Alzheimer's Club

According to the Alzforum web site, "Alzheimer Research Forum's 10th Anniversary Symposium: Mapping the Next Decade of Alzheimer Research" to be held July 19, 2006 at the Centro de Convenciones, Madrid, Spain as an ancillary event at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2006.

With this regard, ARF web site says the following: "Ten years ago, the Alzheimer Research Forum was formally launched in Osaka, Japan, at the ICADRD. To mark this milestone, you are invited to attend our symposium on "Mapping the Next Decade of Alzheimer Research." The symposium asks participants to consider key advances in Alzheimer disease research from the past decade and look forward in a bold attempt to craft a research agenda for the next 10 years. Our speakers will form teams and prepare short presentations in which they will attempt to synthesize major findings in several overlapping subject areas relevant to AD. The teams will work on their presentations in advance, and can choose to post drafts on Alzforum and invite suggestions from the community. In Madrid the discussion leaders will lead a group brainstorming session aimed at drafting a research roadmap for the next decade. We want to challenge the field to integrate findings and draw significant consensus toward building inclusive hypotheses that explain more fully the pathogenesis of this complex disease."

One of the apparent challenges Alzforum fools its' forum members and International Alzheimer's Conference participants with, is naming Harvard's Selkoe a chair of the ARF Anniversary Simposium. This is because ARF assists Selkoe to hide his competing financial interests.

Sadly, present "ARF Voluntary [Conflict of Interest] Disclosure Policy for Contributors" does nothing to protect Alzheimer's field from severe corruption by Selkoe and others, because "the disclosure is not mandatory". ARF says that disclosure "form allows members to disclose any competing financial interests that, through their potential influence on behavior or content or from perception of such potential influences, could undermine the objectivity, integrity or perceived value of a posting on the ARF website." However, Selkoe did not provide the disclosure of the conflicts at his ARF member page, consistent with the conflicting lie that he makes every effort to diclose his conflict, or, contrary, fooling Nature editors and Nature readers (right at a time he signed another contract with Elan) that he has no conflict at all.

It was previously reported in a number of publications (Science SAGE KE contribution "Amyloid beta road show, or Has the lure of profits corrupted Alzheimer’s neuroscience?", "Open letter to Donald Kennedy, Science Editor-in-Chief: AAAS, Science, Alzheimer’s disease and academic dishonesty", BMJ's "Ethical conundrums: an Alzheimer's case", letter to Neuron editor "Hasta la vista, amyloid cascade hypothesis, OR will academic dishonesty yield Alzheimer's cure?", UK Parliamentary inquiry on Scientific publications, memorandum from Alexei R Koudinov, "Open letter to president G W Bush on conduct by Scientists, STM journals and Scientific Institutions") that Selkoe serves a director of Elan Pharmaceuticals, that he was in preslamp sales of his Elan shares (months before the failure of his amyloid theory-based vaccination treatment of Alzheimer's was reported in open scientific literature, but right after the patient deteriorated in a UK clinic). Selkoe contract with Elan signed in April 2002, as well as his earlier contract with Athena Neurosciences), are publicly available.

In case of proper investigation by US Securities and Exchange Commission , UK Governmental Serious Fraud Office, and Office of Research Integrity of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Selkoe could face imprisonment, criminal fine and a ban from doing scientific research, a well deserved measure for those who forget about patients and put their private interest above all. For a sad story of one such patient see the article "Goodbuy came early". Another patient story and its time match with Selkoe sales of Elan shares is available at Section 2.14 of the UK Parliamentary publication.

ARF says their Anniversary Symposium to "offer a chance to think about the big picture [of Alzheimer's], in a lively, collegial atmosphere". Could it be collegial when an Alzheimer's "star" in a symposium discussion leader chair could well be not duly punished criminal? Think about it. It is a big question, will he be talking for the science and patients, or for his company and his million-dollar stake in the amyloid hypothesis he invented.

Selkoe is a prototype of a corrupted Harvard professor, a godfather of the network of international science criminals in the to-be-released semi-fiction mystery novel "The Alzheimer's Code". In this story, the death of the President of the United States of America is followed by his preventive anti-amyloid vaccination against Alzheimer's disease. At the same time and for the same reason, in his agony of death Editor-in-Chief of London-based Nature recalls he in fact witnessed the corruption of Alzheimer's pseudo-science, brought to the community by a keen student.

Excerpt: "In the Church of the Holy Amyloid, the reigning deity is a 42-amino acid protein, thought to be the key to the mysteries that underlie Alzheimer disease. Amyloid has many believers and like any good religion, a few staunch heretics who question its supremacy. As flippant as this might sound, this is how some see the dominance of the amyloid-beta protein in Alzheimer disease research. For more than a decade, many scientists have believed that the protein triggers a series of steps dubbed the amyloid cascade that leads to the memory loss and dementia in those afflicted with Alzheimer disease. Every aspect of the field reflects this theory's dominance... But some researchers in the community and a few outside it say that those who believe the amyloid cascade hypothesis have unwisely pushed it, perhaps to the detriment of the whole field. ...Even among those who are more measured in their criticisms, the phrase "all of your eggs in one basket" comes up with startling frequency. These scientists say that despite many unexplained aspects, there is a disproportionate amount of attention paid to the amyloid hypothesis that has prevented other ideas from flourishing. With such a complex disease, they warn, it is foolhardy, perhaps even dangerous, to focus exclusively on one theory... If you don't endorse the amyloid hypothesis and actively work on some aspect related to it, some say, it's difficult to win funds, publish papers or present at conferences. To have any credibility, people have to prove that their idea has some merit. But without funds and some element of receptiveness, that's hard to do, notes Larry Goldstein, professor of molecular medicine at the University of California in San Diego. "There's a certain catch-22, I think," Goldstein says. "I'm not trying to insult these folks, but it's quite a mafia if you really look at the field..."

Source: Apoorva Mandavilli, senior news editor of Nature Medicine. Amyloid code. Nature Medicine, Nature News (28 June 2006) [FullText]

R. Thomas Bodkin, a partner in the law firm Bamberger, Foreman Oswald and Hahn, LLP, was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greater Kentucky and Southern Indiana Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The election occurred at the organizations' annual board meeting in Louisville on Thursday, June 29. The Alzheimer's Association is the largest private not-for-profit institution dealing with Alzheimer's issues. Its mission is to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health. It annually contributes more than $20,000,000 for research into the disease, second only to the contribution made by the National Institute of Health, and provides service to persons with Alzheimer's, their families and caregivers, 24 hours per day seven days per week, through a network of over 80 chapters, 300 points of service nationwide and a National Contact Center Help line.

The Greater Kentucky and Southern Indiana chapter provides services to 125 counties across greater Kentucky and southern Indiana serving about 75,000 people who suffer from the disease.

Mr. Bodkin was the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Greater Kentucky and Southern Indiana Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association; is a National Director of the Alzheimer's Association; and has also served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Mary's Warrick Hospital Foundation.

He received his B.S. degree from the Indiana University Kelly School of Business in 1967 and his J.D., cum laude, from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis in 1973. He is a United States Army Vietnam era veteran.

Bodkin is a Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation: Adjunct Faculty at the University of Southern Indiana School of Nursing and Health Professions and is a Registered Civil Mediator.

Source: Bodkin named chair of Alzheimer's group. Tristate-media.com (6 July 2006) [FullText]

A recent study directed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine identifies a faulty molecule in the brain found in cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Researchers say this faulty molecule may be responsible for the progression of MCI to mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia.

The study, which appeared June 10th online in the journal Neurobiology of Aging, may lead to preventative treatments for AD.

An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease and presently there are no known cures or effective preventive strategies.

"Alzheimer's Disease is a growing health concern that affects millions of people, "says Giulio Maria Pasinetti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Director of the Neuroinflammation Research Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and lead author of the study. "We hope our research provides direction for preventative treatments to delay the onset of AD dementia by eliminating amyloid plaque-causing peptides in the brain."

People with AD exhibit elevated levels of beta-amyloid peptides that cause plaque buildup in the brain (the main characteristic of AD). In the earliest stages of Alzheimer's, beta-amyloid peptides are on the rise, especially in the two connected brain regions critical for memory functions -- the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex.

In this study, Dr. Pasinetti and colleagues at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York suggests one reason for that early increase of beta-amyloid peptides: an enzyme that breaks down beta-amyloid peptides, also referred to as an insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), is not active in the brain in the cases at high-risk for developing AD. To assess possible changes in IDE during MCI, the investigators measured protein levels and enzymatic activity in postmortem brain tissue from 46 elderly subjects.

Implications

A loss of IDE activity has been previously shown to occur in severe AD dementia, and the current results raise the possibility that a deficit in degradation of amyloid peptides from IDE could raise levels of toxic beta-amyloid peptides even before AD dementia is diagnosed. If these results are confirmed, Mount Sinai researchers suggest that boosting IDE activity pharmacologically may reverse beta-amyloid peptide accumulation. This new finding may provide a pharmacological therapeutic angle to preventing AD dementia.

Dr. Pasinetti and colleagues also measured levels of beta-amyloid peptides in the entorhinal cortex and found that the amount of beta-amyloid was inversely correlated with IDE activity they measured in the hippocampus. These results support the idea that alterations in IDE might be causally related to beta-amyloid peptides accumulation, starting in the earliest stages of AD.

Source: Researchers get closer to preventing Alzheimer's disease. The Hindu News (7 July 2006) [FullText]

There's no cure for Alzheimer's Disease, but patients can sometimes recover memories lost for years. That's how it's been for Joyce Gilbert. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2000, but is still able to share memories of childhood with her family.

"Things that were lost because of the Alzheimer's are now brought out in her paintings," said daughter-in-law JoAnn Gilbert. "She shows us places we haven't been and things she hasn't been able to tell us about."

Joyce is becoming an accomplished painter with help from "Memories in the Making," a program artist Toni Morley brought to Bay Area care facilities five years ago.

"I believe art is healing," Morley explained. "I've seen many miracles happen. I've seen whole pieces of people's history come back."

Small groups of seniors with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia practice painting weekly, guided by artists and other volunteers. In her classes, Toni gently encourages artists to explain what inspired their work, and finds many are able to retrieve memories associated with the images they've created.

"I'm trying to elicit some conversation. I'm asking for a title that might elicit some memory from the past that the artist could share," said Morley.

At the Palo Alto Commons, facility director Sue Jordan has seen residents share things they weren't able to explain before.

"You see things that you wouldn't know if you just tried to sit and talk with a resident," said Jordan. "It also brings beauty and value to them."

Toni began her Memories in the Making program at Palo Alto Commons five years ago. Now, classes are held at 21 facilities from San Jose to San Francisco.

Joyce Gilbert has sold some of her art at auction for six hundred dollars. But the reward for her family is priceless: "It gives us memories that aren't bad, that aren't sad," said Gilbert. "My mother-in-law couldn't live the life she's living right now if it weren't for people like Toni Morley."

Toni is just as happy with the result. "For people who have lost the ability to communicate and who can't retrieve their thoughts the way you and I do," said Morley, "this is just such a special arena for them to be able to have that connection."

For making a connection to the past that brightens the present, this week's Jefferson Award in the Bay Area goes to Toni Morley.

Source: Jefferson Award Winner: Toni Morley. Helping Alzheimer's Patients Picture The Past. CBS 5 [6 July 2006] [FullText]

CHICAGO -- Shakespeare's aging King Lear loses his mind in the bard's great tragedy, but can acting out a play help senior citizens keep the same thing from happening to them?

For the participants of one acting class, who are in their 70s and 80s, there will be no audience and little applause. But they rehearse as actors do, and for the same reason -- they don't want to forget.

Except it's Alzheimer's disease they fear.

"I had a sister-in-law that died of Alzheimer's, and I saw her deteriorate for the last five years of her life," said Dorothy Hennet, a participant in the acting class.

"When I go shopping, I write down what I need. Sometimes, I forget the list," participant Ann Datcu said.

"Alzheimer's is, I think, one of the worst diseases that you could have," said Mary Seymour, who is also taking part in the acting class.

The class is part of a groundbreaking study, done in Chicago, of how the art of acting somehow seems to keep Alzheimer's disease from taking hold.

"We found significant improvement in word recall and in comprehension," said Helga Noice, a psychologist with Elmhurst College.

She and her husband, Tony, who is a professional actor, have studied acting's affect on the brain for 15 years.

"It either gives your brain some reserves, so that you have some cognitive reserve that you can draw on later, or it just makes the brain function more efficiently," Noice said.

And in just about any acting class, no matter how old the actors are, you can see the process at work, NBC5's Nesita Kwan reported.

There are words to memorize, but just as important is the feeling of playing the part, moving as the character would and reacting to the other players.

And that's so complex, according to the Noices, that the brain gets stronger and more agile as a result.

In the study, acting lessons improved a senior's word recall by 17 percent, total memory span by 5 percent, and the ability to solve problems by a whopping 55 percent.

"Chances are that the brains will stay healthy and they will be more resistant to Alzheimer's," Tony Noice said.

"All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players," wrote Shakespeare. If that's the case, then the classmates in the Noices' study hope the last act of their lives will be immeasurably better because of an acting class.

"I have it now, and I don't want to lose it," Seymour said.

The Noices now have a federal grant to expand their acting studies into low-income areas. Eventually, they hope to train the activity directors at senior centers to continue the acting classes.

Source: Acting Study Shows Hope For Preventing Alzheimer's Disease: Chicago-Based Psychologist Gets Grant To Further Research. NBC5.com (29 June 2006) [FullText]

* A person's ability to understand, think, remember and communicate will be affected.
* The ability to make decisions will be reduced.
* Simple tasks that have been performed for years will become more difficult or be forgotten.
* Confusion and memory loss, initially for recent events and eventually for long-term events, will occur.
* The ability to find the right words and follow a conversation will be affected.
* A person may appear uninterested and stop hobbies or other activities previously enjoyed.
* The ability to control mood and emotion may be lost. Some individuals have less expression and are more withdrawn.

Changes in the brain will bring about changes in the way the person reacts to the environment. These may include :

* repeating the same action or words
* hiding possessions
* physical outbursts
* restlessness
* inappropriate sexual behaviour
As the disease progresses, there will be a gradual physical decline. These changes will affect the person's ability to perform day-to-day tasks, such as eating, hing and getting dressed.

Source: Stoney Creek News .com (30 june 2006) [FullText]