Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Is Alzheimer's A Glitch Of Our Brain's Ancient Immune System?
NPR: Brain's Ancient Immune System May Play A Role In Alzheimer's
Beer has fueled a lot of bad ideas. But on a Friday afternoon in 2007, it helped two Alzheimer's researchers come up with a really a good one. Neuroscientists Robert Moir and Rudolph Tanzi were sipping Coronas in separate offices during "attitude adjustment hour" at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard's largest teaching hospital. And, by chance, each scientist found himself wondering about an apparent link between Alzheimer's disease and the immune system. (Hamilton, 2/18)
Stat: FDA Is Offering A New Approach For Developing Alzheimer's Drugs. What Could That Mean?
In an effort to ease drug development for Alzheimer’s disease, the Food and Drug Administration is endorsing a new approach that would rely on biomarkers to approve medicines before patients show any signs of the illness, instead of demonstrating a drug alleviates symptoms. (Silverman, 2/16)
