Research | Page 20 | Neurology | Washington University in St. Louis

Investigational Alzheimer’s drug improves biomarkers of the disease (Links to an external site)

June 21, 2021June 28, 2022

Randall Bateman, MD, director of the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network-Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), an ongoing international clinical trial to evaluate experimental Alzheimer’s drugs, speaks with DIAN-TU participant Taylor Hutton. One of the drugs tested in the DIAN-TU, gantenerumab, improved biomarkers of disease despite unclear cognitive effects, prompting study leaders to offer participants the option of continuing to receive the drug and participate in follow-up examinations as part of a so-called open label extension.

An investigational Alzheimer’s drug reduced molecular markers of disease and curbed neurodegeneration in the brain, without demonstrating evidence of cognitive benefit, in a phase 2/3 clinical trial led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis through its Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network-Trials Unit (DIAN-TU). These results led the trial leaders to offer the drug, […]

Protein linked to heart health, disease a potential therapeutic target for dementia (Links to an external site)

June 21, 2021June 28, 2022

Mice prone to developing Alzheimer’s-like brain damage have potentially damaging activated immune cells in their brains (above). Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that high levels of a normal protein associated with reduced heart disease also protect against Alzheimer’s-like damage in mice, opening up new approaches to slowing or stopping brain damage and cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s.

By the time people with Alzheimer’s disease start exhibiting difficulty remembering and thinking, the disease has been developing in their brains for two decades or more, and their brain tissue already has sustained damage. As the disease progresses, the damage accumulates, and their symptoms worsen.

International Alzheimer’s clinical trial to test tau drugs (Links to an external site)

March 15, 2021June 28, 2022

Clinical trial participant Taylor Hutton (left) meets with Randall J. Bateman, MD, director of the global DIAN-TU Alzheimer’s clinical trial in 2018. Hutton’s family has a history of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The DIAN-TU is launching three new arms to evaluate experimental Alzheimer’s drugs targeting the protein tau. (Photo: Matt Miller/School of Medicine)

A worldwide clinical trial aimed at finding treatments for Alzheimer’s disease has expanded to include investigational drugs targeting a harmful form of the brain protein tau. The trial, known as the Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU) and led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, launched in 2012 as the first […]

Protein linked to Alzheimer’s, strokes cleared from brain blood vessels (Links to an external site)

February 17, 2021June 28, 2022

Amyloid deposits (blue) in mouse brain tissue and blood vessels are reduced after treatment with an antibody that targets the protein APOE (right), a minor component of amyloid deposits, compared to a placebo antibody (left). Amyloid deposits in the brain increase the risk of dementia and strokes. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified an antibody that clears amyloid deposits from the brain without raising the risk of brain bleeds.

As people age, a normal brain protein known as amyloid beta often starts to collect into harmful amyloid plaques in the brain. Such plaques can be the first step on the path to Alzheimer’s dementia. When they form around blood vessels in the brain, a condition known as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, the plaques also raise […]

Protein involved in removing Alzheimer’s buildup linked to circadian rhythm (Links to an external site)

December 16, 2020June 28, 2022

Immune cells known as microglia (turquoise with red dots) surround a plaque of the Alzheimer’s protein amyloid (blue). The red dots indicate that the microglia are prepared to remove the potentially damaging plaque. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a protein that links the amyloid-removal process to the circadian clock. The protein, YKL-40, could help explain why people with Alzheimer’s frequently suffer from sleep disturbances, and provide a new target for Alzheimer’s therapies.

Fractured sleep, daytime sleepiness and other signs of disturbance in one’s circadian rhythm are common complaints of people with Alzheimer’s disease, and the problems only get worse as the disease progresses. But the reason for the link between Alzheimer’s and circadian dysfunction is not well understood.

Why doesn’t deep-brain stimulation work for everyone? (Links to an external site)

December 10, 2019June 28, 2022

Brain networks corresponding to functions such as vision (blue) and attention (green) mingle and share information in structures deep inside the brain, as seen, for example, in the bottom right corner of this color-coded composite MRI image. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have mapped nine functional networks in the deep-brain structures of 10 healthy people, an accomplishment that could lead to improvements in deep-brain stimulation therapy for severe cases of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions. (Image: Scott Marek)

People with severe Parkinson’s disease or other neurological conditions that cause intractable symptoms such as uncontrollable shaking, muscle spasms, seizures, obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviors are sometimes treated with electric stimulators placed inside the brain. Such stimulators are designed to interrupt aberrant signaling that causes the debilitating symptoms. The therapy, deep-brain stimulation, can provide relief […]

Alzheimer’s researchers receive Chan Zuckerberg Initiative funding (Links to an external site)

December 5, 2019June 28, 2022

A team of Washington University researchers is receiving a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative award to support their research into the immune system's potential role in combating Alzheimer's disease. They are (from left) Carlos Cruchaga, PhD; Gregory Day, MD; Celeste Karch, PhD; and Oscar Harari, PhD.

A team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has been funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to study the root causes of neurodegenerative disorders.

A Rare Variant of APOE Delays Alzheimer’s Disease Onset By Decades<br>Now the Field Is Focused on Learning How (Links to an external site)

December 5, 2019June 28, 2022

A woman with a rare variant of APOE and familial Alzheimer’s disease (AD) had delayed development of AD by nearly 30 years. Independent researchers said the report is changing the thinking and focus of research about the biology of APOE in AD.

Microglia Deletion Protects Against Tau Pathology in Alzheimer’s Mice (Links to an external site)

November 21, 2019June 28, 2022

Microglia are the driving force of neurodegeneration in a tauopathy mouse model, a new animal study found. The authors of the report suggest microglia may be an effective therapeutic target for preventing disease progression in the setting of tauopathy.

Major Alzheimer’s study to open 5 new Latin American sites (Links to an external site)

November 19, 2019June 28, 2022

A major international Alzheimer's research study is opening five new sites in Latin America. The sites will increase the diversity of the study population and aid efforts to understand the development of Alzheimer's in Latino populations.

A major international Alzheimer’s disease research initiative will open five new sites in Latin America to help researchers understand the development of early-onset Alzheimer’s in Latino populations.