LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Disease: Familial Alzheimers
built 628 days ago
SALT LAKE CITY, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Nasdaq: MYGN), announced today that its Alzheimer's disease candidate drug, MPC-7869 (R-flurbiprofen) reduces levels of Abeta42 more effectively than any other compound tested, according to a new study. Abeta42 is the primary constituent of senile plaques that accumulate in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. It is thought to be the key initiator of Alzheimer's disease since this peptide has the tendency to aggregate, cause neuronal damage and initiate amyloid deposits in the brain. Myriad believes that lowering the toxic Abeta42 peptide is a highly promising area of anti-Alzheimer's disease drug development, and MPC-7869 is now in a 200-patient Phase II human clinical trial.
Source:
It is not a simple procedure to diagnose Alzheimer's disease, and despite all the medical progress since the time of Alois Alzheimer, the "best" method for determining whether someone has the condition is hardly a good one. The only possible physical procedure for definitively diagnosing Alzheimer's disease is to open the skull and remove a sample of brain tissue for microscopic examination. This is rarely done, of course, because brain surgery is far too drastic a procedure for simply obtaining a sample of tissue.
Source:
Point mutations in the alpha-synuclein gene have previously been linked to the development of familial forms of Parkinson's disease. This led to the discovery that the encoded protein is a major component of Lewy bodies, the cellular inclusions in surviving brain cells. Lewy bodies are the key pathologic hallmark of sporadic Parkinson's disease and related disorders, including dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple system atrophy and neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation.
Source:
Medications currently available to treat Alzheimer's disease include acetylcholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl-D aspartate receptor antagonists. Both types of medications only treat symptoms of the disease - they do not stop the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
Familial Alzheimers