Alzheimer's Research Foundation, Fisher Center

Research into the cause, care and cure of Alzheimer’s, led by Nobel Prize winner Dr. Paul Greengard. Your contribution will bring us closer to a cure. Donate today.

Why do we exist?

Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, Fisher Center is a leading source of funding for Alzheimer’s research.  We serve Alzheimer’s patients and their families by seeking to understand the causes of, discover a cure for, and improve the lives of people with Alzheimer’s disease.  Nobel laureate Dr. Paul Greengard directs the Foundation’s team of internationally renowned scientists, who have been at the forefront of research to understand and find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. It also is a leader in public education through its website ALZinfo.org and Preserving Your Memory magazine. Only 8 cents on the dollar is used for overhead purposes.  We are committed to making Alzheimer’s disease nothing but a memory.  For more information visit http://www.ALZinfo.org

What have you accomplished?

Scientific research is the key both to finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and to helping the millions already affected by this devastating disease.  Our team of internationally renowned scientists, under the direction of Nobel laureate Dr. Paul Greengard, has been at the forefront of seminal research that has provided a conceptual framework for modern day investigations into Alzheimer’s disease.  He has published over 1,000 major scientific findings.

Here is a synopsis of some of our laboratory’s recent accomplishments:

• Antidepressant Effects are Attenuated by Anti-inflammatory Drugs:
Fisher scientists found that use of anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen, reduces the effectiveness of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), the most widely used class of antidepressant medications. The discovery from scientists in Nobel Prize-winner Paul Greengard’s laboratory may explain why so many depressed patients taking SSRIs do not respond to antidepressant treatment and suggests that this lack of effectiveness may be preventable.

• SMER28:
Dr. Greengard and his team of scientists succeeded in accelerating the breakdown of beta-amyloid. They discovered that a process called autophagy reduces the buildup of beta-amyloid in isolated cells and might be utilized to eliminate the buildup of beta-amyloid in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Autophagy is a process cells use to “clean out” the debris from their interiors, including unwanted materials such as the protein aggregates that are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. The scientists discovered that a compound called SMER28 lowers the level of beta-amyloid found in nerve cells. This occurs because SMER28 stimulates autophagy, which then rids the cell of beta-amyloid.

• gSAP:
Dr. Greengard and his team of internationally renowned scientists discovered this previously unknown protein  in the brain, gamma secretase activating protein (gSAP),  that stimulates the production of beta-amyloid, which is known to contribute to the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. Controlling this protein also has the advantage of not interfering with other life functions which has caused the failure of many earlier drug trials. This breakthrough, published in the scientific journal Nature and also covered in the New York Times, holds the promise of discovering highly specific drugs that will be safe and effective treatments for people with Alzheimer’s.
 

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