There are still no disease-modifying therapeutics for dementia patients, but James Moe thinks that will change soon. This podcast discusses research on a particular drug that's showing promise, but also helps with understanding Alzheimer's disease progression. On a hopeful note, James Moe emphasizes how close the neurodegeneration research community is to developing significant breakthroughs. Listen and learn

• Why Oligomerix chose to focus on the tau protein when many other companies were working with amyloid,
• How their therapeutic prevents tau from misfolding and forming tangles that harm neurons, and
• Where they are in clinical studies and what the research community as a whole might offer.

Oligomerix, Inc. focuses on neurodegenerative diseases of the brain, such as the management of Alzheimer's disease. James Moe says that when they started the company, they decided to focus on the tau protein despite a contemporaneous emphasis on amyloid. Among other reasons, their thought was to focus upstream in the pathway by blocking the tau protein from binding to itself. Their research showed that neurodegeneration is connected to the neuron damage resulting from tangles the protein accumulations caused. This began their quest to develop self-association assays for tau.

Almost 6 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease symptoms and it poses a significant burden on health care costs of our country in addition to the pain of patients and families. But developing preventions of Alzheimer's dementia and effective treatment is no small task. However, because there's been so much investment by the medical community, James Moe feels that the field is developing a "mass amount of knowledge . . . and is on the cusp for major therapeutics." Their own research has shown in vivo data where phosphorylation was diminished in three different regions throughout the molecule. This should prevent the misfolding that leads to neuron-damaging tangles. Listen in for more about the exciting potential of this therapeutic.

For more about the company, see their web site: oligomerix.com. Available on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2Os0myK