MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'alzheimer's drugs'. Sun, 18 Oct 2009 17:44:27 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2570397&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2FCVzGnjUqaAg%2F Health-care giant J&J is making a $1 billion bet for a stake in Irish drug maker Elan and will invest an additional $500 million in Elan’s closely watched experimental bapineuzumab that is in late-stage studies to treat Alzheimer’s, the companies announced this morning. With the deal, Elan essentially turns over to J&J the development rights of bapineuzumab, which Elan has been developing in partnership with Wyeth (soon to be bought by Pfizer). But the compound isn’t as promising as it initially appeared to be, which resulted in severe punishment of Elan’s stock price last year. Elan has also been sharply criticized by shareholders for its botched marketing of multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri and executive perks. In January, Elan announced that it would co... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2570397 Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:54:15 +0100 2570397 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1677495&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F351989731%2F Drugmakers hurrying experimental Alzheimer’s drugs into late-stage testing may be undermining their ultimate chance at success. The halting progress in the race to develop new Alzheimer’s drugs was on display at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Chicago this week. Great expectations and a desire for quick results were tempered by the setbacks of some high-profile medicines in the works. “I think we have seen companies rushing things a bit,” says Rudi Tanzi, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-founder of Prana Biotechnology, which is developing an Alzheimer’s drug, and a consultant to Wyeth and Elan. “It’s because Alzheimer’s is such a huge medical need. Companies are rushing to get the first drugs out the door.” (Source: WSJ.com: Healt... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1677495 Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:28:29 +0100 1677495 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1675281&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F351863135%2F Myriad Genetics planned a glorious coming-out party at the Alzheimer’s Association’s scientific conference this year. The company, best known for genetic tests, has been angling to get into the drug business and was poised to show off the results of one of the biggest, longest trials to date of a drug that aimed to alter the course of Alzheimer’s. To set the stage, Myriad shelled out $200,000 for a platinum sponsorship at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease, making the company a bigger player than Pfizer, Wyeth and Lilly. And Myriad nabbed a big booth near the entrance to the exhibit floor and right between those for Forest Lab’s Namenda and Aricept from Pfizer and Eisai. There was only one problem. Data released a month before the meeting rev... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1675281 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:20:32 +0100 1675281 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1675279&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F351989731%2F Drugmakers hurrying experimental Alzheimer’s drugs into late-stage testing may be undermining their ultimate chance at success. The halting progress in the race to develop new Alzheimer’s drugs was on display at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease in Chicago this week. Great expectations and a desire for quick results were tempered by the setbacks of some high-profile medicines in the works. “I think we have seen companies rushing things a bit,” says Rudi Tanzi, a neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and co-founder of Prana Biotechnology, which is developing an Alzheimer’s drug, and a consultant to Wyeth and Elan. “It’s because Alzheimer’s is such a huge medical need. Companies are rushing to get the first drugs out the door.” (Source: WSJ.com: Healt... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1675279 Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:20:32 +0100 1675279 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1671971&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F349831492%2F Wyeth and Elan are pushing ahead with research on an Alzheimer’s drug designed to clear toxic plaques from the brain, despite mixed results in mid-stage testing. An Alzheimer’s plaque The companies had already revealed data showing the drug, called bapineuzumab, helped people who were free of a form of a gene that’s a risk factor for Alzheimer’s. But patients with that form, called ApoE4, showed only a trend toward improvement — not a statistically significant one. Now, in another tough year for Alzheimer’s drugs, the companies presented more detailed data today at a big Alzheimer’s conference. The results showed that none of the patients — with or without the genetic issue — saw more benefit from a higher dose of the drug than they did a lower dos... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1671971 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:14:41 +0100 1671971 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1671967&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F350597351%2F Shares of Wyeth are off more than 10% this morning and Elan is down more than 30% as the market frets over the future of an Alzheimer’s drug the companies are developing. Yesterday, the companies released the full results of a mid-stage trial that failed to show an overall benefit in cognitive function for Alzheimer’s patients who received the drug, bapineuzumab. The companies said they’re pushing on with a large, late-stage trial, and called the results “encouraging,” noting that the drug did appear to show some benefit in a group of patients who don’t carry a particular gene variant called ApoE4. But researchers only found that benefit by mining the data after the study was completed — a practice a post over at Bnet describes as “wishful ... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1671967 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:14:41 +0100 1671967 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1671965&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F350763924%2F Given the recent disappointing results for a few big experimental Alzheimer’s drugs, it certainly isn’t the best of times for Alzheimer’s drug research. But neither is it the worst of times. Drug makers big and small continue to pour money into research, and experimental drugs are still progressing through clinical trials. “There’s a sufficient number of trials going on right now that we have a good likelihood that a few drugs will make it through and be effective,” Norman Relkin of Weill Cornell med school says in the video at left. The video points to the work of Epix Pharmaceuticals, a small biotech shop that has partnered with GSK in its Alzheimer’s development work. (Epix’s CEO left the company earlier this week, by the way.) And it me... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1671965 Fri, 01 Aug 2008 13:14:41 +0100 1671965 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1668835&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F350597351%2F Shares of Wyeth are off more than 10% this morning and Elan is down more than 30% as the market frets over the future of an Alzheimer’s drug the companies are developing. Yesterday, the companies released the full results of a mid-stage trial that failed to show an overall benefit in cognitive function for Alzheimer’s patients who received the drug, bapineuzumab. The companies said they’re pushing on with a large, late-stage trial, and called the results “encouraging,” noting that the drug did appear to show some benefit in a group of patients who don’t carry a particular gene variant called ApoE4. But researchers only found that benefit by mining the data after the study was completed — a practice a post over at Bnet describes as “wishful ... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1668835 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:59:49 +0100 1668835 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1668833&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F350763924%2F Given the recent disappointing results for a few big experimental Alzheimer’s drugs, it certainly isn’t the best of times for Alzheimer’s drug research. But neither is it the worst of times. Drug makers big and small continue to pour money into research, and experimental drugs are still progressing through clinical trials. “There’s a sufficient number of trials going on right now that we have a good likelihood that a few drugs will make it through and be effective,” Norman Relkin of Weill Cornell med school says in the video at left. The video points to the work of Epix Pharmaceuticals, a small biotech shop that has partnered with GSK in its Alzheimer’s development work. (Epix’s CEO left the company earlier this week, by the way.) And it me... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1668833 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:59:49 +0100 1668833 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1668546&cid=t_189538_137_f&fid=35357&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAlzheimersNotes%2F%7E3%2F351039837%2F More Doubts On New Alzheimer’s Drug - “In a packed room before thousands of neurologists, Elan and Wyeth presented long-awaited trial results for one of their drugs for Alzheimer’s disease, probably the most watched experimental medicine in the pharmaceutical industry…” (more) New Tests Could Predict Alzheimer’s - ” New tests promise to detect Alzheimer’s disease before a person shows signs of dementia, giving treatments their best chance to prevent loss of mental function…” (more) Four Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Address a Variety of Treatment Targets - Amyloid, Tau, Synapse Formation - “Results from four studies of potential new treatments for Alzheimer’s - even an unsuccessful late stage clinical trial - incre... Alzheimer's Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1668546 Thu, 31 Jul 2008 01:24:52 +0100 1668546 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1661085&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F348389301%2F It’s been rough times for the development of Alzheimer’s drugs. Last month, Myriad Genetics said its late-stage trial of its experimental drug Flurizan failed to show any benefit for Alzheimer’s patients. Another late-stage study, of Alzhemed from Canada’s Neurochem, failed last fall. The results of the Flurizan study will be unpacked this week at a big annual Alzheimer’s conference, as researchers look at what’s next in the field, the Los Angeles Times reports this morning. Available Alzheimer’s drugs may help a bit with symptoms, but none of them change the course of the disease. The industry is pouring resources into coming up with better drugs, but the basic biology of the disease remains mysterious, and it’s likely to be years before an... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1661085 Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:54:39 +0100 1661085 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1554505&cid=t_189538_137_f&fid=35357&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.b5media.com%2F%7Er%2Fb5media%2FAlzheimersNotes%2F%7E3%2F322893758%2F Low Childhood IQ Linked to Type of Dementia - ” Children with lower IQs are more likely decades later to develop vascular dementia than children with high IQs, according to research published in the June 25, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology…” (more) Alzheimer’s Drug Shows Early Promise - “Long-anticipated results from a trial on an experimental Alzheimer’s therapy look promising, at least in a certain group of patients…” (more) New genetic risk factor seen in Alzheimer’s - “An international team of researchers said on Friday they had uncovered another link between faulty genes and the commonest form of Alzheimer’s disease…” (more) Tags: alzheimer's drugs,... Alzheimer's Notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1554505 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 01:29:12 +0100 1554505 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1437203&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F288977525%2F Common anti-inflammatory drugs have been bandied about as a potential way to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. But fresh results from a randomized study are throwing cold water on the concept. Researchers tested cognitive function in people 70 and older with a family history of Alzheimer’s disease. To enter the study, the subjects couldn’t have been diagnosed with the disease. From March 2001 to December 2004, 617 people took celecoxib (Pfizer’s Celebrex), 596 took naproxen and 904 took placebo. Six months after they stopped taking the drugs, the pain relievers showed no signs of protecting cognitive function, and there were hints of a detrimental effect, especially for naproxen. The work was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the results were published in th... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1437203 Tue, 13 May 2008 00:45:43 +0100 1437203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1382706&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F273101468%2F More news from that big neurology meeting : Lipitor doesn’t help slow cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s patients, researchers said this week. That’s something of a disappointment, given that it was a big, randomized study, and earlier data had showed promise. On the other hand, Alzheimer’s patients who took Lipitor at least didn’t seem to do any worse than those who took a placebo. All patients in the study also received Aricept, Pfizer’s Alzheimer’s drug. Despite the fact that statins have been connected to anecdotal reports of memory problems, there were a few reasons to think the cholesterol drugs might help slow cognitive decline. “We know that strokes can lead to vascular dementia,” P. Murali Doraiswamy, chief of biological psychia... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1382706 Fri, 18 Apr 2008 21:04:50 +0100 1382706 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1349985&cid=t_189538_87_f&fid=36224&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.wsjonline.com%2F%7Er%2Fwsj%2Fhealth%2Ffeed%2F%7E3%2F263981383%2F Alzheimer’s is on the rise, but scientists are making progress on treatments they think may finally make a dent in the disease. But as Forbes reports, researchers still aren’t certain about the cause of the illness. That gap in knowledge means that a range of drugs that aim to clear the brain of amyloid plaque, clumps of protein fragments that are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s, may never work. “Pretty much every pharmaceutical company in the world” is testing drugs to clear amyloid, Menelas Pangalos, VP for neuroscience research at Wyeth, tells Forbes. The company has spent over $500 million on Alzheimer’s research since 2001. A big chunk of Wyeth’s dough has gone toward work with Ireland’s Elan on an antibody-based drug and a vaccine. ... WSJ.com: Health Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1349985 Fri, 04 Apr 2008 18:19:01 +0100 1349985 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=730531&cid=t_189538_151_f&fid=35823&url=http%3A%2F%2Faddiction-dirkh.blogspot.com%2F2007%2F03%2Fpot-for-alzheimers.html An enzyme responsible for the malformed proteins characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease may be better suppressed by marijuana than by any other known treatment for the brain disorder, scientists say.Research published in the Journal of Neuroscience and Molecular Pharmaceutics showed that rats injected with the amyloid protein that forms Alzheimer’s plaques showed characteristic activation of immune cells and resulting inflammation and memory impairment, but animals receiving an additional infusion of cannabinoids show greatly reduced inflammation in the brain.Recently, researchers at the Scripps Institute in La Jolla, California, showed that THC reduced Alzheimer’s-style clumping of proteins significantly better than donepezil and tacrine, two common treatment medications for Alzheime... Addiction Inbox blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=730531 Sat, 24 Mar 2007 20:58:00 +0100 730531