|
ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE (AD)
Clinical
The classic Alzheimer’s patient
develops insidious memory impairment, followed by more
widespread brain dysfunction, although there is increasing
recognition of a much wider spectrum of symptomatology
in patients with histologically proven Alzheimer’s
Disease.
The pathological hallmarks are gliosis
with neurofibrillary tangles and plaques, with amyloid
cores and neuritic change, although it is still unclear
whether the plaques and tangles are key pathogenic features,
or merely manifestations of the disease.
The current annual cost to the US of Alzheimer’s
Disease is estimated at $100 billion. This is increasing
year on year, reflecting the ageing population. The incidence
of the disease is predicted to triple by 2050 to affect
16 million Americans. The incidence is age related, with
between 25 and 50% of 85 year olds suffering with the disease.
The principle prescribed drugs are currently
the cholinesterase inhibitors. They primarily affect the
symptoms, although are of limited efficacy. Indeed they
are more useful for treating the hallucinations in Lewy
Body Dementia, than in Alzheimer’s Disease per se.
By far the greatest need is for medication which halts
the progression of the disease.
DanioLabs approach
The majority of research effort
to date has been directed at the amyloid beta pleated
sheet plaques and the upstream beta-secretase directed
cleavage. However, there is beginning to be realization
that plaque formation per se may not in fact be pathogenic.
This may be one of the reasons why historically there
have been so many problems developing animal models with
these pathological features plus neuronal dysfunction
and loss. DanioLabs strategy is focused on what actually causes
the patients’ symptoms – the neuronal dysfunction
and neuronal cell loss.
|
