Orangeburg, N.Y.--- The Alzheimer’s Association recently named Ralph Nixon, MD, PhD of the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (NKI) as one of five recipients nationally of its 2003 Zenith Fellows Award. The $249,262 two-year award will be used to support Dr. Nixon’s pioneering research program at NKI, which focuses on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

One of the most promising avenues for Alzheimer’s prevention identified so far has been the "amyloid hypothesis," which suggests that the disease is caused by a buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain. Dr. Nixon and his colleagues believe that one pathway implicated in beta-amyloid production may be the endosome-lysosome system. The system acts as the cell’s "housekeeper," breaking down, sorting, recycling and depositing amyloid precursor protein (APP) in cells. Prior work by Dr. Nixon’s team has shown that increased activity in this system may be a hallmark of the earliest stages of the disease.

The work funded by the award will use genetically-engineered mice as a "living laboratory" to study the specific role played by mannose-6-phosphate receptor (MPR46), a protein that promotes delivery of protein-processing enzymes to the lysosome and appears elevated in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. If the mice actually develop greater beta-amyloid levels and more plaque, this technique may offer an improved animal model for the development of new treatments.

"Much of the most promising Alzheimer research is looking at how we can reduce the buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain," said Alzheimer’s Association Vice President of Medical and Scientific Affairs William Thies, PhD. "The more we learn about how to interfere with the creation of beta amyloid, the closer we come to determining whether this is the right approach to fighting Alzheimer’s." Approximately 4.5 million Americans have the disease. No one knows the precise cause of the disorder or how it can be prevented.

"We are encouraged by the generous funding support provided to Dr. Nixon and his team at NKI," said Robert Cancro, MD, director of NKI and chair of the NYU Department of Psychiatry. "We see our efforts as important building blocks in the global efforts underway to conquer this devastating disease."

Dr. Nixon is the director of the NKI Center for Dementia Research and professor and vice-chairman of research in the Department of Psychiatry at the NYU School of Medicine.

The Alzheimer’s Association is the single largest source of private funding for Alzheimer’s research in the United States. The work of Zenith awardees is recognized to be "on the cutting edge" of basic, biomedical research; it is expected to challenge the prevailing orthodoxy and address fundamental issues related to early detection, etiology, pathogenesis, treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

# # #
Located on the grounds of Rockland Psychiatric Center, The Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research is a facility of the New York State Office of Mental Health that is nationally and internationally renown for its pioneering contributions to psychiatric research. On the web: www.rfmh.org/nki