- GLP-1 DRUG MAY PROTECT AGAINST DEMENTIA
- WILDFIRE SMOKE AND PROCESSED RED MEAT RAISE RISK
- BLOOD TESTS COULD IMPROVE EARLY DIAGNOSIS & SPEED
ACCESS TO TREATMENT
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 1, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- New research results reported at the Alzheimer's
Association International Conference® 2024
(AAIC®) are advancing what we know about risk, diagnosis
and treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.
Highlights include:
- Phase 2b clinical trial results
of a GLP-1 agonist drug suggest it can protect against brain
shrinkage associated with dementia.
- Breathing wildfire smoke and eating too much processed meat are
bad for brain health and may raise the risk of cognitive decline
and dementia.
- Some new Alzheimer's blood tests are highly accurate and may
improve recruiting for treatment trials and speed access to
approved treatments.
AAIC is the premier annual conference for presentation and
discussion of the latest Alzheimer's and dementia research. This
year's conference in Philadelphia
attracted more than 14,000 registered attendees and included more
than 5,260 scientific submissions.
GLP-1 Drug May Protect the Brain
Liraglutide, a
glucagon-like peptide drug (GLP-1), appears to protect the brain
from shrinkage and slow cognitive decline, according to Phase
2b clinical trial results presented
for the first time at AAIC 2024. GLP-1 agonists — like Ozempic and
Zepbound — have been shown to help with diabetes and weight loss
and reduce the risk of heart disease. The new research suggests
they may also protect the brain.
The trial was led by researchers at the Imperial College,
London, and included 204 patients
living with Alzheimer's who had a daily injection for one year:
half received up to 1.8 mg of liraglutide and half received a
placebo. The drug appeared to reduce shrinking in the parts of the
brain that control memory, learning, language and decision-making
by nearly 50% compared to placebo. People in the study who received
liraglutide had slower decline in cognitive function after one year
compared to those who received the placebo.
Wildfire Smoke Riskier for Brain than Other Types of Air
Pollution
Exposure to wildfire smoke may raise the risk of
being diagnosed with dementia, according to a 10-year study of more
than 1.2 million Californians, which was reported for the first
time at AAIC 2024. Researchers determined the risk of dementia is
notably stronger from wildfire smoke than from other sources of
fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5), such as
motor vehicles and factories.
Researchers analyzed health records from more than 1.2 million
socioeconomically diverse Kaiser Permanente Southern California
members 60 or older. None of the members had been diagnosed with
dementia at the beginning of the study. Researchers found an
increased risk of dementia diagnosis due to wildfire
PM2.5 exposure. The risk of dementia was higher due to
wildfire smoke, even with less exposure, than other sources of
PM2.5. This is a serious problem, as air pollution
produced by wildfires now accounts for more than 70% of total fine
particulate matter exposure on poor air quality days in
California.
Processed Red Meat May Raise Risk of Dementia; Swapping it
for Nuts or Beans May Lower It
People who eat about two
servings a week of processed red meat have a 14% higher risk of
dementia than those who eat less than about three servings a
month, according to research reported for the first time at AAIC
2024. It also showed that replacing one serving of processed red
meat every day with one serving of nuts and legumes can lower the
risk of dementia by about 20%. Examples of processed red meat
include bacon, hot dogs and sausage.
The research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,
Boston, analyzed findings from
more than 130,000 participants in the Nurses' Health Study and
Health Professionals Follow-Up Study tracked for up to 43 years.
They based their findings on the participants' answers to
food-frequency questionnaires. Each additional daily serving of
processed red meat was linked to an extra 1.6 years of cognitive
aging for global cognition, and an extra 1.7 years of cognitive
aging in verbal memory.
Blood Tests May Revolutionize Accuracy of Alzheimer's Disease
Diagnosis
Blood tests for Alzheimer's disease are moving
closer to use in physicians' offices. Research reported at AAIC
2024 suggests some of them (once confirmed) may make diagnoses
much more accurate, support recruiting for future clinical trials,
and help people get diagnosed and treated more quickly. Blood tests
that assess phosphorylated tau (p-tau) protein to identify
Alzheimer's-related changes in the brain show the most promise.
One study from Lund University,
Sweden, included 1,213 patients
who were tested with the PrecivityAD2 test, and found it
significantly outperformed clinicians who were not using a
blood test. The test was about 90% accurate at identifying
Alzheimer's, while specialists at memory clinics were 73% accurate
and primary care doctors were 63% accurate.
Findings of another study combining 2,718 cognitively unimpaired
participants from 10 different studies suggest that levels of a
marker called p-tau217 in plasma alone may be sufficient to select
cognitively unimpaired amyloid-positive participants for clinical
trials. A third study that used a forecasting model suggests that
the use of high-performing blood tests in primary care could
drastically reduce average wait times for Alzheimer's diagnosis and
treatment from nearly six years to less than six months.
About the Alzheimer's Association International
Conference® (AAIC®)
The Alzheimer's
Association International Conference (AAIC) is the world's largest
gathering of researchers from around the world focused on
Alzheimer's and other dementias. As a part of the Alzheimer's
Association's research program, AAIC serves as a catalyst for
generating new knowledge about dementia and fostering a vital,
collegial research community.
AAIC 2024 home page: www.alz.org/aaic/
AAIC 2024 newsroom: www.alz.org/aaic/pressroom.asp
AAIC 2024 hashtag: #AAIC24
About the Alzheimer's Association®
The
Alzheimer's Association is a worldwide voluntary health
organization dedicated to Alzheimer's care, support and research.
Our mission is to lead the way to end Alzheimer's and all other
dementia — by accelerating global research, driving risk reduction
and early detection, and maximizing quality care and support. Our
vision is a world without Alzheimer's and all other
dementia®. Visit alz.org or call 800.272.3900.
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SOURCE Alzheimer's Association