Updated 24 April 2008

This forum promotes scientific discussion on important recent publications, trends and controversies. Each discussion includes a background text, a scheduled live chat with an invited panel, and a transcript of the live chat. Use our Comments Form to submit questions and remarks by email on a live forum topic.

The views of live discussions participants do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Alzheimer Research Forum or its editors.

Upcoming Live Discussions

Ongoing Forum Discussions

Non-coding RNAs in Neurodegeneration
Led by Peter T. Nelson.
Webinar/live discussion held 26 October 2007.
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APP Family: Clues to Function in Health and AD
Led by Sanjay W. Pimplikar and Suzanne Guenette.
Live discussion held 11 October 2007.

Susceptibility Testing and Risk Assessment in Alzheimer Disease
Led by Robert C. Green.
Webinar held 15 June 2007.

The AD8: A Brief Screening Tool for Very Mild Dementia
Led by Jim Galvin.
Webinar held 30 May 2007.

Finding NIH Support for Drug Discovery and Development for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Led by Neil Buckholtz and Lorenzo Refolo.
Webinar held 9 April 2007.

Alzheimer Disease—The Fragile X Syndrome Connection
Led by Cara Westmark.
Webinar held 21 March 2007.

ADCS Prevention Instrument Project
Led by Steven Ferris, Doug Galasko, David Salmon, Mary Sano, Lon Schneider, Peter Whitehouse, and colleagues.
Webinar held 12 March 2007.

Presenilin Loss of Function—Plan B for AD?
Forum discussion led by Jie Shen and Ray Kelleher.

Whole Genome Study for Parkinson Disease
Led by Katrina Gwinn-Hardy.
Live discussion held 18 December 2006.

The Alzheimer Biomarker Knowledge Base
Led by Debra Revere.
Webinar held 14 December 2006.

Webinar: Axonopathy in Mouse Models of AD
Led by Thomas Bayer.
Webinar held 29 November 2006.

Webinar: The NeuronDB Knowledge Base
Led by Gordon Shepherd and Kei Cheung.
Webinar held 26 October 2006.

The Functional Roles of APP Cytoplasmic Domain—Conflicts and Consensus
Led by Sanjay Pimplikar.
Live discussion held 3 October 2006.
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Data-mining for Medications That Affect the Incidence of Dementia
Led by Ben Wolozin.
Live discussion held 25 August 2006.

M1 Receptors Play a Central Role in AD Pathology and Cognition
Led by Frank LaFerla.
Webinar held 5 July 2006.

An Idiosyncratic View of AD Biomarkers
Led by Paul Coleman.
Webinar held 1 June 2006.

Gain or Loss of Function—Time to Shake up Assumptions on γ-Secretase in Alzheimer Disease?
Led by Peter Davies and Bart de Strooper.

Not Dead Yet: Estrogen Deserves Another Chance
Led by Sam Gandy, with John Breitner, Rena Li, Dominique Toran-Allerand, Phyllis Wise, Kristine Yaffe, and Peter Zandi.
Live discussion held 9 March 2006.
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Cell Cycle Hypothesis Pedaling into Mainstream Acceptance? Results in Fly, Mouse Models Warrant a Second Look
Led by Vikram Khurana and Mel Feany, with Karl Herrup, Bruce Lamb, Inez Vincent, Rachael Neve, Donna McPhie, Dan Geschwind, Cathy Andorfer, and Xiongwei Zhu.
Live discussion held 1 March 2006.
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Reducing the Risk of Alzheimer Disease
Led by John Trojanowski, with Deborah Blacker, Greg Cole, Carl Cotman, Suzanne de la Monte, Sally Frautschy, Lew Kuller, Mark Mattson, Dave Morgan, David Sinclair, and Sam Sisodia.
Live discussion held 3 January 2006.
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Messing with the Membrane—An Alternative Interpretation of the Amyloid-β Hypothesis
Forum discussion led by Vincent Marchesi.

The Pathogen Hypothesis—Challenging the Primacy of Genetics in Late-Onset Alzheimer Disease.
Forum discussion led by Brian Balin.

Are Glia Active Participants in Neurodegenerative Disease?
Led by Ben Barres.
Live discussion held 20 October 2005.
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Could a New Down Syndrome Mouse Model Also Be Useful for Alzheimer Research?
Led by Lizzy Fisher and Victor Tybulewicz.
Live discussion held 14 October 2005.
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Lost in Translation? Charting the Course in Preclinical Therapeutic Development: A Panel Discussion
Led by Howard Fillit, Jordan Tang, Frank Longo, Eli Michaelis, and Jens Eckstein.
Live discussion held 16 September 2005.
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Ceramide and Cholesterol: Possible Connections Between Normal Aging of the Brain and Alzheimer’s Disease
Led by Luigi Puglielli.
Live discussion held 7 September 2005.
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Insulin Resistance: A Common Axis Linking Alzheimer's, Depression and Metabolism?
Led by Natalie Rasgon.
Live discussion held 6 July 2005.
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100 Questions and Answers About Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Tom Wisniewski and Marcin Sadowski.
Live discussion held 1 July 2005.
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Differential Neuronal Vulnerability
Led by Vikram Khurana and Ole Isacson.
Live discussion held 29 June 2005.
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Now You See Them, Now You Don't: The Amyloid Channel Hypothesis
Led by Bruce Kagan.
Live discussion held 16 June 2005.
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Making a BioMark on Alzheimer Disease
Led by John Trojanowski, Les Shaw, and Anne Fagan.
Live discussion held 1 June 2005.
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Imaging in Alzheimer's Disease: The Current State of Affairs
Led by Chet Mathis and Bill Klunk, with Julie Price, Cliff Jack, and Eric Reiman.
Live discussion held 27 April 2005.
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What Price Privacy? Is the HIPAA Law Stifling Dementia Research?
Led by Margaret Doris.
Live discussion held 24 April 2005.

Is Alzheimer's a Type 3 Diabetes?
Led by Suzanne de la Monte.
Live discussion held 25 March 2005.
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Caloric Restriction: Eat Less, Live Longer!
Led by Mark Mattson.
Live discussion held 25 March 2005.

Role and Control of Metal-Mediated Fibril Toxicity
Led by David Allsop and Ashley Bush, with co-moderator Dominic Walsh.
Live discussion held 20 December 2004.
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Memantine: Implications for Treating Alzheimer's
Led by Steven T. DeKosky and Bengt Winblad.
Live discussion held 29 September 2004.
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A "Mitochondrial Cascade Hypothesis" for Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Russell H. Swerdlow and Shaharyar Khan.
Live discussion held 24 September 2004.
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Cell Death: Time to Push It Out of the Doldrums
Forum discussion led by Yong Shen.
Live discussion held 10 September 2004.

Cast Call for Players: Healthy Aging Through Lean Living
Led by Leigh Ann Henricksen and Howard J. Federoff.
Live discussion held 17 August 2004.
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The Pathogen Hypothesis
Led by June Kinoshita, with Brian Balin, Denah Appelt, Joseph Lyons, Ruth Itzhaki, and Curtis Dobson.
Live discussion held 1 July 2004.
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Protein Misfolding: An Unfolding Series of Discussions
Led by Dominic Walsh.
Live discussion held 9 June 2004.
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Androgens, ApoE, and Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Jacob Raber. Produced in collaboration with SAGE KE.
Transcript unavailable.
Live discussion held 7 May 2004.

Vascular Factors in Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Jack de la Torre, David Bennett, and Julie Schneider.
Live discussion held 21 April 2004.
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Stem Cell Therapies for Neurodegenerative Disease: How Should We Push Ahead?
Led by Mahendra Rao, with co-moderator George Martin.
Live discussion held 30 March 2004.
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Minority Views and Professional Responsibilities—Scientists Air Their Views
Led by George Perry.
Transcript unavailable.
Live discussion held 10 March 2004.

Clioquinol Trial Postmortem: Does Blocking Metal-Aβ Interactions Work?
Led by Ashley Bush.
Live discussion held 15 January 2004.
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Novel Substrates for BACE1 Beg the Question: What's the Biological Function of β-Secretase?
Led by Stefan Lichtenthaler.
Live discussion held 17 December 2003.
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Is Alzheimer's an Autoimmune Disease?
Led by Michael R. D'Andrea.
Live discussion held 4 December 2003.
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BDNF and Alzheimer's Disease—What's the Connection?
Led by Nicole C. Berchtold and Carl W. Cotman.
Live discussion held 25 November 2003.
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Alzheimer's: A Triple Whammy. Why are So Many Neurodegenerative Diseases Single, Double, or Triple Amyloidoses?
Led by John Q. Trojanowski and Mark P. Mattson.
Live discussion held 22 October 2003.
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Therapeutic Nihilism: Widespread Yet Passé? AD Acetylcholinesterase Inhibitors Are Better Than Their Reputation
Led by John C. Morris, Murray Raskind, and Martin Farlow.
Live discussion held 14 October 2003.
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Are Neurons Just Too Laissez-Faire about Repair?
Led by Thierry Nouspikel. Moderated by Rachael Neve.
Live discussion held 14 July 2003.
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How Does Excess Aβ Leave the Brain, How Does It Get In, And Can We Trap It Outside?
Led by Berislav Zlokovic.
Live discussion held 23 June 2003.
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Axonal Transport Hypothesis Moves On to Implicate Presenilin
Led by Jorge Busciglio and Scott Brady.
Live discussion held 17 June 2003.
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Cholinergic Plasticity in Hippocampus of Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment: Correlation with Alzheimer's Neuropathology
Led by Glenda Bishop, with Steven T. DeKosky and Milos Ikonomovic.
Live discussion held 19 May 2003.
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Protein Folding and Neurodegeneration: Biophysics to the Rescue?
Led by David Teplow.
Live discussion held 30 April 2003.
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RNAi in Neurodegenerative Diseases—What's the Therapeutic Potential?
Led by Zuoshang Xu.
Live discussion held 18 March 2003.
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CAA: We All Know It's There, But Just What Is It Doing in Alzheimer's?
Led by Steven Greenberg and Mathias Jucker.
Transcript unavailable.
Live discussion held 12 March 2003.

Probing PPARγ? Agonists: Could Diabetes Drugs Treat Alzheimer's Disease?
Led by Elena Galea and Douglas Feinstein.
Live discussion held 16 December 2002.
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Intraneuronal Aβ Accumulation—More Evidence, Less Controversy?
Led by Gunnar Gouras.
Live discussion held 26 November 2002.
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Cholesterol and Alzheimer's—Charging Fast But Still at a Distance from Solid Answers
Led by Tobias Hartmann.
Live discussion held 19 November 2002.
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Will Probing Flies and Worms Bear Fruit in the Search for New Genes Involved in Alzheimer's?
Led by Mel Feany.
Live discussion held 29 October 2002.
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How the Other Half Lives—Or the What, How, and Where of the AβPP Intracellular Domain
Led by Frank LaFerla.
Live discussion held 20 September 2002.
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β Amyloid Degradation: The Forgotten Half of Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Malcolm Leissring and Wesley Farris.
Live discussion held 12 September 2002.
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The Cell Cycle and Alzheimer’s Disease—Let's Unite for Division!
Led by Inez Vincent.
Live discussion held 7 August 2002.
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From Here to There: AβPP as an Axonal Transport Receptor—How Could This Explain Neurodegeneration in AD?
Led by Larry Goldstein.
Live discussion held 15 July 2002.
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Alzheimer Genes in Cortical Development: How Do Their Prenatal Functions Relate to Dementia?
Led by Jie Shen.
Live discussion held 12 July 2002.
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Neural Stem Cells to the Rescue—Can Neuroreplacement Ever Become a Treatment for Alzheimer's?
Led by Kiminobu Sugaya.
Live discussion held 9 July 2002.
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Vascular Disease, Parkinson's, and Now Alzheimer's—Is Homocysteine the New All-Around Bad Guy?
Led by Mark Mattson.
Live discussion held 30 April 2002.
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Cerebrometabolic Deficiency in Alzheimer's Disease
Led by John P. Blass and Gary Gibson.
Live discussion held 15 April 2002.
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The Neuroplasticity Theory of Alzheimer's Disease
Led by J. Wesson Ashford.
Live discussion held 8 April 2002.
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Alzheimer Immunotherapy Trial Grounded: Time to Reassess Safety and Vaccine Design
Led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti.
Live discussion held 5 March 2002.
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From Epidemiology to Therapeutic Trials with Anti-inflammatory Drugs in Alzheimer's Disease: The Role of NSAIDs and Cyclooxygenase on Beta-amyloidosis and Clinical Dementia
Led by Giulio Maria Pasinetti.
Live discussion held 20 February 2002.
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Hemochromatosis as a Factor in AD
Led by Liz Milward.
Transcript unavailable.
Live discussion held 22 January 2002.

Picking up the Pieces of Parkin
Led by Benjamin Wolozin.
Live discussion held 17 January 2002.
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The Role of ApoE in Alzheimer's Disease: An Alternative View
Led by Keith Crutcher.
Live discussion held 11 December 2001.
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Gonadal Hormone Withdrawal, Apoptosis, and Generation of Beta Amyloid Peptide: A Vicious Cycle of Amyloidogenesis and Neurotoxicity in Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Sam Gandy.
Live discussion held 5 December 2001.
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Calcium Signaling Deficit in the Origin of Alzheimer's Disease
Background text prepared by Ming Chen.
Discussion postponed until further notice.

Nomenclature Discussion
Led by George Perry and Mark A. Smith.
Live discussion held 14 August 2001.
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New Theories of Presenilin Function
Led by Chris Weihl.
Live discussion held 12 December 2000.
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Generation of an Apoptotic Intracellular Peptide by γ-secretase Cleavage of Alzheimer's β-amyloid Precursor Protein
Led by Benjamin Wolozin, with Luciano D'Adamio and Eddie Koo.
Live discussion held 20 September 2000.
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Intracellular Aβ in Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Gunnar Gouras.
Live discussion held 16 May 2000.
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Protofibrillar Aβ in Alzheimer's Disease
Led by Dennis Selkoe, Dean Hartley, and William Klein.
Live discussion held 17 February 2000.
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Beta-Catenin and PS1
Led by Chris Weihl, with Bruce Yankner, Benjamin Wolozin, Eddie Koo, and Kenneth Kosik.
Live discussion held 13 August 1999.
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Pin1, Tau and the Cell Cycle in Alzheimer Disease
Led by June Kinoshita, with Peter Davies.
Live discussion held 3 August 1999.
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In Search of γ-Secretase
Led by Peter Nelson, with Dennis Selkoe, John Hardy, and Alain Israel.
Live discussion held 5 May 1999.
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Apoptosis in Alzheimer Disease
Led by Paul Coleman, with Carl Cotman, Mark A. Smith, and George Perry.
Live discussion held 24 March 1999.
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Frameshift Mutants of β Amyloid Precursor Protein and Ubiquitin-B in Alzheimer's and Down's Syndrome Patients
Led by Chris Weihl.
Live discussion held 28 May 1999.
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Alzheimer's Disease: A Re-examination of the Amyloid Hypothesis
Led by Peter Nelson.
Live discussion held 26 March 1998.
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Alzheimer Presenilins in the Nuclear Membrane, Interphase Kinetochores, and Centrosomes Suggest a Role in Chromosome Segregation
Led by Marc Paradis.
Live discussion held 20 March 1998.
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Isolation of Single Immunohistochemically Identified Whole Neuronal Cell Bodies from Post-Mortem Human Brain for Simultaneous Anlaysis of Multiple Gene Expression
Led by Peter T. Nelson.
Live discussion held 27 February 1998.
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Deficiency of Presenilin 1 Inhibits the Normal Cleavage of the Transmembrane Domain of Amyloid Precursor Protein
Led by Deborah Watson and Kenneth Kosik.
Live discussion held 30 January 1998.
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