A pilot phase IIa study (NCT00948259) has reported promising effects of tideglusib, a novel inhibitor of glycogen synthase-3 (GSK-3), in 30 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (Del Ser et al. J Alzheimers Dis 2012; epublished August 30, 2012).
Neurology
RIS: what are the risk factors for CIS/MS?
December 26, 2012There has been little information on the natural history of radiologically isolated syndrome (RIS) since it was first described in 2009 (Okuda et al. Neurology 2009;72:800-805).
Fingolimod effective in all subgroups: analysis of phase III data
December 18, 2012REPORT FROM THE 25TH CONGRESS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE FOR TREATMENT AND RESEARCH IN MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS (ECTRIMS) – AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS, OCTOBER 19-22, 2011 –
An analysis of data from the phase III FREEDOMS and TRANSFORMS trials indicates that oral fingolimod produces significant reductions in the rates of relapse and disease progression in subgroups of patients with different levels of disease activity (Havrdova et al. ECTRIMS 2011; abstract P473).
Mortality risk doubled in AD patients
December 5, 2012The impact of Alzheimer’s disease on all-cause mortality has not been extensively examined but a new nested case-control study from Finland has now looked at this issue (Lonnroos et al. J Alzheimers Dis 2012; epublished August 22, 2012).
Neuroprotection: This is your brain on tea
December 5, 2012The latest claimant to the neuroprotection crown is green tea, which provides therapeutic levels of the antioxidant EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate). A number of animal studies have indicated that EGCG may be beneficial in a range of disorders, including arthritis, colitis, Sjogren’s syndrome, and type 1 diabetes (Kim et al. J Nutr 2008;138:2111-2116; Oz et al. J Nutr Biochem 2005;16:297-304; Hsu et al. Autoimmunity 2007;40:138-147; Fu et al. Br J Nutr 2011;105:1218-1225).