19.04.2017

AD/PD 2017 Summary

Between March 29th and April 2nd, one of the largest congresses focusing on Alzheimer’s Dementia and Parkinsons’s Disease, the AD/PD was held in Vienna.

More than 3.160 delegates from 66 countries attended this well established meeting, mainly neuroscientists from countries, where active research in these areas is ongoing. 

EVER Pharma was present with an exhibition booth and also 3 posters. The content of these posters are summarized below:

  • NEUROPROTECTIVE EFFECTS OF CEREBROLYSIN IN TRIPLE REPEAT (3R) TAU TRANSGENIC MODEL OF PICK'S DISEASE AND FRONTO-TEMPORAL TAUOPATHIES
    Edith Doppler, Austria
    presented on March 29th, 2017
  • INCREASED SERUM BDNF AND COGNITIVE IMPROVEMENT IN AD PATIENTS TREATED WITH CEREBROLYSIN ALONE OR PLUS DONEPEZIL
    Antòn Alvarez, Spain
    presented on March 30th, 2017
  • META-ANALYSIS OF RANDOMIZED PLACEBO-CONTROLLED TRIALS WITH CEREBROLYSIN IN MILD TO MODERATE ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
    Lutz Frölich, Germany
    presented on April 1st, 2017

 

Summary Poster 1:

Cerebrolysin® in triple repeat (3R) tau transgenic model of Pick’s disease and fronto-temporal tauopathies.

An important research focus for Cerebrolysin® are rare neurological diseases, so called orphan diseases, affecting fewer than 5 in 10,000 people across the EU (or 7.5 in 10,000 people across the US).

One of these rare diseases is Pick’s Disease, the clinical behavioral variant of fronto-temporal dementia, characterized by pathologic accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein in the brain. 

A research collaboration of the University of California San Diego (UCSD) and EVER Pharma has investigated the influence of Cerebrolysin® on the pathological hallmarks of this tauopathy in a transgenic animal model.

The results of this research were presented at the AD/PD 2017 and convincingly demonstrated that 

  • Cerebrolysin® treated mice showed markedly reduced levels of hyperphosphorylated tau via activation of the Akt/GSK3-beta signaling pathway
  • Cerebrolysin® reduced neurodegenerative pathology and gliosis
  • Cerebrolysin® had a beneficial effect on behavior and memory 

These results motivated EVER Pharma to submit an Orphan Drug Application to the US FDA. In April 2016 these research data mentioned above led to the official „Orphan Drug Designation“ for Cerebrolysin®. 

For more information see https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/opdlisting/oopd/detailedIndex.cfm?cfgridkey=513315

 

Summary Poster 2:

Increased serum BDNF and cognitive improvement in AD patients treated with Cerebrolysin® alone plus Donepezil.

A randomized, double-blind, three-arm trial compared the efficacy and safety of Cerebrolysin® (10 ml; n=64), donepezil (10 mg; n=66) and the combination of both compounds (n=67)1.

Findings:

  • Cerebrolysin® has equivalent treatment effects to donepezil without its side effects:
    • Cognitive performance: about 2 points improvement at week 28
    • Global outcome: group-wise comparison favored Cerebrolysin® (p=0.032 vs donepezil) and the combination (p=0.068 vs donepezil) over donepezil
  • ADCS-ADL (Alzheimer’s disease cooperative study-Activities of daily living) scores at 28 weeks were similar to baseline in the Cerebrolysin® groups (monotherapy and combination)
  • In the combination group the rate of responders in both, the ADAS-cog+ and CIBIC+, was unchanged from week 16 to 28
  • The combination of Cerebrolysin® with donepezil is a safe treatment option for mild to moderate AD patients

A follow-up analysis assessed the influence of Cerebrolysin® and/or donepezil on serum BDNF levels and the correlation of BDNF levels with cognitive performance. Results were presented at the AD/PD 2017:  

Take home message: 

  • Dr. Alvarez: “By increasing BDNF levels with Cerebrolysin® we may help improving cognition and delaying cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease patients“
  • Data supporting this message: “Higher BDNF levels were significantly associated to greater cognitive improvement in AD patients treated with Cerebrolysin® alone or in combination with donepezil“
  • A possible relationship of the BDNF level and apathy-depression has been observed, thus increased BDNF levels might also have a positive influence on stroke patients suffering from post-stroke depression and post-stroke cognitive decline

Relevance for stroke:

These results are especially interesting for patients suffering from apathy and depression as the recently published CARS study2 has shown that patients treated with Cerebrolysin® had a significantly better outcome in regards to depression. This effect might have been triggered by Cerebrolysin®’s ability to increase serum BDNF levels.

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