Joined: 12/6/2011
Posts: 3326
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From Alzheimer's Daily News:
(Source: NPR) - Researchers are attempting to treat Alzheimer's disease with antibodies, hormones and gene therapy. But will any lead to a cure? Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, talks about the latest research, and whether there might someday be a vaccine to protect the aging brain.
NPR's Ira Flatow reports for Science Friday: Earlier this week, yet another potential cure for Alzheimer's failed. Pfizer called off additional studies of its intravenous drug bapineuzumab, an antibody designed to seek and destroy plaques that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's.
The thinking was that if you clear the plaques, maybe the dementia will improve or go away. Unfortunately, the drug did not seem to do that. But it's not the only possibility. Researchers are testing other types of antibodies. They're testing hormones. They're trying gene therapy. What are the chances that these approaches will pan out? Might we see an Alzheimer's vaccine someday? That's what we're going to be talking about, a status check on Alzheimer's research.
To read or listen to the full interview with Dr. Petersen, go to:http://www.npr.org
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