Spring 2007 Newsletter

Research Update

Early Alzheimer’s Neuropathological Changes Observed in Posterior Cortex

Dr. Ann McKee was selected to present “Early Tau Alterations are Prominent in Posterior Association Cortex in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease” as a platform presentation at the American Academy of Neurology meeting, scheduled April 28th-May 5th. Over 10,000 researchers attend this annual national meeting. Dr. McKee’s research study, using the BU ADC Brain Bank, identified major biological changes in early stage Alzheimer’s disease in an area of the brain that has previously been overlooked. Collaborators of this project include investigators and staff from the Framingham Heart Study, including Dr. Philip Wolf, Dr. Rhoda Au, Jonathan Drake, Hyo Lee, and Carol Kubilus, and BU ADC Director, Dr. Neil Kowall.

Advancement in Tracking Brain Response to Drug Therapy

Dr. Brandon Ally, an investigator in Dr. Andrew Budson’s Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, was awarded a 2006 ADC Pilot Grant to investigate electrophysiological biomarkers of patient response to drug therapy. Preliminary results are promising, illustrating that areas of the brain critical to memory function show an improved response after 8 weeks of cholinesterase inhibitor therapy. Figure A shows the brain activity of Alzheimer’s disease patients prior to beginning therapy. Figure B shows improved brain activation after 8 weeks of therapy. The laboratory is continuing to recruit participants for this study.

New Drug Target for Alzheimer’s Disease

Drs. Rina Yamin and Carmela Abraham reported in the Journal of Neurochemistry on the discovery of a novel enzyme, APEH, that can remove the toxic amyloid protein. There is ample evidence that the amyloid protein plays a major role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease pathology and symptoms. Currently, the normal function of this enzyme is unknown, but studies using brain tissues from the BU ADC Brain Bank demonstrate that the level of the enzyme in Alzheimer’s disease brains is five times lower than that found in healthy age-matched controls. Thus, APEH may become a new therapeutic target for Alzheimer’s disease. Reference: Yamin, R, Bagchi, S, Hildebrant, R, Scaloni, A, Widom, RL, and Abraham, CR. Acyl Peptide Hydrolase, a Serine Proteinase Isolated from Conditioned Medium of Neuroblastoma Cells, Degrades the Amyloid ß Peptide. Journal of Neurochemistry, 2007; 100:458-467.

Race and Self-Perceived Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease Associated with Study Dropout

Dr. Anil Nair’s abstract, “Race and Low Self-Perceived Risk for Alzheimer’s Disease are Associated with Higher Dropout in REVEAL study,” was selected as a platform presentation at the International Conference on Prevention of Dementia. This meeting will be held in Washington, DC, June 9th-12th. Findings from this study suggest that race and lower self-perceived risk are associated with increased study dropout among family members of Alzheimer’s disease patients who choose to get genetic susceptibility testing. Collaborators of this project include BU ADC investigators and staff, including Susan Hiraki, Winston Chung, Clara Chen and the BU ADC Clinical Core Director, Dr. Robert Green.

• ADC Researchers Brief Congressional Task Force
• New Alzheimer's Gene Discovery
• New Clinical Services at the ADC
• Research Update
• Actively Recruiting Studies
• ADC Happenings
• New Faculty
• Save the Date