The 7th Annual World Alzheimer Congress, entitled, “With Change in
Mind: Pivotal Research and Creative Care,” was held in Washington, D.C. from
July 9-13. Nearly 5,000 attendees
participated in this meeting, which addressed approaches to diagnosis and
treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
The most widely covered news was possibly the unveiling
of a potential vaccine for AD. It
was announced that the compound, composed of 
amyloid, prevents the development of amyloid plaques in mice.1
Human safety trials are currently underway.2
Evaluation of the compound for improved cognitive function in animals is
also being assessed.2
In addition to the therapeutics news, a wealth of information on diagnosing AD was presented, including data on molecular biomarkers and predicting disease progression. For example, one study presented showed that people who carry an ApoE4 gene and who consume a high-fat diet appear to be five to six times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.3 Another study showed that clinically-diagnosed AD patients undergoing rapid disease progression are more likely to have at least one E4 allele than those with slower progression.4
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