Health & Fitness
Health and Fitness
Health and Fitness
Tue, September 22, 2009
Mon, September 21, 2009 Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Adeona Provides 10,000 Free Tap Water Copper Test Cards for World Alzheimer's Day
ANN ARBOR, MI--(Marketwire - September 21, 2009) - Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (
Every year on 21st of September, Alzheimer's disease associations across the globe join to recognize World Alzheimer's Day. The theme for this year is "Diagnosing Dementia: See it Sooner" with the aim of promoting awareness of the importance of diagnosing dementia earlier and encouraging medical professionals to recognize the signs of the disease sooner.
Chronic exposure to copper from drinking water has been shown to promote Alzheimer's-like pathology and memory deficits in animals at less than 1/10th of the current E.P.A. limit of 1.3 mg/L.(1,2,3,4) In a study involving over 3,700 residents of Chicago over age 65, copper intake was linked to increased rates of cognitive decline.(5) Copper plumbing is used in approximately 90% of homes in the U.S. and thus 90% of the adult U.S. population is at risk for the health effects of chronic soluble copper exposure. According to a survey conducted between 1998 and 2003, the tap water of an estimated 4.4 million people in the U.S. contained levels of copper exceeding the E.P.A. limit.(6) To Adeona's knowledge, no formal chronic animal toxicology study of the effects of copper in drinking water has ever been conducted.(7) Adeona has recently completed the first international epidemiological study finding a correlation between copper plumbing tube use and the prevalence rate of Alzheimer's disease by country and intends to publish such findings.
Individuals can obtain a free tap water copper test card by visiting [ www.copperproof.com ] free of any shipping and handling charges for a limited time. The remainder of the 10,000 copper test cards will be made available free of charge through neurologists and physicians that regularly see patients with Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Unlike most commercially available copper test kits, the tap water copper test card developed by Adeona and offered through Adeona's HealthMine subsidiary is an at-home test that combines high sensitivity with ease of use.
On July 9, 2009 Adeona completed the acquisition of Hartlab LLC a CLIA-certified clinical reference laboratory located in Bolingbrook, Illinois. On July 15, 2009, Adeona presented the results of the CopperProof Study, a prospective observational study comparing serum parameters of copper and zinc status in patients with Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and normal subjects, at the 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) in Vienna, Austria. This study showed a strong correlation between Alzheimer's disease and impaired serum copper binding (p = 0.00008) as well as an elevated percentage of free (non-ceruloplasmin bound) serum copper levels in AD patients (p = 0.045). The study also reported, for the first time, clinical and subclinical zinc deficiency in AD patients.
Through its HartLab subsidiary, Adeona is preparing to launch a diagnostic test panel that is intended to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the metabolic serum copper and zinc status of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Adeona believes that defects in copper metabolism and elevated levels of serum free copper (non-ceruloplasmin bound) predisposes certain persons to enhanced susceptibility to the neurotoxic effects of copper, which include the aggregation and reduced clearance of oxidative copper-containing beta amyloid plaques and tangles, the hallmark brain pathology of Alzheimer's disease.(8)
Max Lyon, Adeona's CEO, stated, "Mounting scientific evidence continues to implicate chronic soluble copper exposure, such as that found in the tap water of homes that utilize copper plumbing, in the progression of Alzheimer's disease. By utilizing the copper test cards that we are offering for free today, we hope to increase awareness and allow mature adults to see and evaluate the potential threat that copper in their tap water poses and, through preventive measures, modify this increasingly recognized risk factor of disease progression."
About Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Adeona Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (
(1) Sparks D. and Schreurs, B., Trace amounts of copper in water induce beta-amyloid plaques and learning deficits in a rabbit model of Alzheimer's disease. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. (2003) 100: 11065-11069.
(2) Sparks DL, Friedland R, Petanceska S, Schreurs BG, Shi J, Perry G, Smith MA, Sharma A, Derosa S, Ziolkowski C, Stankovic G., Trace copper levels in the drinking water, but not zinc or aluminum influence CNS Alzheimer-like pathology, J Nutr Health Aging. (2006 Jul-Aug);10(4):247-54.
(3) Deane R, Sagare A, Coma M, Parisi M, Gelein R, Singh I, Zlokovic B, A novel role for copper: Disruption of LRP-dependent brain A-beta clearance, Neuroscience 2007, Society for Neuroscience (Nov. 2007), Pres. 857.2
(4) Kitazawa M, Cheng D, Laferla FM., Chronic copper exposure exacerbates both amyloid and tau pathology and selectively dysregulates cdk5 in a mouse model of AD., J Neurochem. (Mar. 2009);108(6):1550-60. Epub 2009 Jan 22.
(5) Morris MC, Evans DA, Tangney CC, et al., Dietary copper and high saturated and trans fat intakes associated with cognitive decline., Arch Neurol. (2006) 63: 1085-1088.
(6) [ http://www.ewg.org/tapwater/contaminants/contaminant.php?contamcode=1022 ]
(7) Committee on Copper in Drinking Water, Copper in Drinking Water, National Research Council, National Academy Press (2000).
(8) Squitti R, Bressi F, Paswualetti P, Bonomini C, Ghidoni, R, Binetti G, Casetta E, Moffa F, Ventriglia M, Vernieri F, Rossini P., Longitudinal prognostic value of serum "free" copper in patients with Alzheimer's disease, Neurology, (Jan. 2009) 72: 50-55.
This release includes forward-looking statements on Adeona's current expectations and projections about future events. In some cases forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "should," "potential," "continue," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements are based upon current beliefs, expectations and assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and include statements regarding designing additional clinical trials for its oral zinc therapies, dnaJP1, Zinthionein, flupirtine, or Trimesta. Adeona is at an early stage of development and may not ever have any products that generate significant revenue. Adeona's Hartlab subsidiary is generating modest revenues and its future success will likely depend upon its ability to successfully introduce and market new specialty diagnostic assays to generate additional revenues. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in Adeona's forward-looking statements include, among others, a failure of Adeona's product candidates to be demonstrably safe and effective, a failure to obtain regulatory approval for the company's products or to comply with ongoing regulatory requirements, regulatory limitations relating to the company's ability to promote or commercialize its products for awareness, prevention, diagnosis or treatment of zinc deficiency and chronic copper toxicity, a lack of acceptance of Adeona's product candidates in the marketplace, a failure of the company to become or remain profitable, that we will continue to meet the continued listing requirements of the American Stock Exchange (which, unlike other exchanges, does not require us to maintain any minimum bid price with respect our stock but does require us to maintain a minimum of $4 million in stockholders' equity during the current year, for example), our inability to obtain the capital necessary to fund the company's research and development activities, a loss of any of the company's key scientists or management personnel, and other factors described in Adeona's report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, Forms 10-Q for quarters ending in 2009 and any other filings with the SEC. No forward-looking statements can be guaranteed and actual results may differ materially from such statements. The information in this release is provided only as of the date of this release, and Adeona undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release on account of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
