Brain diseases with molecular diversity

Parkinson’s and multisystem atrophy (MSA) – both of them neurodegenerative diseases – are associated with the accumulation of alpha-synuclein proteins in the brain. Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (MPI-BPC) have investigated the molecular makeup of these protein deposits finding structural diversity. Experts from…

Study to investigate surrogate decision challenges for LGBT patients with Alzheimer’s

INDIANAPOLIS — Facing Alzheimer’s disease in a loved one is challenging under any circumstances but may be even more challenging when the patient is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Regenstrief Institute research scientist and Indiana University School of Medicine faculty member Alexia Torke, M.D., M.S., has received a grant from the National Institutes of…

ACR and EULAR release new classification criteria for IgG4-related disease

ATLANTA – The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) released the 2019 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for IgG4-Related Disease. It is the first criteria developed specifically for this recently recognized disease. A draft of the criteria was presented during the 2018 ACR/ARP Annual Meeting in Chicago. Since that time, the…

GW-led consortium receives $2.2 million grant to fund BioCompute Object Specification Project

A consortium led by the George Washington University (GW) has been refunded for their BioCompute Object Specification Project, thanks to a $2.2 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The BioCompute Object Specification Project, which was launched in fall 2017, provides much-needed standards for communicating high-throughput sequencing (HTS) computations and data…

Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s Diagnostics Accelerator announces second round of awards

NEW YORK, NY, December 4, 2019 – The Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) announced six new investments totaling $6 million through its Diagnostics Accelerator initiative. These current awards include research for blood tests in various stages of development, with one close to becoming a viable diagnostic tool for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. Other research…

Internists concerned proposed Ohio legislation would harm patients

Washington, DC (December 4, 2019) –The American College of Physicians (ACP) fears that recent legislation introduced in the Ohio state legislature that orders physicians to re-implant ectopic pregnancies, which is clinically not possible, will threaten patient health and subject physicians to criminal prosecution for providing standard of care, reproductive health care services. “Ectopic pregnancies…