• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Mayo Clinic Researchers May Have Alzheimer's Predictor Jacksonville Clinic's Research Could Eventually Lead to a Cure for the Neurological Disorder.

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 July 2005, 12:00 CDT

By studying two forms of a protein normally found in blood and spinal fluid, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville researchers think they have found a way to predict who will develop Alzheimer's disease.

Specifically, the Mayo team studied the relationship between blood proteins called beta-amyloid 40 and beta-amyloid 42. In all people with Alzheimer's, beta-amyloid 42 causes the degenerative brain disease.

Neill Graff-Radford, a neurologist at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville and one of the lead researchers of the study, said studies on mice genetically support the findings of early Alzheimer's detection.

In the new study, researchers took blood samples from 560 human volunteers and studied them for up to 12 years and found that those with the lower amounts of beta-amyloid 42 to beta-amyloid 40 were at the greatest risk of developing Alzheimer's disease sooner, Graff- Radford said.

He presented the findings last week at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Prevention of Dementia in Washington.

Graff-Radford said the results identify people vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease in the same way cholesterol levels can be used to identify people at risk for heart disease.

"We are cautiously optimistic that this is helpful toward our dream to prevent this disease," he said.

Malcolm Foster, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Florida and Shands Jacksonville who treats many Alzheimer's patients, said Mayo Clinic's findings further advance the search for a cure.

"This is another significant piece of the puzzle," Foster said. "We know beta-amyloid is somewhat responsible for what we call Alzheimer's and this will help in predicting and ultimately leading to treatment."

No one knows exactly what causes Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative disorder of the brain that causes the cells to die, causing a progressive decline in memory and cognitive abilities. The time from diagnosis to death varies -- it can be as little as three years if the person is over 80 when diagnosed or as long as 10 if they are younger.

Affected regions of the brain begin to atrophy. These changes probably take place 10 to 20 years before any symptoms appear.

cherie.black@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4504

MAYO RECRUITING STUDY PARTICIPANTS R-flurbiprofen is a drug that Mayo Clinic researchers continue to test as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

It is a derivative of an anti-inflammatory drug shown in laboratory and animal studies to affect beta-amyloid proteins, one of which is considered a prime suspect in Alzheimer's disease.

If the drug is found to be effective after clinical trials in progress, a "new drug application" will be submitted for government approval to sell the drug to the general public.

Mayo Clinic Jacksonville is recruiting people to participate in the Phase III clinical trial of R-flurbiprofen. Patients must be 75 or older with no memory problems.

Interested people can call (904) 953-2677.Sources: Todd Golde, neuropharmacist at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville; Alzheimer's Association

Source: Florida Times Union

More News in this Category