At a recent meeting on “Research priorities for preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias” (ADRD), convened by the National Academies, one consensus priority on ADRD research was that there needs to be more of it at every stage. Several speakers presented stark numbers on the relative volume of research in cancer and neurodegeneration. Research output, measured in peer-reviewed papers, for dementia is estimated to be around 10,000 papers annually, compared to 150,000 for cancer, while AD clinical trials are also few and far between compared to cancer trials. This final installment of BioWorld’s series on Alzheimer’s explores some of the reasons for this discrepancy along with the latest advances and ongoing efforts to accelerate research and drug development in the field.

Ironically, the first person to be diagnosed with what is now Alzheimer’s disease was missing its major risk factor. When she first began showing symptoms of dementia in 1901, Auguste Deter was not particularly old. Despite Deter’s case, aging is the largest risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s, by a large margin. But “geroscience has not been translated into drugs for Alzheimer’s disease,” Howard Fillit, Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation co-founder and chief scientific officer, told BioWorld. “We’re just starting to see that cross-fertilization now.”

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is recognized worldwide for its debilitating symptoms of declining cognitive function and gradual memory loss. What remains less clear is exactly what causes the neurodegenerative disease, and how to treat it. “Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by two key pathologies – beta-amyloid plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles.” Seung-Yong Yoon, CEO of Adel Inc., told BioWorld. “Adel is looking to develop a tau-targeting drug, considering tau has been more correlated with AD symptom progression, and the industry’s need for tau pipelines.”

Researchers from Indiana University are seeking patent protection for an electromagnetic field (EMF) generation system for treating neurodegenerative diseases. The EMF generation system emulates a small-scale magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, producing the same 64 MHz frequency at a much lower operating power.

“Change is the only constant” is an ageless truth. In the search for age-related biomarkers, it is also a prosaic confounding factor.

Age-related biomarkers will be critical for the development of antiaging therapeutics. “Nobody is planning to do a life span study in humans,” Eric Verdin told the audience at the 10th Conference on Aging Research and Drug Development in Copenhagen on Monday. “Hence the need for … surrogate markers.”

Scientists at the University of Virginia have discovered an anti-aging mechanism mediated by an enzyme that metabolizes alcohol. Alcohol dehydrogenase, which in Caenorhabditis elegans and yeast replaces the rejuvenating effect of autophagy, would reduce age-associated glycerol levels, also promoting longevity in mice and humans.

Epigenetic testing company Trudiagnostic LLC has linked up with Rejuve.AI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered longevity research network, to develop more accurate tools for predicting chronological age. Specifically, the collaboration seeks to shed new light on the biology of aging and connectedness of DNA methylation (DNAm), metabolomics and proteomics.

In this multipart special report, BioWorld explores the concept of extending lifespan, which is surprisingly well-validated by basic research. The team examined the latest science, the key biological drivers that can be targeted pharmacologically and the companies developing these potential “Fountain of Youth” candidate drugs.

Two studies published back to back in Nature have looked at the accumulation of mutations in blood-forming stem cells with age, gaining new insights into how the overall landscape of such cells changes across the lifespan. 

By using roughly 400 data points, from molecular to physical fitness, researchers have gained new insights into how organs such as the heart vs. the skin, and systems such as the immune and metabolic systems, age at different rates within individuals.