Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia may spread within nerve networks in the brain by moving directly between connected neurons, instead of in other ways proposed by scientists, such as by propagating in all directions, according to researchers who report the finding in the March 22 edition of the journal Neuron.
Women 65 or older who have even mild retinopathy, a disease of blood vessels in the retina, are more likely to have cognitive decline and related vascular changes in the brain, according to a multi-institutional study led by scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
A study published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience shows that the compound epothilone D (EpoD) is effective in preventing further neurological damage and improving cognitive performance in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results establish how the drug might be used in early-stage AD patients.
UCLA is launching a new UCLA Alzheimer's and Dementia Care program, which will provide comprehensive, coordinated care, as well as resources and support, to patients and their caregivers.
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego, the Medical University of South Carolina, the University of Cincinnati, and American Life Science Pharmaceuticals of San Diego have validated the protease cathepsin B (CatB) as a target for improving memory deficits and reducing the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in an animal model representative of most AD patients.
A team of academic researchers has identified the intracellular mechanisms regulated by vitamin D3 that may help the body clear the brain of amyloid beta, the main component of plaques associated with Alzheimer's disease. The early findings show that vitamin D3 may activate key genes and cellular signaling networks to help stimulate the immune system to clear the amyloid-beta protein.
A new marker of Alzheimer’s disease can predict how rapidly a patient’s memory and other mental abilities will decline after the disorder is diagnosed, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found.
A scientific method paper and video by Loyola researchers has gone viral. The video, which demonstrates a laboratory technique used to study Alzheimer's disease and many other disorders, has been accessed by more than 14,000 scientists worldwide.
As scientists struggle to find an effective way to prevent Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public health may have found a new approach to interrupting the process that leads to the devastating disease.
Mitochondria -- subunits inside cells that produce energy -- have long been thought to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.
New compounds that visualize Alzheimer's-related plaques on brain scans of living people may soon be available to doctors. Clinician researchers are grappling with whether to scan healthy people, how to reliably read scans, and how to reveal plaque status. A nine-part series by the Alzforum reports the field’s latest progress in tackling these issues.
A promising novel target for potentially treating Alzheimer's disease has been identified in mice. Researchers will present their findings at the Biophysical Society's 56th Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif.
Researchers have developed an algorithm to predict how and when proteins misfold, with potential implications for neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and Alzheimer’s. The team will present its findings at the 56th Annual Meeting of the Biophysical Society in San Diego, Calif.
U-M Memory Connection is answered by expert care team, connects patients to physicians, social workers, support groups and more.
For some older adults, the online video game World of Warcraft (WoW) may provide more than an opportunity for escapist adventure. Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that playing WoW boosted cognitive functioning for older adults – particularly those who had scored poorly on cognitive ability tests before playing the game.
Simple tests such as walking speed and hand grip strength may help doctors determine how likely it is a middle-aged person will develop dementia or stroke. That’s according to new research that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center are conducting an early phase clinical trial of a novel drug therapy for patients with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease. The drug is a new compound called MSDC-0160, which is an insulin sensitizer that modulates mitochondrial metabolism.
The amount and quality of sleep you get at night may affect your memory later in life, according to research that was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.
A larger waistline may be linked to an increased risk of decreased mental functioning in people infected with the AIDS virus HIV, according to research published in the February 14, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
UCLA scientists used a brain imaging tool that effectively tracked and predicted cognitive decline over a two-year period. The team had previously developed this tool that can assess the neurological changes associated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia.
New research suggests that consuming between 2,100 and 6,000 calories per day may double the risk of memory loss, or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), among people age 70 and older. The study was released today and will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012. MCI is the stage between normal memory loss that comes with aging and early Alzheimer’s disease.
Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New UCLA research may one day help you improve your memory. UCLA neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain. Published in the Feb. 9 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine, the finding could lead to a new method for boosting memory in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.
Tau, the protein that tangles together in Alzheimer's, spreads from cell to cell in the mouse brain, perhaps explaining disease progression in humans, suggests a new study. "Alzheimer's disease seems to spread like an infection from brain cell to brain cell...." says The New York Times, but experts assure Alzforum that the disease is not contagious.
Findings open new opportunities for studying Alzheimer’s and testing potential therapies.
High levels of the protein beta-amyloid in the brain that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease may affect brain performance even in healthy adults, according to a study published in the February 1, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In an animal study, Mount Sinai researchers found that decaffeinated coffee may improve glucose utilization in the brain, reducing the risk for Type 2 diabetes and the brain dysfunction associated with some neurological disorders.
Researchers involved in the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging reported today that more than 6 percent of Americans age 70 to 89 develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI) every year.
Men may be at higher risk of experiencing mild cognitive impairment (MCI), or the stage of mild memory loss that occurs between normal aging and dementia, than women, according to a study published in the January 25, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary Alzheimer’s disease (AD), using induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with the much-dreaded neurodegenerative disorder.
A protein recently discovered in the brain could play a key role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists are reporting development and initial laboratory tests of an imaging agent that shows promise for detecting the tell-tale signs of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the brain — signs that now can’t confirm a diagnosis until after patients have died. Their report appears in the journal ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters.
Using a nicotine patch may help improve mild memory loss in older adults, according to a study published in the January 10, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
New research suggests that, in people who don’t currently have memory problems, those with smaller regions of the brain’s cortex may be more likely to develop symptoms consistent with very early Alzheimer’s disease. The study is published in the December 21, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The University of Iowa College of Law will live-stream a class this spring that examines legal and public policy challenges posed by a population that is getting older and more susceptible to dementia.
Having primary care doctors routinely screen patients for dementia at annual check up visits—just like they do for high blood pressure or cholesterol—could identify people in need of dementia care and reassure those who are healthy. That’s what dementia experts argued at a meeting held last month, as reported on Alzforum (www.alzforum.org).
Family members and friends can choose gifts that will make caregiving easier and provide a much-needed respite from the often overwhelming demands of caregiving, according to Michael Noe, MD, associate dean for community relations and clinical affairs in the University at Buffalo School of Public Health and Health Professions.
Salk scientists develop new drug that improves memory and prevents brain damage in mice.
If you had a family history of developing Alzheimer's disease, would you take a genetic test that would give you more information about your chances?
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed a new method to design antibodies aimed at combating disease. The surprisingly simple process was used to make antibodies that neutralize the harmful protein particles that lead to Alzheimer’s disease.
Costing $172 billion a year for health care and research funding, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects one in three families and has a widespread impact on our economy and aging population. Most notably, this disease plagues women twice as much as men. At a congressional briefing held by the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), experts in Alzheimer’s research discussed the need to examine the sex differences in AD, both for the cause, prevention and treatment as well as the caregiver role.
Candidate drugs for Alzheimer’s disease have so far been tested in patients who have dementia; by that time, the disease may be too far along to do much about it. In a recent opinion piece, scientists laid out the case for testing drugs at an earlier stage, in patients who have yet to show clinical symptoms. The proposal has sparked ongoing debate on Alzforum.
Older women with weaker circadian rhythms, who are less physically active or are more active later in the day are more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment than women who have a more robust circadian rhythm or are more physically active earlier in the day.
New research finds a marker used to detect plaque in the brain may help doctors make a more accurate diagnosis between two common types of dementia – Alzheimer’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). The study is published in the November 30, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Many women suffer memory loss and/or confusion at some point in their lives, but as many as 5 million Americans suffer from a much more serious disease, Alzheimer’s. According to statistics from the National Institute on Aging, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia in older people. Alzheimer’s is a progressive brain disease; it is irreversible and causes a decline in memory and cognitive skills.
One of the earliest known impairments caused by Alzheimer’s disease - loss of sense of smell – can be restored by removing a plaque-forming protein in a mouse model of the disease, a study led by a Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine researcher finds.
When a person with mild cognitive impairment is agitated or restless, caregivers can expect to find they are more edgy as well. This heightens the effect of elevated stress levels on caregivers' own bodies, placing them at risk for current and future health problems.
Studies have shown that people who are overweight in middle age are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease decades later than people at normal weight, yet researchers have also found that people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease are more likely to have a lower body mass index (BMI). A current study examines this relationship between Alzheimer’s disease and BMI. The study is published in the November 22, 2011, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Sluggish recycling of a protein-slicing enzyme could promote Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study in The Journal of Cell Biology.
Since the approval of four cholinesterase inhibitors in the 1990s and memantine in 2003, there have been no new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease. Against this backdrop, Paul Aisen of the University of California, San Diego, opened the 4th International Conference on Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) on 3 November 2011 in San Diego, California. Aisen’s keynote address, now available on Alzforum tracks the evolution of Alzheimer's trials over the past two decades. He plots a new phase forward, with researchers having a better handle on how to tackle the disease.
Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found a new way of diagnosing and tracking Alzheimer's disease, using an innovative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called Arterial spin labeling (ASL) to measure changes in brain function.
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