Feature Channels: Alzheimer's and Dementia

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Specialized brain proteins that are involved in the removal of damaged nerve cell materials may be detected in the blood of people who were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment or dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. In a select group of people who later developed dementia, the levels of the lysosomal proteins were abnormal while the people still had no problems with memory or thinking skills, according to a study published in the June 10, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Having a stroke ages a person’s brain function by almost eight years, new research finds – robbing them of memory and thinking speed as measured on cognitive tests.

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Who says you can’t do two things at once and do them both well?

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People with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment (CI) have altered responses to pain, with many conditions associated with increased pain sensitivity, concludes a research review in PAIN®, the official publication of the International Association for the Study of Pain. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer.

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Certain proteins may slow the devastating memory loss caused by Alzheimer’s disease, according to a groundbreaking Iowa State University study.

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A simple blood test developed at UNT Health Science Center to detect early Alzheimer's disease is a step closer to being used to screen older adults.

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Two studies in the May 19 issue of JAMA analyze the prevalence of the plaque amyloid among adults of varying ages, with and without dementia, and its association with cognitive impairment.

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Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida have developed a mouse model that exhibits the neuropathological and behavioral features associated with the most common genetic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), which are caused by a mutation in the C9ORF72 gene.

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MINNEAPOLIS – A new study suggests that medical marijuana pills may not help treat behavioral symptoms of dementia, such as aggression, pacing and wandering. The research is published in the May 13, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. However, researchers did find that the drug dosage used in the clinical trial was safe and well-tolerated.

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Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have determined the molecular structure of one of the proteins in the fine fibers of the brain plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. This molecule, called amyloid beta-42, is toxic to nerve cells and is believed to provoke the disease cascade.

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A new study finds that when cells in the eye do not have enough oxygen, they improperly sort proteins, an issue that has been implicated in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and Alzheimer’s disease. The research is being presented at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) this week in Denver, Colo.

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Researchers have uncovered a unique connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease, providing further evidence that a disease that robs people of their memories may be affected by elevated blood sugar.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: new biotech treatment for radiation proctitis, 3D printing in children's health, work and brain health, the importance of medical research, multi-institute collaboration on medical education technology, tax cuts and the economy, cancer survival, and Alzheimer's research.

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Offering a potential early intervention for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Cenna Biosciences, Inc. have identified compounds that block the production of beta amyloid peptides in mice.

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Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have uncovered some surprising details of a group of compounds that have shown significant potential in stimulating the growth of brain cells and memory restoration in animal models that mimic Alzheimer’s disease.

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include: exercise and obesity, Focused Ultrasound to treat uterine fibroids, neurology, diet supplements and cancer (day 4 in top 10), genetics, geology, skin cancer, sleep and Alzheimer's, and water conservation.

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Many studies have linked more sleep to better memory, but new research in fruit flies demonstrates that extra sleep helps the brain overcome catastrophic neurological defects that otherwise would block memory formation, report scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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Doctors, lawyers and other “high level” professionals may have a built-in survival edge if they’re diagnosed with the disease frontotemporal dementia (FTD), according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Their work is published in this week’s issue of Neurology.

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New research highlights how nerves – whether harmed by disease or traumatic injury – start to die, a discovery that unveils novel targets for developing drugs to slow or halt peripheral neuropathies and devastating neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

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Trending news releases with the most views in a single day. Topics include:sustainability, COPD, neurology, cancer, sleep, food, and genetics.

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An international team of scientists, led by researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, have found genetic overlap between Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and two significant cardiovascular disease risk factors: high levels of inflammatory C-reactive protein (CRP) and plasma lipids or fats. The findings suggest the two cardiovascular phenotypes play a role in AD risk and perhaps offer a new avenue for potentially delaying disease progression.

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Dementia care for south Asian people could be improved after researchers from The University of Manchester adapted a commonly used tool for judging perceptions of the disease.

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Heavy snoring and sleep apnea may be linked to memory and thinking decline at an earlier age, according to a new study published in the April 15, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The research also suggests that treating the disorders with a breathing machine may delay the decline.

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Instead of shrinking as expected, as part of the normal aging process, the memory center in the brains of seniors maintained their size and, in men, grew modestly after two years in a program that engaged them in meaningful and social activities, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests.

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People who participate in arts and craft activities and who socialize in middle and old age may delay the development in very old age of the thinking and memory problems that often lead to dementia, according to a new study published in the April 8, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Something as easy as adding more spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens to your diet could help slow cognitive decline, according to new research. The study also examined the nutrients responsible for the effect, linking vitamin K consumption to slower cognitive decline for the first time.

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A team of University of Missouri researchers has discovered that another nutrient in garlic offers the brain protection against aging and disease. The finding provides more understanding of how garlic may prevent age-related neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

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By examining more than 3,600 postmortem brains, researchers at Mayo Clinic’s campuses in Jacksonville, Florida, and Rochester, Minnesota, have found that the progression of dysfunctional tau protein drives the cognitive decline and memory loss seen in Alzheimer’s disease.

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A pre-clinical study published this week in Science Translational Medicine suggests that focused ultrasound may hold a key to providing a non-invasive, non-pharmaceutical approach to treating Alzheimer’s disease.

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Penn Medicine researchers have discovered that hypermethylation - the epigenetic ability to turn down or turn off a bad gene implicated in 10 to 30 percent of patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) - serves as a protective barrier inhibiting the development of these diseases. Their work, published this month in Neurology, may suggest a neuroprotective target for drug discovery efforts.

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At the Keystone symposium “Neuroinflammation in Diseases of the Central Nervous System,” researchers bridged the gap between inflammation and neurobiology to uncover how the two influence neurodegenerative disease. Read Alzforum’s seven-part series for the highlights.

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A new diet, appropriately known by the acronym MIND, could significantly lower a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, even if the diet is not meticulously followed, according to a paper published online for subscribers in March in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

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Researchers have developed a new scoring system to help determine which elderly people may be at a higher risk of developing the memory and thinking problems that can lead to dementia, according to a new study published in the March 18, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Researchers at Mayo Clinic developed a new scoring system to help determine which elderly people may be at a higher risk of developing the memory and thinking problems that can lead to dementia. The study is published in the March 18, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have identified a gene variant that may be used to predict people most likely to respond to an investigational therapy under development for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study, published March 12 in Cell Stem Cell, is based on experiments with cultured neurons derived from adult stem cells.

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Older people who are physically active may be protecting themselves from the effects of small areas of brain damage that can affect their movement abilities, according to a new study published in the March 11, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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An existing epilepsy drug reverses a condition in elderly patients who are at high risk for dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

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Doctors write millions of prescriptions a year for drugs to calm the behavior of people with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. But non-drug approaches actually work better, and carry far fewer risks, experts conclude in a new report.

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Researchers show that toning down the activity of the receptor TREM2 may help put a stop to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

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Highlighting a potential target in the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and Alzheimer’s disease, new research suggests that triggering a protein found on the surface of brain cells may help slow the progression of these and other neurological diseases.

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Brain banks enable crucial advances in neurodegenerative disease research, but dwindling public support around the world now threatens to cripple these institutions. Alzforum reports on the challenges and achievements of brain banks in a three-part series.

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Scientists are developing PET tracers to detect neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Alzforum reviews the state of the research.

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An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, has identified the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene as increasing the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The MAPT gene encodes the tau protein, which is involved with a number of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and AD. These findings provide novel insight into Alzheimer’s neurodegeneration, possibly opening the door for improved clinical diagnosis and treatment.

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Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time discovered a killing mechanism that could underpin a range of the most intractable neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS.

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Researchers have reversed some of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in mice using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-guided focused ultrasound.

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Nova Southeastern University (NSU) researchers recently discovered that, contrary to prior belief, tissues of different mammalian organs have very different abilities to repair damage to their DNA.

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