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...

From the Nobel Prize website: Announcement of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The names of the year's Nobel Laureates in Physiology or Medicine are announced during a press conference at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. The announcement is webcast live here at Nobelprize.org ! The 2008 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine will be announced on Monday, October 6, 11:30 a.m. CET (at the earliest).

From a company press release : September 30, 2008 Media Contact: Greg Kelley, Feinstein Kean Healthcare (+++) +++-++++ Link Medicine Completes $40 million Series C Financing to Accelerate Development of First Disease-Modifying Treatments for Neurodegenerative Disorders Co-led by Clarus Ventures and SV Life Sciences,the Financing will Advance Preclinical and Clinical Programs CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - Link Medicine Corporation , a privately held biotechnology company advancing novel approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, announced today that it has obtained $40 million of Series C equity financing to help move its lead preclinical programs into human clinical testing. The round was funded by two leading biotechnology investors - Clarus Ventures and SV Life Sciences. Link Medicine, founded in March 2005, is focused on developing the first disease-modifying therapies for the treatment of several neurodegenerative diseases - including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Hunting...

Llambí L, Margolis A, Toews J, Dapueto J, Esteves E, Martínez E, Forster T, López A, & Lockyer J. Distance education for physicians: Adaptation of a Canadian experience to Uruguay. Journal of Continuing Education for Health Professionals. 2008 Spring; 28(2): 79-85. EviMed, Montevideo, Uruguay. INTRODUCTION: The production of online high-quality continuing professional development is a complex process that demands familiarity with effective program and content design. Collaboration and sharing across nations would appear to be a reasonable way to improve quality, increase access, and reduce costs. METHODS: In this case report, the process of adapting and modifying a course to improve the management of Alzheimer's disease developed for the Canadian context for use in Uruguay is described. RESULTS: Both quantitative and qualitative data on the process are shown. The original course was developed by the University of Calgary in the 1990s, and taught initially face to face and la...

Benzion Beilin; Dan Hoofien; Ravit Poran; Inbal Gral; Galina Grinevich; Berta Butin; Eduard Mayburd; & Yehuda Shavit. Comparison of two patient-controlled analgesia techniques on neuropsychological functioning in the immediate postoperative period. Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Volume 30, Issue 6, August 2008, 674-682. Pain may contribute to cognitive decline, which is a common complication in the early postoperative period. We compared the effects of two common pain management techniques, intravenous patient-controlled analgesia (PCA-IV) and patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA), on cognitive functioning in the immediate postoperative period. Patients hospitalized for elective surgery were randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups (30 patients per group). A battery of objective, standardized neuropsychological tests was administered preoperatively and 24 hours after surgery. Pain intensity was also evaluated. Nonoperated volunteers se...

The annual meeting of the National Academy of Neuropsychology (NAN) occurs next month in midtown Manhattan. Here is the conference's webpage: Link

From the CBC : Brain banks: Crucial for research, clamouring for donors Last Updated: Monday, September 22, 2008 | 7:56 AM ET By Gloria Troyer CBC News Read the full article [snip] Brain banks. The work they do is not widely publicized — most people who consider signing donor cards think along the lines of organs such as the hearts and kidneys for transplant — but it's crucial for many researchers trying to understand the causes and characteristics of myriad diseases. "Brain donations and brain banks are absolutely essential to neurological and psychiatric research," says Dr. Margaret Fahnestock, professor of neuroscience in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences at McMaster University in Hamilton. "One of the main reasons is that there are few to no good cellular or animal models of most neuropsychiatric conditions — schizophrenia and autism, for example," she says. "This is because we currently have a poor understanding of the cellular...

Frings L, Wagner K, Maiwald T, Carius A, Schinkel A, Lehmann C, & Schulze-Bonhage A. Early detection of behavioral side effects of antiepileptic treatment using handheld computers. Epilepsy and Behavior. 2008 Aug; 13(2) :402-406. Epilepsy Center, University Hospital of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany. OBJECTIVE: Treatment-emergent side effects are frequent events, particularly during the uptitration of antiepileptic drugs. So far, monitoring of such adverse events in outpatients has often been limited to intervals of weeks or months. We here report the application of a new device for temporally fine-grained assessment of objective well-being and cognitive performance using personal digital assistants (PDAs). METHODS: Twenty adult patients with epilepsy participated in this pilot study. Ten received add-on treatment with levetiracetam. Ten patients with constant medication served as a control group. Differences between groups with respect to self-rated cognitive condition, psychophysi...

Today is World Alzheimer's Day .

Public release date: 21-Sep-2008 American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology Quality assurance programs improve clinical trials Boston – Quality assurance programs like the one at the Quality Assurance Review Center (QARC) in Worcester, Mass. , strengthen the quality of clinical trials, including cooperative groups conducting National Cancer Institute-supported clinical trials, thereby improving the standard of care in cancer patients, according to a study presented September 21, 2008, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 50th Annual Meeting in Boston . The Quality Assurance Program, provided by QARC at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, was founded in 1980. The program's services include site credentialing to ensure that those looking to conduct clinical trials have the expertise, equipment and tools necessary to properly participate in research trials. The Quality Assurance Program also establishes benchmarks to monitor the...

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Dr. Robert Katzman dies at 82; neuroscientist identified Alzheimer's disease as a 'major killer' By Thomas H. Maugh II, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer Los Angeles Times September 20, 2008 Link Dr. Robert Katzman, the UC San Diego neuroscientist who pushed Alzheimer's disease into the public consciousness as a "major killer" and who co-founded the activist Alzheimer's Assn., died Tuesday at his home in La Jolla after a long illness. He was 82. Katzman played a major role in making San Diego one of the major centers for Alzheimer's research in the United States, if not the world, bringing prominent neuroscientists and major funding to a program that had been virtually nonexistent before his arrival in 1984. "His pioneering and, really, revolutionary work in Alzheimer's disease for more than three decades paved the way for clinical trials of potential treatments to delay the onset or progression of the disease being done today," said neuros...

A press release from the University of Pennsylvania: Penn Announces $50 Million Penn Integrates Knowledge Neurosciences Initiative September 18, 2008 PHILADELPHIA –- The University of Pennsylvania will make a major investment in neuroscience, the interdisciplinary study of brain/behavior relationships and nervous-system diseases, with a $50 million contribution from Penn’s Health System to endow five new Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) professorships. A portion of this contribution will supply start-up funds for each PIK professorship in neuroscience and will support interdisciplinary neuroscience initiatives involving the School of Medicine and other schools of the University. The announcement was made by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ronald Daniels. “This landmark contribution by the Health System represents an extraordinary commitment toward strengthening Penn’s academic programs.” Gutmann said. “With our commitment to integrating knowledge and our formidable teaching and ...

For Immediate Release Contact: Jenni Brewer August 26, 2008 ... PIONEERING NEUROSCIENCES INSTITUTE SETS DATE FOR DEDICATION OF NEW FACILITY AND FIRST-EVER INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON MEMORY AND MEMORY DISORDERS ON OCTOBER 16 WORLD-RENOWNED SCIENTISTS WILL CONVENE TO SHARE CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH ON ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, MEMORY AND AGING Morgantown, W.Va. - On October 16th, 2008, the new $30 million Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (BRNI) located on the campus on West Virginia University and founded in honor of U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller's mother, will play host to prominent international scientists who are advancing research on Alzheimer's disease and other memory disorders. The first-ever International Forum on Memory and Memory Disorders will highlight the work of nine celebrated scientists whose research have led to breakthrough advances for the aging brain, Alzheimer's disease, and patients suffering from memory loss and memory disorders. The next day, on O...

From the website, MedGadget: : A Wheelchair with Ears and Brain http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2008/09/a_wheelchair_with_ears_and_brain.html