Alzheimer's Research Foundation, Fisher Center - Medical Research

Research into cause, care and cure of Alzheimer's, led by Nobel Prize laureate Paul Greengard. Your donations will bring us closer to a cure. 94% of your dollars to research.

Why do we exist?

The Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation is dedicated to combating the scourge of Alzheimer's with a 3-pronged assault focused on the cause, care, and cure for Alzheimer's disease through scientific research.  Alzheimer’s strikes 1 in 10 people over the age of 65 and nearly 1 in 2 people over age 85.  Presently, there are over 5 million Americans afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and this number will grow exponentially as the baby boomers age-in. The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Center is headquartered at The Rockefeller University and collaborates with the other leading research institutions around the world in the global pursuit for the cause, care and cure of Alzheimer’s. The research that is being done today provides hope that future generations might be spared the scourge of Alzheimer’s disease.

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.  During this past year alone, they had over 40 articles published in esteemed peer review journals.

Here is a synopsis of some of our laboratory’s accomplishments from this year:

CK1

We have identified a potentially new biochemical pathway that regulates beta-amyloid production in the brain.  Casein Kinase 1 is a therapeutic target which may be the key to halting the course of Alzheimer’s disease.  The findings show that chemicals that block casein kinase 1 do not interfere with an essential pathway that is often blocked by other experimental anti-amyloid compounds.

TAU

The neurofibrillary tangles characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease are composed of the protein called “tau.”  In this study, Fisher scientists found a new way to inhibit production of neurofibrillary tangles.  The quantity of tangles in the Alzheimer’s brain is closely correlated with the degree of cognitive decline, suggesting that tangles or the changes known to occur in the tau protein that precede tangles may contribute to cognitive loss in Alzheimer’s. 

WAVE 1

WAVE 1 is a protein and a key regulator of connections between brain cells.  It controls the formation of new cell connections which influence thinking and behavior.  This knowledge will one day allow doctors to administer drugs that may either prevent the loss of brain cell connections in Alzheimer’s or stimulate the growth of new connections to restore memory and lost function.

P11

We recently discovered that the protein, “P11” controls the amount of serotonin receptors on brain cells.  Serotonin is critical in depression and is the main target of current anti-depressant drugs, known as serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs).  This discovery has been hailed as the most important breakthrough in depression research in the last 20 years.  It is expected to pave the way for a new class of anti-depressant drugs.

The Foundation also supports programs to increase disease awareness and educate the public on disease management, resources, and the latest scientific studies through its website, www.ALZinfo.org . To find out more about what the Fisher Center Foundation does, visit our website.

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