Medical Health Blog

A UCSF analysis of published studies on the relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and smoking indicates that smoking cigarettes is a significant risk factor for the disease…

Sir Terry Pratchett, who has a rare form of Alzheimer’s, says he is ready to be a test case for assisted suicide ‘tribunals’ which could give people legal permission to end their lives. The author says he wants a tribunal set up to help those with incurable diseases end their lives with help from doctors…

Investigators from the International Center for Biomedicine and the University of Chile, in collaboration with the Center for Bioinformatics of the Universidad de Talca, have discovered that two drugs, the benzimidazole derivatives lanzoprazole and astemizole, may be suitable for use as PET (positron emission tomography) radiotracers and enable imaging for the early detection o…

Allon Therapeutics Inc. (TSX:NPC) announced that patient enrolment has begun for a human clinical trial to broaden the demonstrated safety range and pharmacokinetic profile of its lead neuroprotective drug davunetide…

MPs debated the progress of the government’s National Dementia Strategy in the House of Commons. Shadow health minister Stephen O’Brien said a Conservative government would make dementia services a ‘priority’. He was speaking weeks after the National Audit Office found that as much as £8.2 billion is being spent inefficiently on dementia care every year…

Women experiencing an early onset of menopause could develop dementia at a younger age. Research by Tonnie Coppus of Erasmus MC has indicated this. She studied women with Down Syndrome, who are known to have an early onset of menopause. The results of her research can be translated to apply to the general population. Her results are published in the Journal of Alzheimer Disease…

Geron Corporation (Nasdaq:GERN) announced that it has entered into a collaboration jointly funded by Geron and a University of California Discovery Research and Training Grant to investigate the therapeutic potential of its human embryonic stem cell (hESC)-based product, GRNOPC1, for Alzheimer’s disease. The company is currently developing GRNOPC1 for the potential treatment of spinal cord injury…

Neil Hunt is to leave as Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society after nearly seven years in the role. Ruth Sutherland, Chief Operating Officer of Alzheimer’s Society will become Acting Chief Executive until a replacement is appointed. Neil Hunt said: ‘I have decided that after nearly seven years in post, now is the time to seek new challenges…

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LPI) announced that it has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for its Memantine Hydrochloride tablets, 5mg and 10mg. Lupin’s Memantine HCl tablets are AB-rated to Namenda® tablets indicated for the treatment of moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. Namenda had annual sales of approximately $1…

Rush University Medical Center is leading a nationwide clinical trial of a nutritional drink to determine whether it can improve cognitive performance in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s…