Week of April 13 - April 19, 2008

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - An innovative method to treat Alzheimer’s disease is undergoing clinical testing at Karolinska University Hospital. Surgeons at the Department of Neurosurgery have implanted small capsules containing protein-producing cells in the brains of three patients from the Department of Geriatrics.

The cells in the implanted capsules produce a protein known as NGF (Nerve Growth Factor). NGF is able to stimulate the growth of cholinergic nerve cells. These cells are important for memory and other advanced brain functions. Cholinergic nerve cells break down successively in Alzheimer’s patients. The new method aims to prevent cell degradation and thereby inhibit progression of the disease.

NGF cannot be administered via pills, but must be delivered directly to the brain. Previous attempts to introduce NGF in the brain cavity of Alzheimer’s patients have not been entirely successful. Therefore, neurosurgeons at Karolinska are implanting capsules containing NGF-producing cells, positioning them with careful precision in the basal forebrain in three selected patients. The capsules are anchored to the skull and will remain in place to treat the brain for 12 months. The NsGene corporation in Denmark developed the capsules containing NGF-producing cells. The NGF study is a collaborative effort involving NsGene and the departments of geriatrics and neurosurgery at Karolinska.

MORE INFORMATION:

Karolinska University Hospital

Maria Eriksdotter Jönhagen, Principal Investigator
Associate Professor/Senior Consultant
Department of Geriatrics, +46 70 560 8907
or
Bengt Linderoth, Professor/Senior Consultant
Department of Neurosurgery, +46 70 7324999
or
Lars Wahlberg, Research Director
NsGene A/S, Ballerup, Denmark, +45 2360 3198
or
Åke Seiger, Professor, Karolinska Institutet
+46 739 17 74 07
or
Klas Östman, Press Relations Manager
Karolinska University Hospital, +46 70 450 77 97

BY:

Edited by Peter Berger, Alzheimer's Weekly

Reviewed for medical accuracy by
Dr. Boaz Ancselovic, MD, Geriatrician, Alzheimer's Weekly

SOURCE:

Business Wire

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