The Brain: Alzheimer's and dementia news and discussions

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Alzheimer's drug gets FDA panel's backing, setting the stage for broader use
Source: AP

By MATTHEW PERRONE today

WASHINGTON (AP) — Health advisers on Friday unanimously backed the full approval of a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug, a key step toward opening insurance coverage to U.S. seniors with early stages of the brain-robbing disease.

The drug, Leqembi, received conditional approval from the Food and Drug Administration in January based on early results suggesting it could slow Alzheimer’s progression by several months. The FDA now is reviewing more definitive results to decide whether the drug should receive the agency’s full endorsement.

The decision carries extra significance because insurers have held off on paying for the infused treatment until it has full FDA approval.

The FDA panel of outside advisers voted 6-0 that a large company study confirmed the drug’s benefits for patients with mild or early Alzheimer’s. The nonbinding vote amounts to a recommendation for full approval, and the FDA is scheduled to issue a final decision on the matter by July 6.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/leqembi-alzh ... 219cee6fa7

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Presence hallucinations: An early predictor of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-06- ... itive.html
by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne

Have you ever felt the strong sensation that someone is behind you, so intense that you turn around, only to see that no-one is there? This is a "presence hallucination." Presence hallucinations are particularly frequent but under reported in patients with Parkinson's disease and may appear early on in the course of the disease. They are sometimes ignored by the patient, by clinicians, or brushed off as a simple side-effect of medication.

Now, EPFL scientists have found that patients recently diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and who have early hallucinations are at greater risk of faster cognitive decline. The results are published in Nature Mental Health.

"We now know that early hallucinations are to be taken seriously in Parkinson's disease," says Olaf Blanke, Bertarelli Chair in Cognitive Neuroprosthetics, who leads EPFL's Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience. "If you have Parkinson's disease and experience hallucinations, even minor ones, then you should share this information with your doctor as soon as possible," explains Fosco Bernasconi of EPFL's Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and lead author of the study. "So far, we only have evidence linking cognitive decline and early hallucinations for Parkinson's disease, but it could also be valid for other neurodegenerative diseases."

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FDA approves Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, paving way for broader Medicare coverage
Source: CNBC

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi, a pivotal decision that is expected to expand access to the expensive drug for older Americans.

Medicare has promised to start covering Leqembi, with some conditions, on the same day the FDA approves the antibody treatment. Leqembi is made by Japanese pharmaceutical company Eisai and its Cambridge, Massachusetts, partner, Biogen.

Leqembi is the first Alzheimer’s antibody treatment to receive full FDA approval. It is also the first such drug that is expected to receive broad coverage through Medicare.

Medicare coverage is a crucial step to help older Americans with early Alzheimer’s disease pay for the treatment. With a median income of about $30,000, most people on Medicare cannot afford the $26,500 annual price of Leqembi set by Eisai without insurance coverage.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/06/fda-app ... iogen.html

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Study optimizes patient-specific stem cell-based therapy for Parkinson's disease
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07- ... erapy.html
by The Scripps Research Institute

Scientists from Scripps Research and Cardiff University have made key discoveries in support of a new stem cell-based therapy for Parkinson's disease. The approach, called an autologous therapy, uses induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs)—made from a patient's own skin or blood cells—to replace the neurons in the brain that are lost in Parkinson's. Transplants of a person's own cells eliminates the need for immunosuppression.

In a new study, the researchers used iPSCs made from the skin cells of two people with Parkinson's disease to make young neurons that were successfully transplanted into a rat model with the disease. They used the animal model to pinpoint exactly at what stage of development the iPSC-derived neurons should be transplanted to become mature neurons that can reverse signs of disease in the rat brai

n.

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Hydrangea compound inhibits buildup of Alzheimer's-associated protein
By Paul McClure
July 27, 2023
https://newatlas.com/medical/hydrangea- ... s-plaques/

A new study has found that a substance extracted from the leaves of the hydrangea plant could be an effective treatment against the protein plaques that are thought to contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.

Much recent research has concentrated on developing treatments to slow or reverse Alzheimer’s disease (AD). With studies suggesting a link between brain plaques caused by the aggregation of amyloid beta protein and cognitive decline, many potential treatments have focused on addressing this particular brain pathology.

Now, researchers from Sahmyook University, South Korea, have found that a naturally occurring substance found in hydrangea leaves shows great promise in treating the amyloid beta plaques thought to contribute to AD.

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Popular Bodybuilding Supplement Might Help Slow Cognitive Decline
A study involving mice found that HMB, a muscle growth and performance-enhancing supplement, boosts hippocampus health and reduces plaques between neurons.
By Adrianna Nine August 2, 2023
https://www.extremetech.com/science/pop ... ve-decline

A common bodybuilding supplement, HMB, might do more than help with those gains. In a collaborative study between Nevada’s Simmaron Research Institute and Rush University in Illinois, researchers found that beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate slows cognitive decline in mice. If the same benefit extends to humans, the supplement could help aging adults stave off dementia.

In a paper published in the journal Cell Reports, a team of neurologists writes that HMB—typically used by athletes to boost performance and muscle growth—binds with PPAR-alpha, a nuclear hormone receptor in the brain's hippocampus region. Responsible for energy homeostasis, PPAR-alpha regulates how fats are metabolized. This process is vital to its newly-discovered role in slowing cognitive decline.

People with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive losses have shown low levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factors (BDNFs), a protein essential to the hippocampus’s function. Because the hippocampus is responsible for memory formation and retrieval, a relative lack of BDNFs is believed to impact a person’s ability to recall long-term memories, keep track of their belongings, or perform other cognitive tasks many take for granted. But HMB appears to help replenish the BDNF supplies that people with Alzheimer’s lack.

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New neuroimaging approach could improve diagnosis of schizophrenia

by Georgia State University
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... renia.html

New research led by scientists working with Georgia State University's TReNDS Center has identified age-related changes in brain patterns associated with the risk for developing schizophrenia.

The discovery could help clinicians identify the risk for developing mental illness earlier and improve treatment options. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The research is part of a collaboration by experts from the University of Bari Aldo Moro, the Lieber Institute of Brain Development and the Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS) based at Georgia State University.

The study used new analytic approaches developed at the TReNDS center. Researchers used a hybrid, data-driven method called Neuromark to extract reliable brain networks from the neuroimaging data which were then further analyzed in the study.

Researchers started with functional MRI scans (fMRI) to detect age-related changes in brain connectivity and their association with schizophrenia risk. The research identified high-risk individuals for developing psychosis during late adolescence and early adulthood.

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Research discovers key cause of restricted blood flow to the brain in vascular dementia
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... cular.html
by British Heart Foundation

Groundbreaking new research has uncovered a potential route to developing the first ever drug treatments for vascular dementia, that directly target a cause of the condition. The research, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has shed light on how high blood pressure causes changes to arteries in the brain, a process that leads to the devastating condition.

High blood pressure is a main cause of vascular dementia, a condition characterized by poor blood flow to the brain. The reduced blood supply starves brain cells of nutrients and over time they become damaged and die. Symptoms of vascular dementia include loss of energy, lack of concentration and poor memory.

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Scientists harness the power of AI to shed light on different types of Parkinson's disease
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... inson.html
by The Francis Crick Institute

Researchers at the Francis Crick Institute and UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, working with technology company Faculty AI, have shown that machine learning can accurately predict subtypes of Parkinson's disease using images of patient-derived stem cells.

Their work, published in Nature Machine Intelligence, has shown that computer models can accurately classify four subtypes of Parkinson's disease, with one reaching an accuracy of 95%. This could pave the way for personalized medicine and targeted drug discovery.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative condition impacting movement and cognition. Symptoms and disease progression vary from person to person due to differences in the underlying mechanisms causing the disease.

Until now there hasn't been a way to accurately differentiate subtypes, which means people are given nonspecific diagnoses and don't always have access to targeted treatments, support or care.

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Study proposes use of artificial intelligence to diagnose autism spectrum disorder
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... order.html
by Ricardo Muniz, FAPESP

Diagnosing autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is still a daunting challenge because of the degree of complexity involved, requiring highly specialized professionals. Autism is a multifactorial neurodevelopment disorder with widely varying symptoms. In the United States, about 1 in 36 children have been diagnosed with ASD, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and yet there are no biochemical markers to identify it with precision. A quantitative diagnostic method is proposed by Brazilian researchers in an article published in the journal Scientific Reports.

The study was based on brain imaging data for 500 people, about half of whom (242) had been diagnosed with ASD. Machine learning techniques were applied to the data.

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Study adds to evidence that Parkinson's starts in the gut
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... n-gut.html
by Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Ask any neurologist: Parkinson's disease is a brain disorder. The conspicuous symptoms of Parkinson's disease—uncontrollable tremors, slowed down motions, and the feeling that one's feet are stuck to the ground—all stem from the loss of neurons in a region of the brain that helps control movement.

But many researchers believe that the neurodegenerative disorder may get started far away from the brain—in the gut—and years before the first neurological signs appear.

New findings by Columbia researchers David Sulzer, Ph.D., and Dritan Agalliu, Ph.D., and two of their graduate students are adding to evidence backing this hypothesis—and showing that what triggers initial gastrointestinal changes in Parkinson's could be a misdirected immune attack.

"If this is the beginning of Parkinson's in many people, we could potentially identify who has the disease before it ever reaches the brain and hopefully stop it in its tracks," Sulzer says. The new findings were published Aug. 18 in Neuron.

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Also:

Eye scans detect signs of Parkinson's disease up to seven years before diagnosis

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... years.html

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A fitness tracker for brain health: How a headband can identify early signs of Alzheimer's disease in your sleep
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... early.html
by CU Anschutz Medical Campus

Researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Washington University in St. Louis have identified a way to assess brain activity in sleep that occurs in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease, typically many years prior to developing symptoms of dementia.

The digital biomarker uses electroencephalography (EEG) that can be recorded from simple headband devices to detect brain wave patterns related to memory reactivation in sleep, which are part of a system that processes memories in deep sleep.

Study results published today in Alzheimer's & Dementia identify a relationship between EEG readings and levels of specific molecular changes indicative of pre-symptomatic Alzheimer's disease. Additional findings further demonstrate that early stages of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease can be detected in the EEG signals.

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New risk score strongly predicts dementia chances within 14 years

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... years.html

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New study finds genetic factor fends off Alzheimer's and Parkinson's
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... inson.html
by Bruce Goldman, Stanford University Medical Center

About one in every five people carries a version of a gene that—although largely unsung—appears to confer protection against both Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, Stanford Medicine investigators and their colleagues have learned. These lucky people may someday benefit all the more from a vaccine that could slow or stall the progression of these two most common neurodegenerative conditions.

An analysis of medical and genetic data from hundreds of thousands of people of diverse ancestries from several continents has revealed that carrying this gene version, or allele, reduced people's chances of contracting either Parkinson's or Alzheimer's by more than 10% on average.

The evidence suggest that a protein called tau, which is notorious for aggregating in the brains of Alzheimer's patients, may also be involved, in some mysterious way, in the development of Parkinson's disease.

The findings and implications are described in a paper published online Aug. 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Emmanuel Mignot, MD, Ph.D., the Craig Reynolds Professor in Sleep Medicine and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, shares senior authorship with Michael Greicius, MD, the Iqbal Farrukh and Asad Jamal Professor and a professor of neurology and neurological sciences, and Jean-Charles Lambert, Ph.D., director of research for Inserm at the University of Lille in France. Lead authors are Yann Le Guen, Ph.D., assistant director of computational biology in Stanford Medicine's quantitative sciences unit; Guo Luo, Ph.D., an instructor of sleep medicine; former postdoctoral scholar Aditya Ambati, Ph.D.; and Vincent Damotte, Ph.D., a bioinformatician associated with Lambert's group.

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New blood test detects a key indicator of Parkinson's disease
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-08- ... sease.html
by Duke University Medical Center

Researchers have developed a blood test that detects Parkinson's disease, potentially establishing a way to help diagnose the condition before nervous system damage worsens.

A new blood-based diagnostic test would be a major advancement for Parkinson's disease, which afflicts 10 million people worldwide and is the second-most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's. Led by a team of Duke Health neuroscientists, the study appeared Aug. 30 in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

"Currently, Parkinson's disease is diagnosed largely based on clinical symptoms after significant neurological damage has already occurred," said senior author Laurie Sanders, Ph.D., an associate professor in Duke School of Medicine's departments of Neurology and Pathology and member of the Duke Center for Neurodegeneration and Neurotherapeutics.

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Measuring children's looking behavior yields new tool to help diagnose autism earlier
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09- ... utism.html
by Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Results of clinical studies published simultaneously in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and in JAMA Network Open demonstrate that measuring children's looking behavior predicts expert clinical diagnosis of autism in children between ages 16 to 30 months tested with a high degree of accuracy.

According to researchers from Marcus Autism Center, a subsidiary of Children's Health care of Atlanta, this new tool can help clinicians diagnose autism earlier while also providing objective measurements of each child's strengths and vulnerabilities, to help jumpstart effective support for child and family.

"The results show that the way in which young children look at social information can serve as an effective and objective biomarker for early signs of autism," says Warren Jones, Ph.D., lead author, Director of Research at Marcus Autism Center at Children's Health care of Atlanta and Nien Distinguished Chair in Autism at Emory University School of Medicine.

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Exercise-induced hormone irisin may reduce Alzheimer's disease plaque and tangle pathology in the brain
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-09- ... sease.html
by Massachusetts General Hospital

Researchers who previously developed the first 3D human cell culture models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that displays two major hallmarks of the condition—the generation of amyloid beta deposits followed by tau tangles—have now used their model to investigate whether the exercise-induced muscle hormone irisin affects amyloid beta pathology.

As reported in the journal Neuron, the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH)–led team has uncovered promising results suggesting that irisin-based therapies might help combat AD.

Physical exercise has been shown to reduce amyloid beta deposits in various mouse models of AD, but the mechanisms involved have remained a mystery.

Exercise increases circulating levels of the muscle-derived hormone irisin, which regulates glucose and lipid metabolism in fat tissue and increases energy expenditure by accelerating the browning of white fat tissue.