Michael Ehlers on Mutations in ionotropic AMPA receptor 3 alter channel properties and are associated with moderate cognitive impairment in humans.

COMMENT The intriguing study by Wu et al. provides a clear link between AMPA receptors, the major neurotransmitter receptor for rapid excitatory transmission in the brain, and specific genetic forms of mental retardation. The type of AMPA receptor examined, terme

John Morris on Operationalization of mild cognitive impairment: a graphical approach.

COMMENT The report by Matthews and colleagues from the Medical Research Council Cognitive Function and Ageing Study raises important issues regarding mild cognitive impairment (MCI): 1) it has been an important concept for the field; 2) it has been difficult to o

Paul Hillard on Los Angeles: People With Memory Loss Speak for Themselves

COMMENT [Editor's note: Paul Hillard is a pseudonym.] I feel fortunate to have met Richard and Jay, and to have played a small part in this conference. The program they forged together was dynamic and useful to people with early-stage dementia. The entire da

Boris Schmidt on Expression profiling in APP23 mouse brain: inhibition of Abeta amyloidosis and inflammation in response to LXR agonist treatment.

COMMENT Riddell et al. reported that TO-901317, a liver X receptor (LXR) agonist, at brain concentrations of 5 μMol/l reduced Aβ42 levels in the Tg2576 mouse model and reversed the contextual memory deficit in these mice. They came to the conclusion that TO-90131

John T. on Los Angeles: People With Memory Loss Speak for Themselves

COMMENT [Editor's note: John T. is a pseudonym.] My wife is now into her twelfth year of this horrible disease and she is only 66 years old. Her illness was identified when she was in the workforce, and prior to her diagnosis she was treated dreadfully. One

Michael Myre on Los Angeles: People With Memory Loss Speak for Themselves

COMMENT I found this to be an interesting article and a long-overdue forum where those afflicted with AD could voice their concerns loud and clear to the general community, government bodies, and progress in AD research in general. The complex etiology of AD (i.e

Victor L. Villemagne on Longitudinal, quantitative assessment of amyloid, neuroinflammation, and anti-amyloid treatment in a living mouse model of Alzheimer's disease enabled by positron emission tomography.

COMMENT The elegant report by Maeda and colleagues [1] shows that in vivo amyloid imaging with 11C-PIB in transgenic (Tg) mice is possible. After the initial in vivo studies with multiphoton microscopy showing binding of PIB to plaques in Tg mice [2], it was repo

Don Moyer on Los Angeles: People With Memory Loss Speak for Themselves

COMMENT By all accounts the LA conference was a breakthrough event, and special thanks are due to Rich Bozanich and Jay Smith for this. This comes on the heels of smaller steps over the last several years. Shortly after he started work as the new CEO of the Alzhe

Jed Levine on Los Angeles: People With Memory Loss Speak for Themselves

COMMENT Wonderful article on a terrific and inspiring conference. jlevine 0

Shirley Garnett on Los Angeles: People With Memory Loss Speak for Themselves

COMMENT It is so good to read about what of all you are starting to do in the U.S. to include those of us with dementia in determining our own future, and hearing what we say about the help and acceptance we need.Congratulations to all involved. Best wishes for y

P.F. Jennings on Anti-hypertensives for AD?—Remembrances of NSAIDs Past

COMMENT Perhaps the effect that is being seen is related to C-reactive protein. CRP is clearly implicated in Alzheimer's, and apparently valsartan reduces CRP. Here are a few quotes to illustrate: "Inflammation plays an important role in the pathogenesi

Fred Van Leuven on Hot Stuff—PIB News From the Pacific Rim

COMMENT Besides the interesting issues already discussed at length and in depth, the data bring to mind the problem of why N-terminally directed antibodies—and particularly those against the EFRH epitope as demonstrated by Beka Solomon and coworkers—are most effi

Jürgen Götz on Presenilin: running with scissors in the membrane.

COMMENT Concise review concentrating on AD, but including a small paragraph on gamma-secretase as a target for cancer. 0 j.goetz

Jürgen Götz on Gene expression profiling in the adult Down syndrome brain.

COMMENT An interesting transcriptomics study identifying differentially expressed genes and differentially regulated gene categories in Down Syndrome. Interestingly, although APP mRNA was not changed, some genes involved in APP processing (such as BACE2 and S100B

Jürgen Götz on One at a time, live tracking of NGF axonal transport using quantum dots.

COMMENT Nice study both from a technical point and as far as the scientific implications are concerned. 0 j.goetz