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Science Friday > Archives > 2002 > August > August 16, 2002:
Hour One: Cows and Antibodies / Alzheimer's Update

Researchers reported this week that elderly people with symptoms of depression may be more likely to develop Alzheimer' s disease than older people who aren't depressed. . Although it's a common affliction -- 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, 19 million Americans have a family member with Alzheimer's, and 37 million Americans know someone with the disease -- scientists still have a long way to go just to understand all of the complex factors leading to Alzheimer's. And while there are drugs that can ease the symptoms temporarily, preventing it completely is still beyond medical science. In this hour, we'll talk about the latest Alzheimer's research, including current treatment and diagnosis

Plus, scientists report that they have created cloned cows that produce human antibodies. Using genetic engineering, the cows were made to express a mixture of human antibodies (known as immune globulin, immunoglobulin or gamma globulin) used to treat immunodeficient humans. Will this be a new way to produce drugs?

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Guests:
James Robl
President and Chief Scientific Officer
Hematech
Westport, Connecticut

Robert Wilson
Professor, Neuropsychology
Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center
Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center
Chicago, Illinois

Douglas Galasko
Professor, Department of Neurosciences
University of California, San Diego
Staff Physician, San Diego VA Medical Center
San Diego, California

Books/Articles Discussed:

"Depressive symptoms, cognitive decline, and risk of AD in older persons" by R.S. Wilson, PhD et al. NEUROLOGY 2002;59:364-370.

"Cloned transchromosomic calves producing human immunoglobulin" by James M. Robl et al. Nature Biotechnology. Published online: 12 August 2002, doi:10.1038/nbt727.

(find more SciFri books here)

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Related Links:
Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR Center)
Alzheimer's Disease Clinical Trials Database
National Institute on Aging - NIA
Alzforum: Alzheimer Research Forum Home
AARP Webplace | Life Answers Index
Welcome to the Alzheimer's Association
N C H S - FASTATS - Alzheimer's Disease
MEDLINEplus: Alzheimer's Disease
NINDS Alzheimer's Disease Information Page
NIH Funded Alzheimer's Research (search)
ClinicalTrials.gov
Charlton Heston Reveals He May Have Alzheimer's (washingtonpost.com)
BBC NEWS | Health | Medical notes | A-B | Alzheimer's disease

Argus Leader - Cows could increase vaccine supply
Cloned cows make human antibodies
ABCNEWS.com : Cloned Cows Generate Human Antibodies
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Cows born with human DNA
Hematech

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth and Dorothy Lam

 

 

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