August. 21, 2006

Minnesota Partnership Research Team Honored by Alzheimer's Association

MINNEAPOLIS/ROCHESTER, Minn. - The Minnesota Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics continues to deliver tangible benefits to Minnesotans and to impact medical science worldwide. One of the first four teams funded by the Partnership - researchers Joseph Poduslo, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic; Michael Garwood, Ph.D., University of Minnesota; and Clifford Jack, M.D., Mayo Clinic - received the Alzheimer's Association's "Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Award" for the best neuroimaging paper published between 2004-2006. The winner is determined by a committee of experts in the field and includes a $2,500 award to continue their ongoing research. The award was shared with a researcher from Germany.

The team's research focused on the formation of both senile and amyloid plaques in the brain, one of the cardinal pathologic features of Alzheimer's disease. Until recently, these plaques were too small to see, so precise diagnosis of Alzheimer's could occur only at autopsy or with the use of cognitive testing that is influenced by many other issues in the patient's life, often making it inaccurate. This is one of many reasons that the disease is so perplexing.

The award was accepted by Dr. Jack at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Madrid, Spain. At the ceremony, Dr. Jack said, "This work is the result of the collaboration between three laboratories, mine at Mayo Clinic, Dr.Garwood's lab at the University of Minnesota and Dr. Poduslo's lab at Mayo. I accept this award on behalf of our group. Funding from the Minnesota Partnership has allowed our work to prosper and move us closer to a cure for Alzheimer's disease. On behalf of my colleagues at the University of Minnesota and Mayo Clinic, I thank the society for this recognition and honor."

Alzheimer's is the fourth leading cause of death for those over 65. By the year 2040, an estimated 14 million will be living with the disease. Researchers believe that medical research is advanced far more by teamwork than by an individual working alone. The diversity and excitement of the Minnesota Partnership's Alzheimer's team is a 21st Century example of that belief.

The Minnesota Partnership - which leverages the research potential of Minnesota's leading medical science centers - is aimed at discoveries that will translate to improving health care for Minnesotans and enhance the state's economy by growing the biosciences.

Background on the Research

For several years, researchers have known how to image amyloid plaques with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), a non-invasive imaging technique. While seen as promising, this technique had certain difficulties, such as poor resolution. So the Partnership team worked to perfect the technique by adding a nontoxic high-contrast agent allowing researchers to directly visualize amyloid plaques and potentially track progression of the disease and monitor the effectiveness of plaque-reducing therapies. The next step was to understand how plaques developed in the absence of contrast agents.

In the award-winning paper, "In vivo visualization of Alzheimer's amyloid plaques by MRI in transgenic mice without a contrast agent" (Magnetic Resonance in Medicine 52:1263-1271 [2004]), the researchers described how plaques develop in the absence of contrast agents by looking at the amount of plaque in different regions of the brain over time. This mechanism to view amyloid plaques in vivo (in a living specimen) sets the stage for early diagnosis and early therapies for Alzheimer's before dementia occurs.

"The ability to image plaques in vivo and the other accomplishments coming out of this collaboration became possible because of the diversity and breadth of expertise that exists only in this unique partnership," says Michael Garwood, Ph.D., principal investigator from the University of Minnesota. "This technique is a major advancement and one that may be used to assess plaques over time, giving scientists a mechanism to test potential drugs, leading to prevention or treatment of the disease. Identifying the amyloid plaques early - before debilitating symptoms appear - could mean preventing the progression of Alzheimer's disease."

Mayo Clinic's Joseph Poduslo, Ph.D., says, "This technique has a lot of potential - not just for Alzheimer's, but for many diseases in which identifying and measuring biomarkers would make a difference."

For more on the Minnesota Partnership, visit http://www.minnesotapartnership.info. The Partnership team's article can be found at http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/fulltext/109800290/HTMLSTART.

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