ALT Ishares Diversified Alternatives Trust

Alteon's Investigational Drug Alagebrium Demonstrates Beneficial Effects on Heart and Kidney in Preclinical Studies Abstract Presented at the American Society of Hypertension Annual Meeting; Paper Published in the American Journal of Hypertension PARSIPPANY, N.J., May 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Alteon Inc. announced today that an abstract detailing the effects of Alteon's A.G.E. Crosslink Breaker alagebrium (formerly ALT-711) in the treatment of aged spontaneously hypertensive rats was presented on Saturday at the American Society of Hypertension Nineteenth Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition in New York City. In addition, the abstract and a separate paper were recently published in the American Journal of Hypertension. Study results showed that alagebrium therapy demonstrated beneficial cardiovascular and renal effects by reducing systolic blood pressure, left ventricular mass and urinary protein excretion, as well as improving left ventricular (LV) function and aortic distensibility. "Breaker of glycated collagen cross-links, ALT-711, improves left ventricular function and aortic distensibility in elderly spontaneously hypertensive rats," was conducted by researchers from the Hypertension Research Laboratory, Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, LA. The abstract noted: -- That treatment with alagebrium reduced aortic stiffness as compared to placebo, as indicated by increased aortic distensibility (108 +/- 9 mm/mm Hg vs. 79 +/- 8; p