Klein Lab | About Alzheimer's

About Alzheimer's

the facts timeline what's being done

The Facts

EVERY 68 SECONDS someone develops Alzheimer's. . About 5.4 MILLION PEOPLE in the US now live with Alzheimer's. 10 MILLION baby boomers will develop Alzheimer's in their lifetimes. Alzheimer's is the SIXTH-LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH.* Proportions of deaths due to Alzheimer's disease increased 66% between 2000-2008. Direct costs amount to $200 BILLION/YEAR. Unpaid caregiving costs amount to another $210 BILLION/YEAR. * Was seventh until June, 2008 Thanks to the Alzheimer's Association for compiling these facts and figures. Download the Association's complete 2012 report

Growth Rate is Startling Click on the image above for larger version.	Estimated Number of New Cases. (Note: This is not the number of cumulative total cases, but new cases in the given year.) 2000: 411,000 2010: 454,000 2030: 615,000 2050: 959,000

Cost is Enormous Click on the image above for larger version. From Alzheimer's Association Report: 2012 Facts & Figures	Costs of Alzheimer's are difficult, at best, to estimate. Direct medical and care costs, while great, are only the beginning. The toll on family and loved ones is enormous. This will outweigh all other costs in the long run.

Now There is Hope	Therapeutic applications of the Klein Lab findings suggest that early diagnosis, lifestyle changes and interventions may arrest and even reverse this devastating disease. A vaccine based on the work of our team is expected to begin clinical trials this year.

and counting....

Meet Auguste D, above, the first patient diagnosed with Alzheimer's one hundred years ago, in 1906.

Her physician: Alois Alzheimer

Learn more about Dr. Alzheimer

Since Auguste D was the first patient identified as having Alzheimer's, more than 18 million have been diagnosed.

Timeline

1864	Dr. Alois Alzheimer is born in Bavaria
1901 -1906	Dr. Alzheimer observes August D., a fifty-one-year-old woman from Frankfurt
1906	Dr. Alzheimer publishes histological changes he has observed in his patient
1910	Emil Kräpelin uses the term "Alzheimer's disease"
1910 - 1960s	Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains a little-known disease, often referred to as "senility" or "hardening of the arteries"
1974 - 1975	National Institute's of Health National Institute on Aging is established
1976	Biochemical changes in the brain are associated with AD
1979	Alzheimer's Association is founded
1980s	AD becomes a social movement Research on the biochemistry of toxic proteins of plaques and tangles is underway
1987	Rita Hayworth dies of what is acknowledged as AD
1991	The Klein Lab establishes its Alzheimer's disease research program
1993	Cognex® is the first FDA-approved drug to treat AD
1994	Possible effect of estrogen on AD is postulated
1996	Aricept® is approved by FDA to treat AD
1998	Discovery of ADDLs is published by the Klein Lab
2001	Prototype for ADDLs vaccine introduced by the Klein Lab
2002	First anti-AD is tested in humans; trial is halted due to inflammation of the brain and spinal cord
2003	The Klein Lab clinical study establishes ADDLs in Alzheimer's-afflicted brain
2004	The Klein Lab publishes breakthrough study showing ADDLs attack on memory linked synapses Ronald Reagan dies of AD
2005	Prototype diagnostics developed for Alzheimer's disease based on ADDL detection Namenda® is approved by FDA to treat AD
2007	ADDLs found to trigger multiple facets of Alzheimer’s brain pathology (Tau, ROS, etc.)
2008	Researchers at the Klein Lab reveal research describing AD as a form of "type 3 diabetes" Therapeutic anti-ADDL vaccine protects brain cells in pre-clinical study

Sources: Kalamazoo Center for Medical Studies; The Klein Lab

What's Being Done

What causes ADDLs, the toxic molecules that bring about Alzheimer's, to develop?

How can ADDL formation and their toxic action on brain cells be stopped?

Researchers around the world are looking to the Klein Lab and its expertise in this area for answers. Collaborators from Japan, China and the US are sending compounds to the Lab to assess their ability to eliminate ADDLs. Drugs that block ADDL attachment to brain cells are being sought. New approaches to vaccine therapies are underway. Links between diabetes and Alzheimer’s are being exploited for new therapeutic strategies.

For early Alzheimer’s diagnostics, fifteen labs in Europe alone are working to develop an assay for ADDLs in blood and spinal fluid.

Progress with nanoparticles is especially promising, with an assay close at hand. Northwestern University's leadership in nanoresearch provides a powerful gateway for further development.

Image courtesy of Dr. Pascale Lacor, research assistant professor in the Klein Lab.

The Klein Lab at Northwestern University
2205 Tech Drive
Evanston, Illinois 60208-3520
847-491-5510

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