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Morning News

World Alzheimer's Congress Concludes; Researchers Claim Great Strides

Aired July 14, 2000 - 10:11 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Experts have wrapped up the World Alzheimer's Congress in Washington. And now, as CNN medical correspondent Rhonda Rowland reports, researchers say they're making great strides in the fight against the mind-robbing disease.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RHONDA ROWLAND, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The biggest gathering of its kind was marked with a sense of excitement and hope that progress is being made on several fronts against Alzheimer's disease.

First, there is now near-consensus on what causes it. The key events: the development of amyloid brain plaques and nerve tangles in the brain. Researchers believe it happens when two chemicals, beta and gamma secretase, clip proteins in brain cells, which then break free and build up into amyloid plaques, then tangles form, killing brain cells and eventually ruining a patient's memory and ability to think. In the process, brain tissue becomes inflamed, causing more damage.

This understanding should allow for earlier diagnosis.

Another advance: the use of blood tests that look for known Alzheimer's genes, memory tests, and brain scans can help pick up a transitional condition between normal age-related memory loss and early Alzheimer's, called mild cognitive impairment.

DR. RONALD PETERSEN, MAYO CLINIC: In general, when a person is diagnosed with having mild cognitive impairment, their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease is about 10 to 15 percent per year.

ROWLAND: Also, researchers say they've found the first measurable brain chemical associated with the disease.

PETERSEN: If we can characterize people clinically early in the course of the disease, we may be able to intervene.

ROWLAND: Several drugs or compounds are already being tested to see if they can slow or prevent memory loss: vitamin E, an FDA- approved Alzheimer's drug, estrogen, and anti-inflammatory drugs like Naproxen. Finally, researchers here suggest some environmental factors may also increase the odds of developing the disease. Among the suspects: a high-fat diet and the accompanying high cholesterol and blood pressure; maintaining mental activity over the course of a lifetime may also be protective.

For now, the biggest hope in stopping or reversing the disease is a vaccine that showed remarkable results in mice. Early studies show that it's safe in humans, but longer studies are needed to see if it works in people.

For patients who already have moderate to severe Alzheimer's, there could be temporary improvement with an experimental drug call Memantine.

(on camera): These advances could change the course of treatment in the next five to 10 years. Unfortunately, they may not come soon enough for the patients and families coping with it today. In the next phase of the meeting, researchers will discuss the best ways to care for those with Alzheimer's disease.

Rhonda Rowland, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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