together with cancer drugs for their potential inward treating Alzheimer's disease. If inquiry on such "repurposed" drugs proves successful, it could acquaint a powerful chance to apace interpret the operate to clinical practice.
Other topics inward the 22 funded studies, all listed at www.ahaf.org/2012AlzAwards/, include early on diagnosis, drug targets, together with drug discoveries. Some highlights include:
Can a Diabetes Drug Fight Alzheimer's Disease equally Well?
Steven E. Arnold, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, volition comport a Phase II clinical lawsuit to create upward one's heed if a mutual anti-diabetes drug has potential for treating or preventing Alzheimer's disease. Other inquiry previously funded yesteryear AHAF has highlighted the diabetes–Alzheimer's connection, late linking diabetes inward the elderly to cognitive decline. Arnold's report volition examine the potential role of glucophage (brand scream Metformin), the most widely prescribed diabetes medication inward the U.S., inward making cells inward the Alzheimer's affliction encephalon to a greater extent than sensitive to insulin—and therefore healthier.
Testing a Natural Substance's Effect on the Nervous System
The role of the mutual nutritional supplement glutamine equally a novel handling for Alzheimer's affliction is the dependent champaign of inquiry yesteryear Rutgers University scientist Karl Herrup, Ph.D. Glutamine is naturally produced yesteryear cells together with is essential to the communication with nervus cells equally good equally other workings of the body. Long prescribed for lung cancer, bowel surgery, together with other weather condition including sepsis, glutamine has never been tested equally a handling for nervous scheme diseases. Herrup shows that inward the Alzheimer's affliction brain, glutamine levels drop. He volition examine whether providing extra glutamine to mice would protect nervus cells together with powerfulness signal methods of reducing side effects of other drugs.
Charting the Transfer of Harmful Tau Protein
Alzheimer's inquiry made tidings inward Feb when 2 independent teams of scientists, ane of them AHAF-funded, announced a regain on how misshapen tau proteins proliferate inward the brain. The teams' finding, that the proteins spread cell-to-cell, similar a shot allows scientists to focus on ways to target together with halt this spread. Although the results select generated much press, confirmation of the observation has been a tremendous technical hurdle. Aiming to solve that work is Jessica Wu, Ph.D., of Columbia University. She developed an ingenious agency to assay out the tau protein's potential powerfulness to transfer to together with harm neighboring cells, eliminating many of the other factors that select confounded prior tests. By using microscopic chambers that let increase together with testing of isolated pairs of neurons, Wu tin report the outcome of a unmarried sick neuron on a unmarried neighboring cell. Such a finding would illuminate a novel degree of cellular processes that powerfulness survive harnessed to forestall the spread of Alzheimer's affliction inside a person's brain.
As exciting equally the novel inquiry is, AHAF officials caution that if Alzheimer's affliction is to survive eradicated, to a greater extent than inquiry funding is needed. There must survive a greater public-private partnership.
"These are hard times for the Alzheimer's affliction inquiry community," said AHAF Vice President of Scientific Affairs Guy Eakin, Ph.D. "Finding regime funding is tough now, together with to a greater extent than researchers are looking to individual funding sources similar AHAF than e'er before. But nosotros can't run across all the need. We received 332 grant proposals, involving 700 scientists at 213 organizations. The projects nosotros funded are impressive, just many promising proposals had to survive declined."Added CEO Haller, "We're proud of AHAF's unique role inward fostering breakthroughs inward Alzheimer's affliction research. To date, AHAF has awarded to a greater extent than than $78 ane chiliad k to researchers studying Alzheimer's disease, including the early on operate of 2 Nobel Prize-winning scientists. But nix less than a national commitment to Alzheimer's affliction inquiry funding volition fissure the code of this disease."
Haller cited equally progress recent actions on Capitol Hill together with inward the White House. The executive branch is implementing a National Alzheimer's Plan, required nether legislation passed yesteryear Congress, with a finish of preventing or treating the affliction yesteryear the yr 2025. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bipartisan grouping inward Congress has likewise unveiled the Spending Reductions through Innovations inward Therapies (SPRINT) Act, intended to spur populace together with individual inquiry funding.
With today's announced grants, AHAF is similar a shot funding 54 Alzheimer's affliction inquiry projects worldwide, along with 62 other inquiry projects on degenerative optic diseases. These include 21 novel grants on glaucoma together with macular degeneration research, to survive announced yesteryear AHAF after this month.
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Since its inception, AHAF has provided to a greater extent than than $120 ane chiliad k to fund inquiry on age-related degenerative diseases. For data on AHAF-funded research, catch www.ahaf.org/research/grants.
About the American Health Assistance Foundation
The American Health Assistance Foundation (www.ahaf.org) is a nonprofit organisation dedicated to finding cures for age-related degenerative diseases yesteryear funding inquiry worldwide nether its iii programme areas: Alzheimer's Disease Research, Macular Degeneration Research, together with National Glaucoma Research. AHAF likewise provides populace data almost these diseases, including run a endangerment factors, preventative lifestyles, electrical flow treatments, together with coping strategies.
To larn to a greater extent than almost age-related affliction research, catch www.ahaf.org/research or telephone telephone 800-437-2423. Stay connected to ground-breaking inquiry tidings yesteryear signing upward for AHAF eAlerts at www.ahaf.org/news. To follow AHAF on Twitter together with Facebook catch www.ahaf.org/connect.
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Original content Bob DeMarco, the