Drugs for Alzheimer’s: Does Oncology Discovery Provide the Template?

Cancers and Alzheimer’s disease are the major health challenges of our era, with cases predicted to rise dramatically over the next decade. Both age-associated diseases share the characteristic of having multiple genes implicated in the onset and evolution of their complex pathologies. In the case of cancer, sequencing the DNA from human malignancies has revealed aberrantly activated genes (mutations and/or translocations) that drive malignancy. These present disease biomarkers and drug targets. Similarly, multiple genetic alterations and biomarkers have emerged for Alzheimer’s disease.
Failure of early- and late-stage clinical drug candidates is a commonality between cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, reflecting the challenges of target validation and the inherent limitations of preclinical models. Should the past decades of biomarker identification, imaging, and drug discovery in oncology act as a robust model for securing advances in the diagnosis and therapy of Alzheimer’s disease? Does an understanding of cell death/apoptosis mechanisms provide opportunities in both diseases, where Alzheimer’s is characterized by post-mitotic cell death and cancer often by stubborn cell survival and replicative potential? Does the inflammation associated with both diseases point to the potential of novel immunological approaches? In this dialogue, experts in cancer pharmacology will be joined by experts in the molecular pathology and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. They will discuss the question of whether progress in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer could be a template for making advances in Alzheimer’s disease.
Chair:
Dr. Leeza Osipenko
Speakers:
Prof John Hickman
Prof George Perry
Prof Rudy Tanzi
Prof John Lazo
Comments from Chat:
Peter Whitehouse: When you talk about declaring war and eventually conquering disease you play into fear which in turn plays in to looking for simplistic solutions. Epigenetics (micro and macro) opened our eyes to the complexities of environmental influences, both ecological and social.
Peter Whitehouse: So what does the biology of normal aging tell us about either cancer or Alzheimer's? If there are continuums of biologies, how early should we try to diagnosis and treat- "normal" older people? What would a cure look like?
Peter Whitehouse: Are there any parallels in oncology to the controversy in the Alzheimers's field about the role in amyloid?
Francois Maignen: Are there any products (in pre- or clinical development) which inhibit the enzymes responsible for the production of beta-amyloid protein?
Francois Maignen: Why trying to increase the clearance of beta-amyloid when it could be possible (in theory) to inhibit its production?
Tetere Ance: Thank you for providing such an informative panel.
May I ask if any of you are familiar with the Antiproton Cell Experiment (ACE) and if you could offer insights on CERN for cancer initiative - the 'promising' treatment certain universities praise?
home.cern/scie...
Peter Whitehouse: The issues of untargeted screening, overdiagnosis, and over treatment in cancer make likely haunt Alzheimer's
Peter Whitehouse: Great if we end Alzheimers's do we end brain aging?
Peter Whitehouse: Yes opportunity costs- maybe music (Aerosmith anyone) and certainly exercise lay be better than biologics.
Peter Whitehouse: We should have public health, not just individual life style interventions - but who makes the money?
Peter Whitehouse: Brain health and brain fitness are a huge "movements"- there is money to made here
Peter Whitehouse: Yes that rise of cancer in young people should make simplistic oncogenetic models suspect
Francois Maignen: I am not aware of any existing product which has a beneficial effect on cognitive impairment (in absence of vascular dementia), if we want to repurpose some products which ones are likely to be candidates?
Juan Gomez-M: please be open to new views... For any biomolecule, including those that can cause Alzheimer’s or cancer, there exists at least one strategic, intelligent approach for each context and pattern that can turn these biomolecules into your best defender and friend or your worst enemy.
John Grogan: Would early public education be a cost effective strategy for preventing Alzheimer's?
Francois Maignen: Are we hitting a wall with all the cancer and Alzheimer treatments? What is the point of treating these diseases if at the end life expectancy remains unchanged? People will probably die of other causes at a an old (and same) age?
David Colquhoun: Life style changes need to be tested really rigorously. There is barely any association between red meat intake and cancer!!!!!!! Another update. Red meat doesn't kill you, but the spin is fascinating - DC's Improbable Science (dcscience.net)
David Colquhoun: Diet gurus make a fortune by confusing correlation with causation
David Colquhoun: Lifestyle changes have never been properly tested!