LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Disease: Alzheimer's Disease
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Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, and is characterized by the loss of mental function. The disease affects 4.8 million individuals in the United States alone, and over 25 million people worldwide. Twenty-five percent of the population over age 75 is affected. Common symptoms include a gradual loss of memory, problems with reasoning or judgment, disorientation, difficulty in learning, loss of language skills, and decline in the ability to perform routine tasks. The areas of the brain that control memory and thinking skills are affected first, but as the disease progresses, cells die in other regions of the brain. Eventually, the person with Alzheimer's disease will need comprehensive nursing care.
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Dimebon is an orally-available small molecule that has been shown to prevent the death of brain cells in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's disease, making it a novel potential treatment for these and other neurodegenerative diseases. Based on the clinical and preclinical data generated to date, Medivation believes that Dimebon operates by a novel mechanism of action and may exert a neuroprotective effect in multiple areas of the central nervous system. Dimebon appears to block a new target that involves mitochondrial pores, which are thought to play a role in the cell death that is associated with neurodegenerative diseases and the aging process.
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"We are delighted that our strategic partners, Merz Pharma KgaA and H. Lundbeck A/S, have received approval for the sale of Memantine in Europe to treat Alzheimer's Disease. It will be marketed under the name Ebixa®," commented Paul E. Freiman, president and chief executive officer of NTI. "The approval clearly validates the importance of Memantine as a new class of drugs which will be useful in dealing with this debilitating disease."
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Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia. It is a disease of the brain, characterized by deterioration of thinking ability and of memory, caused by the progressive death of brain cells. Alzheimer's disease accounts for approximately 64% of all dementias in Canada. The features of Alzheimer's disease include a gradual onset and continuing decline of memory, as well as changes in judgment or reasoning, and ability to perform familiar tasks. Other dementias include Vascular Dementia, Lewy body Dementia, Frontotemporal Dementia and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
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The goal of the small molecule program is to discover novel Alzheimer's disease modifying compounds based on the study of the mechanism of the disease's pathogenesis. Under the original agreement, Eisai has exclusive rights of first negotiation and refusal for validated compounds that are discovered through the research. TorreyPines and Eisai may enter into development agreements involving the validated compounds.
"Ebixa® is the first in a new class of medicine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, NMDA receptor antagonists. Ebixa elicits a clinically significant effect in patients with moderately severe and severe Alzheimer's disease. Ebixa® is expected to fulfill unmet needs within this group of patients -- for whom no approved therapy has been available until now.
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Alzheimer's Disease