Is alz an autoimmune condition?

Ed1937

https://neurosciencenews.com/alzheimers-autoimmune-disease-21456/  

Joydean

Thanks Ed for sharing. I found this very interesting.

Lane Simonian

Thank you for posting, Ed.  The idea that Alzheimer's disease is an autoimmune disease is an interesting one, although it may be slightly more complicated that this.  Amyloid is probably the product of other insults to the brain such as exposure to air pollution, pesticides, and heavy metals, concussions and other brain trauma, bacterial, fungal, and viral infections, stress, an unhealthy diet (too much sugar and other carbohydrates, high fructose corn syrup, saturated fats, etc.), and genetic factors.  All of these via oxidative and nitrostative stress end up damaging molecules in the brain leading to a neuroinflammatory and/or an autoimmune response.

The peroxynitrite-driven oxidation and nitration of biomolecules may lead to autoimmunity and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15321819.2019.1583109?journalCode=ljii20

Much attention has been paid of late to anti-inflammatory treatments for Alzheimer's disease, but it may be a case of too little, too late.  Much of the damage to the brain has already been done before widespread inflammation occurs, although inflammation can further add to this damage in part by increasing oxidation and nitration.

Faith,Hope,Love

Thanks for sharing Ed.  Very interesting article.

Crushed

I always get distressed with supposedly scientifically trained people who use THEORY when they mean HYPOTHESIS

The problem is that it allows  %^%%$   (rude word deleated)  to say "that's just a theory and then declare some idiot idea also a theory and therefore they are equal

   A hypothesis proposes a tentative explanation or prediction. A scientist bases their hypothesis on a specific observed event, making an educated guess as to how or why that event occurs. Their hypothesis may be proven true or false by testing and experimentation. A theory, on the other hand, is a substantiated explanation for an occurrence. Theories rely on tested and verified data, and scientists widely accepted theories to be true, though not unimpeachable.
 
  https://www.masterclass.com/articles/theory-vs-hypothesis-basics-of-the-scientific-method

I would  add that a scientific hypothesis has the additional requirement that it be testable scientifically .  Religion may be a hypothesis  but not it is a scientific one, since there s no scientific test for it 

Larrytherunner

We will know more about the immune system's involvement in Alzheimers and other age related dementias when the Emory University montelukast Alzheimers clinical trial is completed and announced as scheduled this coming December. Montelukast is an inhibitor of cysteinyl leukotrienes, which are signaling molecules that increase neutrophil activation and signal for increased cytokine production.

I think that the clinical trial will show positive results as an effective treatment for Alzheimers. The FDA trial started out before Covid with plans for 150 participants but was cut down to 32 when it was restarted and therefore is too small to be submitted to the FDA. But montelukast is not a new drug. It was approved more than twenty years ago as a treatment for asthma. If this small trial shows positive results for Alzheimers, it could convince some physicians to prescribe it off label.

I suspect that we will see a much bigger FDA trial coming from Emory maybe next year. The reason is that someone named Jack William Schultz holds a patent dated 2015 on controlled release montelukast as a treatment for Alzheimers and other neurological conditions. Dr Spencer Rozin MD did the case studies for that patent. It so happens that Mr Schultz, Dr Rozin and Emory University are all located in the Atlanta area. That patent is a very valuable property if a montelukast trial is successful.

Crushed, as a lawyer who has worked with the FDA, could you determine when that patent would expire?  I have read that determining pharmaceutical patent expiration dates can be complicated.

https://patents.justia.com/inventor/jack-william-schultz

Crushed

for any approved drugs the dates are in https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ob/index.cfm

Larrytherunner

I found a web address that answers my questions on drug patents and exclusivity

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/development-approval-process-drugs/frequently-asked-questions-patents-and-exclusivity