re: woosh - study - reinforces positive phase ii helping pbt...

re: woosh - study - reinforces positive phase ii
helping pbt tests -

"Thwarting Alzheimer's a step closer
By Carol Nader
October 14, 2004

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Marie Valenta readies for a scan.
Photo: Nicole Emanuel
Doctors believe they may eventually be able to detect susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease before it develops by scanning for a protein that is thought to trigger the condition.

The key to the scanning technology is a chemical compound, known as C-11PIB, that binds to the protein amyloid, which is toxic to brain cells and damages them.

Amyloid can accumulate for many years before symptoms develop.

The finding is of significance because of the ageing population. One in four people aged over 85 and one in 15 aged over 65 suffer from Alzheimer's, a debilitating condition that typically involves loss of memory and other cognitive function and accounts for more than 60 per cent of dementia cases.

Austin Health is the first hospital in Australia to test the technology, which will enable doctors to work on formulating medication that can eradicate the protein and possibly prevent Alzheimer's.

The chemical tracer was developed at the University of Pittsburgh, in the United States. It is injected into the patient before they undergo a Positron Emission Tomography scan.

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The director of aged care and the memory service at the Austin, Associate Professor Michael Woodward, said previous scanning has been unable to detect amyloid.

But early diagnosis and treatment might target the protein and "stop it in its tracks".

"By 2030, there will be more people dying from Alzheimer's than any other condition," Professor Woodward said.

Alzheimer's has, on average, a life span of nine years from first symptoms to death.

It is a long time for families to cope with symptoms that eventually affect the body's ability to function. Medication now only improves and stabilises symptoms.

Professor Woodward said a vaccine that could remove the protein had been tested, but was found to cause inflammation around the brain in some patients. The PET scan is considered a significant advance in developing safe drugs that work.

Alzheimer's patient Marie Valenta recently became the first to try it. Her husband, Tom, noticed that she was behaving out of character three years ago, when she left home to go to work - leaving the front door open four times in two weeks.

Other signs followed: she began forgetting things she should have remembered, laying a table in a logical sequence proved difficult and she became more vague.

"One time, when she turned on the stove to do some cooking, she forgot to ignite the gas," Mr Valenta recalled.

The family was shattered when Mrs Valenta, 56, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. She had to leave work, and more devastation followed when her driver's licence was withdrawn in March, making her less independent.

"That's been the worst thing for me," she said. Mr Valenta said being involved in the trial was "our way of fighting back" and helping others. "We have three adult children and we'd like to think we can protect them and our grandchildren from this terrible disease," he said.'