BrainBlog

Becker RE & Greig NH. Alzheimer's disease drug development in 2008 and beyond: Problems and opportunities. Current Alzheimer Research . 2008 Aug; 5(4): 346-357. Drug Design & Development Section, Laboratory of Neurosciences, Intramural Research Program, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA. Recently, a number of Alzheimer's disease (AD) multi-center clinical trials (CT) have failed to provide statistically significant evidence of drug efficacy. To test for possible design or execution flaws we analyzed in detail CTs for two failed drugs that were strongly supported by preclinical evidence and by proven CT AD efficacy for other drugs in their class. Studies of the failed commercial trials suggest that methodological flaws may contribute to the failures and that these flaws lurk within current drug development practices ready to impact other AD drug development [1]. To identify and counter risks we considered the relevance...

A press release from the NIH earlier today: NIA and McKnight Brain Research Foundation Join Forces to Support Cognitive Aging Research The Research Partnership in Cognitive Aging is a newly launched public-private effort to support current and emerging research on age-related changes in the brain and cognition. Jointly funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation , through the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH), this effort is expected to award an estimated $20 million in research grants over the next five years. The research partnership is aimed at expanding understanding of how we think, learn and remember with age and at developing interventions to maintain cognitive health as we grow older. Read the full release

Christodoulou C, Junghaenel DU, Dewalt DA, Rothrock N, & Stone AA. Cognitive interviewing in the evaluation of fatigue items: Results from the patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS). Quality of Life Research. 2008 Oct 12. [Epub ahead of print] Department of Neurology, HSC T12-028, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794-8121. OBJECTIVES: Cognitive Interviewing (CI) is a technique increasingly used to obtain respondent feedback on potential items during questionnaire development. No standard guidelines exist by which to incorporate CI feedback in deciding to retain, revise, or eliminate potential items. We used CI in developing fatigue items for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Roadmap initiative. Our aims were to describe the CI process, formally evaluate the utility of decisions made on the basis of CI, and offer suggestions for future research. METHODS: Participants were ...

Today is election day in Canada. Vote! Here is a discussion of one of the health care issues in Canada: a shortage in the number of physicians: From The CBC: Why MDs are scarce and what can be done about it Read the article

From The BBC: Internet use 'good for the brain' Read the full article [snip] Lead researcher Professor Gary Small said: "The study results are encouraging, that emerging computerized technologies may have physiological effects and potential benefits for middle-aged and older adults. "Internet searching engages complicated brain activity, which may help exercise and improve brain function." The latest study was based on 24 volunteers aged between 55 and 76. Half were experienced internet users, the rest were not. Each volunteer underwent a brain scan while performing web searches and book-reading tasks. Both types of task produced evidence of significant activity in regions of the brain controlling language, reading, memory and visual abilities. However, the web search task produced significant additional activity in separate areas of the brain which control decision-making and complex reasoning - but only in those who were experienced web users. The researchers ...

Tinetti ME, McAvay GJ, Fried TR, Allore HG, Salmon JC, Foody JM, Bianco L, Ginter S, & Fraenkel L. Health outcome priorities among competing cardiovascular, fall injury, and medication-related symptom outcomes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 2008 Aug; 56(8): 1409-1416. Epub 2008 Jul 24. Department of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology, New Haven, Connecticut 06504, USA. OBJECTIVES: To determine the priority that older adults with coexisting hypertension and fall risk give to optimizing cardiovascular outcomes versus fall- and medication symptom-related outcomes. DESIGN: Interview. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twenty-three cognitively intact persons aged 70 and older with hypertension and fall risk. MEASUREMENTS: Discrete choice task was used to elicit the relative importance placed on reducing the risk of three outcomes: cardiovascular events, serious fall injuries, and medication symptoms. Risk estimates with and without antihypertensive medication...