Clinical Trials

Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Advances in the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research and the contributions of UCI MIND investigators remain tremendously exciting. Two new drugs have been approved by the FDA (page 3). These approvals are believed by many to represent the dawn of a new age in AD research and treatment. Both drugs received accelerated approval and we await a decision from the FDA about “full approval” for lecanemab. If received, full approval could cause the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to revisit their previous coverage decision about anti-amyloid antibody therapies. These…

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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, As the fall MIND Matters newsletter goes to print, many of us are preparing to travel to San Francisco for the annual Clinical Trials in Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) meeting, where we will hear important results from recently completed Phase 3 clinical trials of potential new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This includes trials of lecanemab (page 1) as well as other treatments. The topline results for lecanemab announced by the trial sponsors are exciting and suggest that lecanemab may slow the progression of AD. The availability of treatments to slow the…

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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, We hope that you had a summer full of sun, fun, and good health. As you can see in this issue of MIND Matters, it has been a busy summer here at UCI MIND. Our investigators played a prominent role at the annual Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC), a focus of this issue (p 1, 3, 6, and 7). We’re very proud of our own Maria Corrada, ScD, who played a role in planning this important meeting (p 1 and 7), as well as the many researchers who presented their work….

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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Welcome to the new normal. COVID case numbers have surged again, but our research continues to push forward and our researchers have enthusiastically resumed in-person activities that have been few and far between over the last two years. This includes attending and holding scientific conferences, generally through hybrid formats, allowing those comfortable and ready to reconvene in-person to present new data, exchange ideas and forge new collaborations. Some UCI MIND investigators recently traveled to Barcelona, Spain to attend the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease and related neurological disorders…

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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, The COVID-19 surge caused by the Omicron variant has produced unwanted challenges for our research. Yet, our investigators remain unrelenting and highly successful in their work. Dr. Ira Lott received the international Trisomy 21 Research Society Montserrat Trueta Award (page 1). Dr. Claudia Kawas received the UCI Senate Better World Award (page 5). We honored Bob and Virginia Naeve with our UCI MIND Award, though we were unable to hold our A December to Remember Gala, to deliver it with the pomp and circumstance they deserve (page 7). Cherry Justice has…

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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Fall is here and the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Though we are seeing signs of improvement, life is not yet back to normal. This fall, the pandemic once again forced us to move several of our major annual activities to a virtual format (page 7) or to cancel them entirely (page 5). But it has not slowed the important work happening at UCI MIND. In this issue, you will learn about funded work from Dr. Liz Chrastil (page 4). She studies the hippocampus, a part of the brain affected…

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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, The summer of 2021 brought the Tokyo Olympics of 2020. Our UCI MIND researchers continue to earn gold medals for their work in fighting Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (page 1). Gold medals also go to Virginia Naeve and Steve O’Leary for establishing a remarkable resource for caregivers, Spotlight on Care (page 4), available through UCI MINDCast. Spotlight on Care is made possible by the generous support of Stephen Hamill and his family (page 5). And our REMIND trainees were also shining stars this summer—launching a new program to inspire local…

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Message from the Director Happy New Year, Friends of UCI MIND! For many of us, a New Year brings the promise of fresh starts and new beginnings. In 2021, it also means a welcomed good-bye to a very long 2020. Despite the challenges that 2020 brought, it also brought progress that must now continue in 2021. This includes progress in social justice, progress in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, and progress in research to rid the world of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. UCI MIND is committed to contributing to further progress in each of these areas. Though the COVID-19 pandemic…

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Message from the Director   Dear Friends of UCI MIND, As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives this fall, the fight to solve Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) must charge forward. This November, the U.S. FDA will convene an advisory committee to assess potential approval of Biogen’s aducanumab, a monoclonal antibody in development for treatment of early AD. We will watch closely as aducanumab could be the first new approved drug for AD since 2005. Regardless of the outcome of the meeting and subsequent FDA decision – anticipated in March 2021 – this represents a milestone for…

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