A gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease

( This would not be a cure for AD, but a way of slowing it down )

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University Hospitals Case Medical Center is one of 12 sites conducting the first Phase 2 clinical trial of a gene therapy for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The study uses a viral-based gene transfer system called CERE-110, which is designed to deliver nerve growth factor (NGF) into the brain. University Hospitals (UH) is the only site in the Midwest for the study. The study is sponsored by a contract to Case Western Reserve University from the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) through a grant from the National Institute on Aging in association with Ceregene, Inc., which developed and will provide the active agent CERE-110.

NGF is a naturally occurring protein that may prevent nerve cells in the brain from dying and may help these cells function better. During the study, CERE-110 will be injected by a neurosurgeon into the nucleus basalis of Meynert, an area of the brain where nerve cells die in patients with AD.

"A small study in humans showed that CERE-110 was generally safe and well-tolerated," said Alan J. Lerner, M.D., principal investigator of the Cleveland site, director of the UH Neurological Institute Memory and Cognition Center, and a professor of neurology at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

The Phase 2 study will evaluate whether the therapy is safe for a larger group of patients and whether it helps the symptoms of AD. In total, 50 patients will be enrolled throughout the United States and UH aims to enroll at least five patients in this study.

"Should the clinical development of this therapy be successful, CERE-110 could offer the possibility of delaying the course of Alzheimer's disease, a real improvement over existing therapies," said Dr. Lerner. "This would not be a cure for AD, but a way of slowing it down."

Participants in the Phase 2 study will be randomly placed into one of two treatment groups, with half of the subjects receiving CERE-110 and the other half receiving placebo surgery. At the completion of the trial, subjects in the placebo arm may have the opportunity to receive the active treatment if the product seems safe and effective.

To be eligible for this study, participants must have mild to moderate AD and be in good health. For a more complete list of eligibility and exclusion requirements, please see the Web site. Participants will be screened to determine if they are eligible for the study. ...http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/175495.php

Calcium may boost flavour of low-sugar, -salt foods

Compounds that activate calcium receptors on the tongue may enhance the flavour of low-sugar or low-salt foods, thereby reducing the need for extra flavourings, says a new study from Ajinomoto. ... ...http://www.nutraingredients.com/

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Ginkgo biloba: no effect in Alzheimer's reducing

( a twice-daily dose of 120 milligrams of ginkgo biloba extract )

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The popular botanical ginkgo biloba does not improve memory nor does it prevent cognitive decline in older people, according to the largest and longest scientific study ever undertaken to look at the supplement. An extract derived from the ginkgo tree, ginkgo biloba has been touted since the 1970s by the supplement industry and others as an aid to improving memory, cognitive impairment, dementia and Alzheimer's disease. Ginkgo extract has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for more than 500 years, according to the American Botanical Council.

The study finding is "disappointing news," says Steven DeKosky, dean of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the study's senior author. The only positive thing the researchers found is that ginkgo appears to be safe, he says. The results are from the Ginkgo Evaluation of Memory study, funded by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a center of the National Institutes of Health. The randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled study was conducted at six medical centers and involved more than 3,000 people between ages 72 and 96 for seven years. The report is in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

The first set of results from the study, published last year, found that a twice-daily dose of 120 milligrams of ginkgo biloba extract was not effective in reducing the incidence of Alzheimer's dementia or dementia overall. This new paper looked at the same results to see if ginkgo biloba extract had any effect on cognitive decline in older adults, specifically memory, visual-spatial construction, language, attention, psychomotor speed and executive function. It found no effect.

"It just continues to show that in properly designed, placebo-controlled studies, we can't seem to find an effect for ginkgo biloba," says Lon Schneider, an Alzheimer's and gerontology expert at the University of Southern California. The size of this study is larger than all previous ginkgo biloba studies combined, he says. Douglas MacKay, vice president for scientific and regulatory affairs at the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a supplement industry trade group, disputes the study's findings. "There is a large body of previously published evidence, as well as ongoing trials, which suggest that ginkgo biloba is effective for helping to improve cognitive impairment in older adults," he says. ...http://www.freep.com

EFSA rejects kids’ probiotic gut health claim

A dossier containing 13 randomised controlled trials, 6 observational studies, and 15 non-human studies has failed to impress European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) scientists because the four strains in question were not sufficiently characterised... ...http://www.nutraingredients.com/

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Amyloid Beta Reduces Plasticity Related To Synaptic Signaling

( Aβ is required to prevent plasticity )

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The early stages of Alzheimer's disease are thought to occur at the synapse, since synapse loss is associated with memory dysfunction. Evidence suggests that amyloid beta (Aβ) plays an important role in early synaptic failure, but little has been understood about Aβ's effect on the plasticity of dendritic spines.

These spines are short outgrowths of dendrites (extensions of neurons) that relay electrical impulses in the brain. A single neuron's dendrite contains hundreds of thousands of spines, providing memory storage and transmission of signals across the synapse – the junction where such nerve impulses occur. Plasticity of these spines, or the ability to change and grow, is essential for the transmission of signaling in the brain.

Researchers led by Roberto Malinow, MD, PhD, professor of neurosciences and Shiley-Marcos Endowed Professor in Alzheimer's Disease Research at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have shed more light on how Aβ's destructive effects on the brain are related to its impact on the plasticity of dentritic spines. Their study was published on December 27 in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The researchers have shown that if Aβ is over-produced by either the pre-or post-synaptic side of the axon, it can cause destructive effects. Secondly, these effects are over a distances of about 10 microns of the neuron – affecting thousands and thousands of synapses.

"We found that amyloid beta affects structural and not just functional, plasticity," said Malinow. "Normally, plasticity can be induced, which makes synapses stronger and bigger, but amyloid beta prevents this."

According to Malinow, it also appears that continuous release of Aβ is required to prevent plasticity. "Even a short window of 30 to 60 minutes without Aβ secretion is enough to permit plasticity to occur," he said. As Aβ's effect on the dendritic spines – critical for memory – had been thought to be irreversible, this shows that there is a hope of change if scientists learn how to stop the secretion of Aβ at synaptic sites. Our results show that the continuous production of Aβ at dendrites or axons acts locally to reduce the number and plasticity of synapses," Malinow concluded. ...http://www.redorbit.com

Coffee, tea may slash diabetes risk

Drinking three to four coffee and tea may reduce the risk of developing diabetes by 25 per cent, says a new review and meta-analysis of the data to date... ...http://www.nutraingredients.com/

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Early onset Alzheimer's

( stopped doing - the first of several red flags )

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Helen Thomson-Patterson and her partner Ron Patterson met after their spouses were diagnosed with Alzheimer s disease and later died. This is the first in a five-part series about the families of those living with Alzheimer's disease.

WOODSTOCK-- It's an unlikely friendship, cemented with plenty of laughter and tears.

Three Woodstock friends, drawn together by the devastating effects of early onset Alzheimer's disease, came together in early September to recount the diagnosis that changed the course of their lives. Instead of spending their early retirement years travelling and indulging in favourite hobbies, Helen Thomson-Patterson, Ron Patterson, who would eventually marry Helen, and friend George Kent spent it caring for their spouses. "We were all through this journey together, just at different stages," Thomson-Patterson said. She and her husband, Reg Thomson, were on sabbatical when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease at age 56. "He was having difficulty remembering; he became very quiet," Thomson-Patterson described. Reg was a veterinary pathologist and the founder of the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, P.E.I. She recalls how at different functions her husband would regularly escort Thomson-Patterson around to introduce her to different people. "He stopped doing that," she said of the first of several red flags. Reg rarely spoke while battling Alzheimer's disease. She thinks it was mainly so he didn't embarrass her. "That why he stopped talking. He said he couldn't remember names,'" she said.

Thomson also found himself experiencing problems finishing the manuscript for his third book. "He was really distressed," Thomson-Patterson said. "He just couldn't do it." In Charlottetown, they would go for long walks on Cavendish Beach. Thomson-Patterson would watch as he filled his shorts with rocks, sometimes so many he could hardly walk.

The couple, both born and raised in Woodstock, met while attending WCI and married in 1958. After Thomson's diagnosis, they returned to their birthplace, where life became very quiet and their social life "was kind of nil." It was during this time Thomson-Patterson joined a support group at the Alzheimer Society of Oxford and met the group of friends that helped her navigate this difficult period in her life. "We were really buddies," she said of the relationship between the three of them. "We have had a laot of laughs and a lot of tears." It surprised her how her new friends helped her with even the simplest of tasks, like how to tie a tie for her husband on the odd occasion he needed one. "Because you're so stressed out, it's hard to see simple solutions," she said. Their support helped immensely during the times she felt most alone. "The only rest I had was when he went to bed," Thomson-Patterson said of caring for her husband. "I used to go out in the car and scream."

Despite the confusion that engulfed her first husband's mind, there were occasional moments of clarity, when he'd look at her with tears in his eyes. "It was almost more painful than not having it," she said. But eventually he became more aggressive and she began to feel unsafe. "He never hit me but it came close to that," she said. A turning point came the day her husband fell down the stairs. Bleeding, he obviously needed care. "He wouldn't let me near him," she said. Thomson died in 2002, after spending six-and-a-half-years in Woodingford Lodge. "I was there every night," she said. "I went up and fed him at 5 p.m. and wheeled him out." When he finally died, Thom-sonPatterson experienced a combination of "grief and relief." "He was finally out of his prison," she said. But Thomson-Patterson's worries are not over.

Her three daughters are susceptible to the disease, which has a genetic component. "One of my daughters is going to get it," she said. "I have pain knowing what my daughter will be going through." Patterson, now Thomson-Patterson's husband, said his wife Anna's memory problems were hard to detect at first. As a switchboard operator at Woodstock General Hospital, she eventually could not cover it up. "If she had to call a code, it overwhelmed her," he said.

She was diagnosed in 1989 at age 56. Patterson already knew far more than he should about the disease -- his grandmother, mother, aunt, uncle and a brother and sister had all died from Alzheimer's. Ironically, he has escaped a diagnosis, even though his first wife did not. It's a frustrating circumstance for Patterson, who watched his wife lose interest in reading, television and even cooking after a plate exploded on the stove. "It happened so fast; it was very hard to face," he said. "It makes me feel like they should be doing more research to come up with a cure." To escape the stress, Patterson would get up at 4 a.m. to putter in his workshop until Anna woke up.

Everyday she became more childlike. She called herself Anna Banana -- a pet name her father had called her as a child -- and repeated childhood rhymes. "In a way, she regressed back to childhood," he said. Married in 2004, Thomson-Patterson and her second husband describe their life together as "a bit of an adjustment." "When you're older, you're set in your ways," Thomson-Patterson said. Thomson-Patterson said now she has new health worries about her second husband, who has had two heart bypasses.

George Kent's wife, Florence, was diagnosed in 1987 at age 54 with early onset Alzheimer's disease, but he suspected she had had it for years. Originally from Ingersoll, the couple migrated to Woodstock to be closer to their new doctor and the Alzheimer Society. Slowly, the disease took its toll. "She became very confused, even about operating a stove," he said. "I think the worst of it was it was 24-7. You couldn't be free unless you went or someone came in." Finally, Florence also wound up in long-term care at Woodingford Lodge.

Kent and Thomson-Patterson were in for a strange twist of fate when their respective spouses latched onto each other. At dances, her husband Reg would only dance with Florence. "(Reg) didn't want to have anything to do with me," Thom-sonPatterson said. Common in Alzheimer's patients, the new attachments can be exceedingly painful for their spouses. "It hurts," Thomson-Patterson said. "Then common sense kicks in and you realize this isn't the same person." Kent said throughout Florence's battle with the disease, her face appeared lined and stressed from the disease. "I think they have pain in their head from the Alzheimer's disease," he said. Florence died four years ago in Woodstock General Hospital. "Her face looked so peaceful," Kent said. ...http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com

NutraIngredients big hitters for 2009

On our last publishing day of the year, NutraIngredients presents those stories that have had the biggest impact on you, our readers. ... ...http://www.nutraingredients.com/

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The synapses is a future of Alzheimer's disease

( the health of synapses and their activity levels )

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US scientists believe they have uncovered one of the mechanisms that enables the brain to form memories.

Synapses - where brain cells connect with each other - have long been known to be the key site of information exchange and storage in the brain. But researchers say they have now learnt how molecules at the site of the synapse behave to cement a memory. It is hoped the research, published in Neuron, could aid the development of drugs for diseases like Alzheimer's. The deteriorating health of the synapses is increasingly thought to be a feature of Alzheimer's, a disease in which short-term memory suffers before long-term recollections are affected. A strong synapse is needed for cementing a memory, and this process involves making new proteins. But how exactly the body controls this process has not been clear.

Now scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara say their laboratory work on rats shows the production of proteins needed to cement memories can only happen when the RNA - the collection of molecules that take genetic messages from the nucleus to the rest of the cell - is switched on. Until it is required, the RNA is paralysed by a "silencing" molecule - which itself contains proteins. When an external signal comes in - for example when one sees something interesting or has an unusual experience - the silencing molecule fragments and the RNA is released.

Kenneth Kosik of the university's neuroscience research institute said: "One reason why this is interesting is that scientists have been perplexed for some time as to why, when synapses are strengthened, you have the degradation of proteins going on side by side with the synthesis of new proteins. "So we have now resolved this paradox. We show that protein degradation and synthesis go hand in hand. The degradation permits the synthesis." Identifying the proteins the brain needs in order to cement the memory could ultimately have benefits for those suffering from memory disorders. Rebecca Wood, head of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "Scientists say they have studied nerve cells in the laboratory and learnt more about how specific proteins may have a role in areas of the brain that transmit messages and help us store memories. "This interesting development could give a greater understanding of the memory loss experienced by people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia and lead to new treatments."

The most recent projections suggest 115 million people across the globe will suffer from dementia by 2050. Julie Williams, professor of psychological medicine at Cardiff University, said: "Our increasing understanding of genetic risk factors in Alzheimer's is pointing to the synapses so any new study in this area is welcome. "Alzheimer's is a complicated disease and it is early days, but the health of synapses and their activity levels is becoming an important and interesting focus of research." ...http://news.bbc.co.uk

Pomegranate: a secret weapon

The secret to beating the superbug MRSA could be found in the humble pomegranate, scientists believe. They have created an ointment which harnesses chemicals contained in the fruit’s rind to tackle drug-resistant infections. Researchers have found that mixing pomegranate rind with other natural products – vitamin C and metal salts – increased its infection-fighting properties still further.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1238745/Could-humble-pomegranate-secret-weapon-fight-MRSA.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0auvbwST6...

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Coffee consumption reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease

( caffeine is the star ingredient )

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Of all the relationships in my life, the bumpiest by far has been the one with coffee.

There was that first, tentative dalliance in college, followed by a serious commitment during my first real reporting job. There was the big break-up during my first pregnancy, followed by the latte-a-day habit I fell into the second time I was expecting. Now, I often fall asleep at night dreaming of the delicious, satisfying cup of joe that awaits in the morning.

Can something that tastes and feels this good not be bad for you? Rest assured: Not only has current research shown that moderate coffee consumption isn’t likely to hurt you, it may actually have significant health benefits.

“Coffee is generally associated with a less health-conscious lifestyle — people who don’t sleep much, drink coffee, smoke, drink alcohol,” explains Rob van Dam, an assistant professor in the departments of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Early studies failed to account for such issues and thus found a link between drinking coffee and such conditions as heart disease and cancer, he said. “But as more studies have been conducted — larger and better studies — the totality of efforts suggests that coffee is a good beverage choice.”

Van Dam’s research, for example, found no evidence that coffee consumption had any effect on mortality from any cause, including cardiovascular disease or cancer, even for people who drink up to six cups a day.

He and his colleagues have also found that drinking coffee is associated with a reduced risk of liver disease and Type 2 diabetes. The latter is backed up by a study published this month in the Archives of Internal Medicine; it suggested that three to four cups of joe a day might reduce chances of developing Type 2 diabetes by roughly 25 percent.

Also this month, Harvard researchers unveiled new data suggesting that drinking coffee might lower men’s chances of developing aggressive prostate cancer by up to 60 percent, with the highest benefits for those who down the most java.

Other studies have shown that coffee consumption reduces the risk of a laundry list of ailments: stroke, Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, endometrial cancer, colon cancer and gallstones, for starters.

“The evidence is pretty clear,” says Daniel Burnett, a preventive medicine and family physician in Bethesda, Md., who notes that coffee intake can also improve mental and aerobic performance, endurance and mood while decreasing depressive symptoms.

While caffeine is the star ingredient for sleep-deprived students, parents and worker bees, the fact is that in many of these studies, including the research on diabetes and prostate cancer, positive effects are similar for those who drink decaf as well.

“Most of the benefits associated with coffee are not attributed to caffeine,” says van Dam, who explains that the beverage also contains antioxidants and quite a few vitamins and minerals. Which is not to say the bean has no downside. Doctors cite risks such as miscarriage and fertility, anxiety and sleep issues, and warn that pregnant women and those with blood pressure problems should cut back or avoid it.

Others are concerned about the potential for addiction. “My personal opinion on caffeine is that it’s the most widely used psychoactive drug in world,” says Daniel Evatt, a research fellow in the department of psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He notes that many people become tolerant to immediate perks such as alertness and increased energy, and then go through withdrawal, with headaches, low energy and other symptoms, when they try to quit.

“This is a substance that people can become dependent on, in the way they become dependent on other drugs.”

But those of us who tolerate our daily brew well can continue to happily caffeinate, within reason. “In terms of health risks, up to around six cups a day or so seems to be fine,” says van Dam. “I think coffee is on par with tea and water, and can be a healthy choice for most people.” By Carolyn Butler ...http://www.projo.com/lifebeat/content/lb-health_and_coffee_12-28-09_6SGSEV3_v10.285cf18.html

FDA's folic acid policy a success

A new study demonstrates that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has scored a policy success through getting the dosage for folic acid fortification of flour right in the US, and any excessive intake is people is due to supplement usage, according to the opinion piece in the American Journal... ...http://www.nutraingredients.com/

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