September 27,
2001
Retreat Is A Step Forward for Alzheimer's
Research
2nd Annual Center For Neurodegenerative Disease Research
Retreat, November 7, 2001
Emerging Alzheimer's Disease Therapies: Focusing on the
Future
(Philadelphia,
PA) - On November 7, 2001, world leaders in Alzheimer's
Disease research will converge on the University of
Pennsylvania Medical Center to discuss the future of
Alzheimer's therapy.
The retreat, organized by John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD,
and Virginia M. -Y. Lee, PhD, co-founders and co-directors
of the Penn Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research
(CNDR), is open to students, researchers, clinicians,
and interested members of the press.
"This is an exciting time in Alzheimer's Disease
research - in just the last few years we have made incredible
advances in the understanding and treatment of Alzheimer's,"
said Lee. "Because it is such a dynamic field,
those of us in research have a great need to come together
in order to share what we know."
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related and irreversible
brain disorder that occurs gradually and results in
memory loss, behavior and personality changes, and a
decline in thinking abilities. These losses are related
to the breakdown of the connections between nerve cells
in the brain and the eventual death of many of these
cells.
AD is the most common cause of dementia among people
age 65 and older. It presents a major health problem
for the United States because of its enormous impact
on individuals, families, the health care system, and
society as a whole. Scientists estimate that up to 4
million people currently suffer from the disease and
that approximately 360,000 new cases will occur each
year - a number expected to increase as the population
ages.
The CNDR was founded in 1991 by the husband and wife
team of Trojanowski and Y. Lee. The center is devoted
to developing better diagnostic strategies and effective
new therapies - and encouraging the rapid translation
of progress at the lab bench to the bedside.
The CNDR conducts multidisciplinary clinical and basic
research studies to learn more about the causes and
mechanisms leading to brain dysfunction and degeneration
in AD, Parkinson's disease, motor neuron disease, and
other less common neurodegenerative disorders.
"We want to provide our students and colleagues
with an informal opportunity to get together and talk
about what lies ahead for Alzheimer's research,"
said Trojanowski. "I expect the walls will positively
bulge outward with the might of the assembled brain
power."
The schedule of events will include lectures by:
 Ivan
Lieberburg, MD, PhD, Elan Corporation
"Systemic Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's Disease"
Cynthia
Lemere, PhD, Harvard Medical School
"Intra-nasal Immunotherapy for Alzheimer's Disease"
Samuel
Gandy, MD, PhD, New York University Medical School
"Gonadal Hormone Therapy For Alzheimer's Disease"
Ashley
Bush, MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School
"Metal Complexing Agents as Therapies for Alzheimer's
Disease"
Blas
Frangione, MD, PhD, New York University Medical School
"Modification of Soluble Ab Derivatives: An Approach
to Alzheimer's Disease Therapy"
Martin
Citron, PhD, Amgen, Incorporated.
"Beta-secretase Inhibitor Therapy for Alzheimer's
Disease"
Yue-Min
Li, PhD, Merck and Company
"Gamma-secretase: Identification and Implications
for Alzheimer's Disease Therapy"
Virginia
M.-Y. Lee, PhD, Penn School of Medicine
"Amyloid Binding Ligands as Alzheimer's Disease
Therapies"
Sangram
S. Sisodia, PhD, University of Chicago
"Current Status of Emerging Therapies for Alzheimer's
Disease"
Christopher
Clark, MD & Jason Karlawish, MD, Penn School of
Medicine
"What are the Next Steps? The Challenges of Transforming
Advances in the Laboratory into Treatments for Patients"
The deadline for symposium registration is October
15, 2001. For registration and complete scheduling information
please call (215) 662-4708, e-mail viale@mail.med.upenn.edu,
or visit on the Web at www.uphs.upenn.edu/cndr
# # #
Editor's Note: Interested members of the media are urged
to contact Greg Lester at (215) 349-5658 at anytime
before the conference if they would like to attend any
of the lectures or by October 15, 2001 if they plan
to attend the entire day's events.
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