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The U.S. government has announced a major education and researchcampaign to fight Alzheimer's disease. As part of that effort,scientists are stepping up their efforts to develop drugs by themiddle of the next decade that could prevent the incurablebrain-wasting disease. Two Alzheimer's disease prevention trials are receiving money fromthe National Institutes of Health, or NIH, as part of the Obamaadministration's new national strategy to fight the growing problemof Alzheimer's in the U.S. and around the world. An estimated 5.4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's or someform of dementia. The number is expected to grow exponentially asthe U.S. population ages, and reach 7.7 million by 2030. By then,Alzheimer's and other dementia disorders could be affecting as manyas 66 million people worldwide. The so-called National Alzheimer's Plan calls on scientists to develop treatments to prevent the diseaseby 2025. NIH has set aside $50 million to help fund the effort. NIH director Francis Collins says the studies herald a new era inAlzheimer's disease research. "We have learned more about this disease in the last couple ofyears than probably ever before," said Collins. "And nowthe goal is to take that and translate it into interventions." Collins was speaking at an NIH-sponsored conference of the nation'stop Alzheimer's researchers. Scientists at the Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Arizona announcedthey will be conducting human trials early next year of anexperimental drug, called crenezumab, that they hope will preventthe disease. The study will involve members of a large extended family living inremote villages within several hundred kilometers of each othernear Medellin, Colombia. Some of the thousands of relatives carryan extremely a rare genetic mutation that inevitably causes earlyon-set Alzheimer's. Those with the genetic flaw begin showing cognitive declines intheir mid-forties and are destined to develop full-blownAlzheimer's by their early 50's. The Banner Institute's Pierre Tariot is one of the leadinvestigators. Addressing the ethical questions some critics haveraised about testing drugs on healthy people in a poor developingcountry, Tariot says all of the study participants have been fullyinformed about the possibility that the drug might not work, orthat they might get a placebo that does not contain crenezumab. Tariot says they still wanted to participate. "They have been faced with this devastating illness hittingevery generation for hundreds of years," said Tariot. "Asone of them put it, 'There are many rivers to cross but at least weare at the first bank.' And that's kind of the attitude thatpeople have had." Three hundred individuals have signed up for the trial; one-thirdwill receive crenezumab and the others will be given a placebo. Thetrial will also include a smaller number of individuals in theUnited States. If the therapy works in those with early-onset disease, scientistshope it may also help older individuals. Cremezumab is a vaccine that targets the brain plaques or amyloidprotein deposits that are thought to underlie development ofAlzheimer's, according to Banner's Eric Reiman, who will help leadthe study. "Crenezumab is an antibody treatment that is intended to bindwith amyloid and remove it from the brain," said Reiman. Injections of crenezumab or placebo will be administered every twoweeks. The $100-million Colombia trial is slated to last five years, butresearchers predict they could see results within two. NIH isproviding $16 million to support the research; Banner iscontributing another $15 million. The major share of the funding -about $65 million - will come from the drug's Americanmanufacturer, Genentech. A second Alzheimer's drug trial, also funded by NIH, has shown thata nasal insulin spray used twice daily by people with mildcognitive dysfunction seemed to improve their symptoms, offeringhope that Alzheimer's could be treated or even prevented. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China Seamless Aluminium Tube , Precision Aluminum Tubing Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit 7075 Aluminium Tube today!
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