I suggest clicking on these links for the latest news on Alzheimer's research. The research by Abner, Kryscio, Caban-Holt and Smith, published in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease, illuminates preliminary findings of the PREADVISE study.
ROAD TRIP! IAGG's 21st World Congress is coming to San Francisco in July 2017!! The details are below.
Thank you, Constance, for sending this to me so that I can share with my readers. AGEDOC
IAGG GARN News Release N° 2015-08
Toulouse,
March 13, 2015
1. A new IAGG GARN
website
Time
has come to reorganize the IAGG GARN website to further enhance scientific works
on age-related issues developed worldwide. It is fully dedicated to aging
research with comprehensive information for all those involved in Alzheimer's
Prevention, Frailty (including Cognitive Frailty & Sarcopenia), and Nursing
Homes. This tool now makes available a regular monitoring of scientific
literature, a permanent watch on calls and funding opportunities, and more
generally updated information on the important outcomes in the field of aging.
The website includes sections such as: news, research programs, events,
publications, datasharing, clinical practice. In addition, a forum will be
established soon and will provide opportunities for our community to exchange
on the last scientific findings.
Website:
http://www.garn-network.org
2. Subjective memory complaints are associated with increased risk
of incident dementia (1)
Subjective
memory complaints reflect patient-identified deficits in memory and have been
linked to increased risk of future dementia in nondemented (including
cognitively intact) older adults. The aim of this study is to assess the
risk of incident dementia during follow-up for participants in the Prevention
of Alzheimer's Disease with Vitamin E and Selenium (PREADVISE) study who
reported memory complaints at baseline. PREADVISE participants were assessed at
130 local clinical study sites in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico
during the controlled trial phase and were later followed by telephone from a
centralized location during the observational phase. PREADVISE enrolled a
total of 7,547 nondemented men over the age of 60; 4,271 consented to
participation in the observational study. Participants were interviewed at
baseline for memory complaints. The Memory Impairment Screen (MIS) was
administered to each participant at the annual memory screening. Participants
who failed the MIS also received a more detailed neurocognitive assessment: an
expanded Consortium to Establish a Registry in Alzheimer's Disease (CERADe)
neuropsychological battery was used during the RCT, and the modified Telephone
Interview for Cognitive Status (TICS-m) was used during the observational
study. Participants who failed the second screen were asked to have a memory
work-up with a local physician and to share their medical records with
PREADVISE. Subgroups of men who did not fail the MIS were also asked to
complete the CERADe battery and TICS-m for validation purposes. Additional
measures collected include self-reported medical history, medication use, and
the AD8 Dementia Screening Test. After controlling for important risk factors
for dementia, Cox proportional hazards regression revealed that men who
reported memory changes at baseline had an 80% increase in the hazard of
incident dementia compared to men who reported no SMC. Men who reported memory
problems at baseline had almost a 6-fold increase in the hazard of incident
dementia compared to men who reported no memory complaint. Memory complaints in
nondemented older men predicted future dementia. Men who reported that the
changes in their memory were a problem were especially at risk, and the
presence of common comorbidities like diabetes, sleep apnea, and history of
head injury further exacerbated this risk.
E.L. Abner; R.J. Kryscio; A.M. Caban-Holt; F.A. Schmitt. Subjective memory
complaints are associated with increased risk of incident dementia: The
PREADVISE trial.J PrevAlz Dis 2015;2(1):11-16 - Website: http://www.jpreventionalzheimer.com
3.
Interview on Alzheimer prevention research - Howard FILLIT, MD
Dr
Howard Fillitis a geriatrician, neuroscientist and leading expert in
Alzheimer's disease. He is the Founding Executive Director and Chief Science
Officer of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF). Dr. Fillit has had
a distinguished academic medicine career at the Rockefeller University and the
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA, where he is currently a clinical
professor of geriatrics, medicine and neuroscience. The ADDF (http://www.alzdiscovery.org)
is exclusively focused on translating the knowledge gained about the underlying
causes of Alzheimer's disease into drugs. It funds programs in both academia
and biotechnology companies worldwide, with priority funding in drug discovery
and preclinical drug development, early detection, clinical trials and
prevention.
3.1. What are the current research projects supported by ADDF aiming to identify new drugs for Alzheimer's and related dementia?
3.1. What are the current research projects supported by ADDF aiming to identify new drugs for Alzheimer's and related dementia?
The Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is supporting a
diverse portfolio of drug discovery and development programs throughout the
world. We are funding drug discovery on more than a dozen targets, including
neuroprotection, neuroinflammation and mitochondrial energetics. We are
currently funding over 100 programs representing over $23M USD in investments
in drug discovery and development. About 40% of our portfolio is in early stage
clinical trials,and about 40% of the portfolio is invested in biotechnology
companies with Alzheimer's programs. Please see http://www.alzdiscovery.orgfor more information and to learn how to apply for a grant.
3.2. What are the latest
developments from your program on Aging and Alzheimer's Prevention?
Last year, we launched a website (http://www.alzdiscovery.org/cognitive-vitality) called Cognitive Vitality. It serves as a dynamic informational
resource providing the public with understandable evaluations of the scientific
evidence behind many potential dementia prevention therapies, including fish
oil, coffee and caffeine. We also created the Consortium of Cohorts for
Alzheimer's Prevention Action (CAPA). CAPA's goal is to fund analyses
powered by data gathered from 5 or more high-quality observational
cohorts; funded projects will address pivotal questions about potential
treatments to prevent Alzheimer's disease, related dementias and cognitive
decline.
We're also continuing our efforts to accelerate the development of
evidence for important aspects of dementia prevention. Last year, we
published a paper that reviewed the evidence that coffee and caffeine may
prevent dementia. Additionally, we led the drafting of a Consensus
Statement, soon to be published in Nature Reviews Neurology, that lays out a
research agenda to fill critical gaps in our knowledge of early-life
concussions and the links to later-life dementia.
To
have the list of IAGG GARN centers that work on Alzheimer's prevention, you can
visit the IAGG GARN website at http://www.garn-network.org
4. Data Sharing Alzheimer (DSA) This
new tool is dedicated to sharing data from clinical studies databases. It aims
to improve knowledge about Alzheimer's disease by increasing the exploitation
of clinical data from AD studies and to encourage collaborative work. In this
way, the DSA group gives access to clinical databases and provides
methodological and statistical support when required.
The
website is available online at http://www.dsa-info.inserm.fr/en
and all users can access to relevant information. Researchers willing to work
on DSA data can submit their application online directly through this website.
The DSA
project plans to open access to epidemiological studies and prevention trials,
once the study is approved by the Steering Committee. If you want to propose a
database on DSA platform, please contact info.u1027-dsa@inserm.fr
5.
Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease (JPAD)
We
provide a partial content that will be published in the March 2015 issue:
-
Investigating functional impairment in preclinical Azheimer's Disease. - D.
Marson
-
Thinking about cognitive frailty. - L.J. Fitten
-
Higher cognitive performance is prospectively associated with healthy dietary
choices:
- The Maine
Syracuse longitudinal study. - G.E. Crichton; M.F. Elias; A. Davey; A. Alkerwi;
G.A.
Dore
-
Interventions to prevent cognitive decline and dementia in adults without
cognitive
impairment:
A systematic review. - J.C. Barnett; A. Bahar-Fuchs; N. Cherbuin; P. Herath;
K.J.
Anstey
Full contents and abstracts available at: http://www.jpreventionalzheimer.com
6. Upcoming meetings
International Conference on Frailty and
Sarcopenia Research (ICFSR2015), April 23-25, 2015 in Boston, USA. A
conference dedicated to raising awareness on the need to implement frailty and
Sarcopenia into clinical practice. To date the conference preliminary program
includes 6 keynote lectures, 16 symposiums, 65 oral communications and 211
posters already accepted by the ICFSR2015 Scientific Committee.
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION ENDS MARCH 16,
2015.
IAGG's 8th European Congress, April
23-26, 2015 in Dublin, Ireland. The Irish
Gerontological Society will host IAGG's 8th European Congress at
Dublin's Convention Centre. The event will treat the following themes:
Unlocking the Demographic Dividend, Policy, Design and Environment, Biology of
Ageing, Social Gerontology, Gerontechnology, Cultural Gerontology, Health and
Social Care, Psychology of Ageing.Website: http://www.iaggdublin2015.org
International Academy on Nutrition and
Aging (IANA), June 18-19, 2015 in Barcelona, Spain. After
Seoul, Albuquerque, Firenze this edition of the IANA conference aims to promote
a better understanding and implementation of nutrition and age-related diseases
into clinical practice. Topics include: MNA (Mini Nutritional Assessment) -
Nutritional needs of older people - Nutritional prevention of pathologies
associated with aging - Nutrition and longevity - Nutrition and quality of
aging - Malnutrition : causes and consequences - Oral and enteral feeding -
Functional foods - Nutrition Cognitive decline and Alzheimer. Website: http://www.iana-congress.com
IAGG's 10th
Asia/Oceania Regional congress, October 19-22, 2015 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The conference theme is "Healthy Ageing Beyond
Frontiers" Expected contributions should be
relevant to research, policy and practice under the main 4 themes: Clinical
Sciences . Biological sciences . Behavioral and social sciences .Policy,
planning and practice. Website: http://iaggchiangmai2015.com
8th Conference
on Clinical Trials for Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD2015), November 5-7, 2015, in
Barcelona, Spain. Alzheimer's Disease is one of the most
important health challenges facing aging populations worldwide. The development
of the next generation of Alzheimer's Disease drugs is becoming essential to
face up to this challenge. A collaboration between CTAD, IAGG-GARN &
Alzheimer Europe, this meeting
will address clinical trials issues such as Methodology, Results, Imaging,
Biomarkers, Cognitive Endpoints, Cognitive assessment, Behavioural disorders,
Health Economics, Epidemiological, Animal model, New therapies etc. Abstract
submission deadline for symposium, oral or poster communications: June 1, 2015.Website:http://www.ctad-alzheimer.com
2nd
International Conference on Nursing Home Research, December 02-03, 2015. This event aims to raise further awareness on the need
to promote research in nursing homes. It will deal with the following topics:
Alzheimer's disease and relevant drug and non-drug therapies, behaviour
disorder, care organization, homecare, nursing homes, and new technologies. Abstract
submission deadline: June 30, 2015. Website: http://www.nursing-home-research.com
IAGG's 21st
World Congress on July 23-27 2017 in San Francisco, USA. The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) will host
this event that is held every four years. It will be dedicated to "Global
Ageing and Health: Bridging Science, Policy and Practice." Call for
abstracts will be available on spring 2016 and registration
will open beginning 2017.Website: http://www.iagg2017.org
