Jianhua Xing, a Virginia Tech assistant professor of biology, and his colleagues recommend further study of how rope-like polymers called microtubules function. They computational comparations of two models of microtubules, a component of cell cytoskeletons.
A study, performed in mice and utilizing post-mortem samples of brains from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, found that a single event of a moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) can disrupt proteins that regulate an enzyme associated with Alzheimer’s. The paper, published in The Journal of Neuroscience, identifies the complex mechanisms that result in a rapid and robust post-injury elevation of the enzyme in the brain.
Experts from the Comprehensive Center on Brain Aging at NYU Langone Medical Center will present new research at The 2012 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, July 14 – July 19.
Problems walking including slow gait and a short stride are associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline, Mayo Clinic researchers have discovered.
Higher levels of a certain fat in the blood called ceramides may increase a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study published in the July 18, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers have provided direct experimental evidence linking diabetes to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. The study also identified an experimental model that could become an important new tool for AD research.
Metabolic syndrome, a term used to describe a combination of risk factors that often lead to heart disease and type 2 diabetes, seems to be linked to lower blood flow to the brain, according to research by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center found that people with a form of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease, have twice the risk of dying compared with cognitively normal people. Those with dementia have three times the risk. The findings are being presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Vancouver this week.
Activity lingers longer in certain areas of the brain in those with Alzheimer’s than it does in healthy people, Mayo Clinic researchers who created a map of the brain found. The results suggest varying brain activity may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, “Non-stationarity in the “Resting Brain’s” Modular Architecture,” was presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference and recently published in the journal PLoS One.
Dangers of seniors wandering off and getting lost can often end in tragedy and appear to be more common as evident by the steady announcements of Silver Alerts, similar to Amber Alerts for missing children, across the country. The problem is so widespread that understanding why seniors wander could help keep them safe and avoid tragic consequences, say geriatric experts from the Harris County Hospital District.
In light of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference taking place in Vancouver next July, CIHR wants to give reporters all the background information they need about the state of Alzheimer’s research.
Modern anesthesia is extremely safe. But as risks to heart, lungs and other organs have waned, another problem has emerged in the elderly: post-operative cognitive dysfunction. Mentally, some patients “just aren’t the same” for months or longer after surgery. Other factors play a role, but a small number of patients deteriorate mentally due to anesthesia per se. Those with Alzheimer’s disease suffer exacerbations, and those without the diagnosis may have it unmasked by anesthesia, suggesting some relationship.
Preventing diabetes or delaying its onset has been thought to stave off cognitive decline -- a connection strongly supported by the results of a 9-year study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
The Mount Sinai Medical Center is the first institution in New York State to use in the clinical setting a newly approved imaging technique to detect Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in people who are cognitively impaired. Until now, physicians have been limited in their ability to diagnose AD, guided almost exclusively by a patient’s mental and behavioral symptoms and family history.
In a new study published in PLoS Biology this week researchers address an urgent need to find ways to promote beneficial amyloid fiber assembly or to reverse its pathogenic assembly, at will.
Research published in the Genetics Society of America’s June 2012 issue of the journal GENETICS suggests a gene related to Alzheimer’s disease is also involved in the insulin pathway, which may explain the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes.
A new study shows that changes in walking speed in late life may signal the early stages of dementia known as mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The research is published in the June 12, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) launched its nationwide October awareness movement, “A Month To Remember.” LBDA invites volunteers to join the movement by “Standing Strong with LBDA” to build awareness for Lewy body dementia in their communities.
The molecular structure of a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease – and the surprising discovery that it binds cholesterol – could lead to new therapeutics for the disease, Vanderbilt University investigators report in the June 1 issue of the journal Science.
Research demonstrates how dying or damaged brain cells give rise to autoantibodies in blood that can be reliable biomarkers for early AD diagnosis. Key mechanism mirrors process common to autoimmune disorders.
Exposure to solvents at work may be associated with reduced thinking skills later in life for those who have less than a high school education, according to a study published in the May 29, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Not only is it safe for people with asthma to exercise, but doing so could reduce their risk of asthma symptoms or attacks, according to a new evidence review in The Cochrane Library.
Research suggests a new approach to improving memory and interrupting disease progression in patients with a form of cognitive impairment that often leads to full-blown Alzheimer’s disease.
Depressive symptoms that are present in midlife or in late life are associated with an increased risk of developing dementia, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, a JAMA Network publication.
Greater purpose in life may help stave off the harmful effects of plaques and tangles associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center.
A study on a handful of people with suspected mild Alzheimer’s disease (AD) suggests that a device that sends continuous electrical impulses to specific “memory” regions of the brain appears to increase neuronal activity. Results of the study using deep brain stimulation, a therapy already used in some patients with Parkinson’s disease and depression, may offer hope for at least some with AD, an intractable disease with no cure.
A new study suggests that eating foods that contain omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish, chicken, salad dressing and nuts, may be associated with lower blood levels of a protein related to Alzheimer’s disease and memory problems. The research is published in the May 2, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A highly toxic beta-amyloid – a protein that exists in the brains of Alzheimer's disease victims – has been found to greatly increase the toxicity of other more common and less toxic beta-amyloids, serving as a possible "trigger" for the advent and development of Alzheimer's, researchers at the University of Virginia and German biotech company Probiodrug have discovered.
Scientists now have a better understanding of how precise memories are formed thanks to research led by Prof. Jean-Claude Lacaille of the University of Montreal’s Department of Physiology. “In terms of human applications, these findings could help us to better understand memory impairments in neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease,” Lacaille said. The study looks at the cells in our brains, or neurons, and how they work together as a group to form memories.
Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers have succeeded in developing a biosynthetic polyphenol that improves cognitive function in mice with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The findings, published in a recent issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, provide insight in determining the feasibility of biosynthetic polyphenols as a possible therapy for AD in humans, a progressive neurodegenerative disease for which there is currently no cure.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have gained insight into the mechanism by which a pathological brain protein called tau contributes to the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders. This finding, published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, may provide the basis for future investigations on how to prevent tau from damaging brain circuits involved in cognitive function.
You think your computer has a lot of memory … if you keep using your computer you may, too. Combining mentally stimulating activities, such as using a computer, with moderate exercise decreases your odds of having memory loss more than computer use or exercise alone, a Mayo Clinic study shows. Previous studies have shown that exercising your body and your mind will help your memory but the new study, published in the May 2012 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, reports a synergistic interaction between computer activities and moderate exercise in “protecting” the brain function in people better than 70 years old.
According to a new study, the neuron-killing pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which begins before clinical symptoms appear, requires the presence of both amyloid-beta (a-beta) plaque deposits and elevated levels of an altered protein called p-tau.
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that brain plaques in mice are associated with disruption of the ability of brain regions to network with each other.
Daily physical activity may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, even in people over the age of 80, according to a new study by neurological researchers from Rush University Medical Center.
Daily physical exercise may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, even in people over the age of 80, according to a study published in the April 18, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Daily physical activity may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline, even in people over the age of 80, according to a new study by neurological researchers from Rush University Medical Center.
Injection of a small amount of clumped protein triggers a cascade of events leading to a Parkinson’s-like disease in mice, according to an article in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
Use of a new drug to detect the beta-amyloid plaques in the brain that are hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s disease may help doctors diagnose the disease earlier, according to research that will be presented as part of the Emerging Science program (formerly known as Late-Breaking Science) at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.
A global team has mapped the human genes that boost or sabotage the brain’s resistance to a variety of mental illnesses and Alzheimer’s disease. The UCLA-launched study also uncovered new genes that explain individual differences in brain size and intelligence
A new technique for analyzing brain images offers the possibility of using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the rate of progression and physical path of many degenerative brain diseases, report scientists at the San Francisco VA Medical Center and the University of California, San Francisco.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System have shown that elevated pulse pressure may increase the risk of cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in older adults with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
New research finds that a person’s memory declines at a faster rate in the two- and-a-half years before death than at any other time after memory problems first begin. A second study shows that keeping mentally fit through board games or reading may be the best way to preserve memory during late life. Both studies are published in the April 4, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Perhaps no other biochemist in the world has his own baseball card, but Elih Velázquez-Delgado, who gave up pro ball for science, does. The doctoral student is about to publish his first academic paper on caspase-6, an enzyme that’s causally involved in Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s diseases.