Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease that causes a decline in memory, thinking, learning and organization skills over time. Inevitably, it affects a person’s ability to carry out essential daily activities. The disease is historically believed to be caused by an abnormal build-up of tau and beta-amyloid proteins in the brain which cause cells to die. This results in the formation of larger masses called plaques.

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, a staggering number that's expected to double within the next 30 years.

Could changing your diet play a role in slowing or even preventing the development of dementia? We're one step closer to finding out, thanks to a new UNLV study that bolsters the long-suspected link between gut health and Alzheimer's disease.

Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company developing therapeutics to alter the course of dementia and other degenerative diseases, announced completion of a Pre-investigational New Drug meeting with the Food and Drug Administration related to the planned Phase 2b clinical study of LHP588 and the formation of its Clinical Advisory Board (CAB). The CAB includes six members with diverse backgrounds and expertise in dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders, and drug development.

Findings suggest that the amyloid-targeting drug candidate slows cognitive decline in some people, but questions remain over its potential side effects

Results suggest that the amyloid-targeting drug candidate slows cognitive decline in some people, but questions remain over its potential side effects.

In July 2022, a bombshell dropped on the Alzheimer's disease research field. For years, researchers had searched for something that caused the disease’s telltale amyloid plaques — complex tangles of a protein called amyloid-beta (Aβ) frequently found in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative disorders. A series of studies published starting in the mid-2000s reported the discovery of a toxic form of Aβ in the brains of mouse models of Alzheimer's disease called Aβ*56. Researchers hoped that Aβ*56 was the protein that snowballed into those amyloid plaques. But a team of sleuths found that many of the papers describing Aβ*56 were fraudulent and contained an array of faked images and blots. The fraud seemed to call the entire idea of amyloids causing Alzheimer’s disease into question.

Predicting when new drugs come to market in the United States has never been an exact science, and it has become even harder since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, experts told UPI. But some drugs on the horizon have the potential to make a major impact.