Of The Brain Scientists Tackle The Latest Frontier In Alzheimer’s Disease Research (NAPSA)—By the year 2050, over 86 million people—or 21 percent of the total U.S. population —will be age 65 or older. Over that same period, the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is expected to increase almost threefold, from 4.5 million to 13.2 million. AS 5LER TY | Much evidence he “ suggests that AD is y= . | caused by amyloid ’*~ & plaque deposits and ik ~~ | tangles in the brain, P\ “ which lead to cogni- Le tive decline, memory om loss and behavioral Dr.Paul changes. Amyloid, Aisen one of the main components of plaques in AD, is known to bind to Recep- tors for Advanced Glycated Endproducts (or RAGE, for short) on the surface of brain cells. “The RAGE Inhibitor [RI] Study represents the latest fron- tier in AD research,” said Dr. Paul Aisen, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at the University of California San Diego (UCSD). “With this study, researchers across the U.S. are now focused on attacking the root of the disease progression versus solely focused on improving the disease’s symptoms.” The Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at UCSD is coordinating the RI Study to test this experimental drug. The study is taking place in more than 40 U.S. cities and seeks 399 volunteers age 50 or older with mild to moderate AD to test this novel approach to treating AD. To learn more, contact the National Insti- tute on Aging’s Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center at (800) 438- 4380 or http://adcs.org/studies/ RI. aspx.
