Feature Channels: Alzheimer's and Dementia

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Alzheimer's Foundation of America Urges People to Take Care of Their Brain as Part of Their New Year's Resolutions. Here are 10 Steps for Healthy Aging.

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Experts and research on important topics in the healthcare system

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Physician-researchers at Cedars-Sinai are available to discuss neuroscience findings from 2018. Several are detailed in this news release, including a study that found prolonged exposure to particulate matter in air pollution can cause changes in the brain. These changes could make people more susceptible to cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

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Florida is No. 1 in per capita cases of Alzheimer’s disease in the U.S. Research fellows in the FAU Brain Institute have received grants totaling more than $1.1 million from the Ed and Ethel Moore Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program.

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Researchers found that excitatory neurons – those that are more likely to trigger an action (as opposed to inhibitory neurons, which are less likely to prompt neural activity) – are more vulnerable to accumulations of abnormal tau protein, which is increasingly being implicated in Alzheimer’s disease.

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A new study finds that some brain cells protect themselves from Alzheimer’s with a cellular cleaning system that sweeps away toxic proteins associated with the disease.

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A new study from biomedical engineer Qi Wang, who is developing innovative ways of selectively activating neural circuitry to enhance perception and cognition, demonstrates a major advance in understanding how the locus coeruleus (LC) modulates information processing in the thalamus. Wang found that activating the LC improves the transmission of information about different features of sensory stimuli from the thalamus to the cerebral cortex, and subsequently perceptual performance in perceptual tasks.

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UT Southwestern researchers have succeeded in neutralizing what they believe is a primary factor in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, opening the door to development of a drug that could be administered before age 40, and taken for life, to potentially prevent the disease in 50 to 80 percent of at-risk adults.

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In a study published in the journal BRAIN, neuroscientists led by Michael D. Fox, MD, PhD, of BIDMC used data from the human brain connectome – a publicly available “wiring diagram” of the human brain based on data from thousands of healthy human volunteers – to reassess the findings from neuroimaging studies of patients with Alzheimer’s disease.

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In an effort to better understand frontotemporal dementia, an international team of researchers, led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, has found that a lone mutation in a single gene that causes an inherited form of the disorder makes it harder for neurons in the brain to communicate with one another, leading to neurodegeneration.

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Female military veterans who have traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder or depression long after their service may be more likely to later develop dementia than female veterans without those conditions, according to a study published in the December 12, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Scientists who recently identified the molecular start of Alzheimer’s disease have used that finding to determine that it should be possible to forecast which type of dementia will develop over time – a form of personalized medicine for neurodegenerative diseases.

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A scientific strategy that explores therapeutic targets based on the biology of aging is gaining ground as an effective approach to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in the December 7, 2018 online issue of Neurology®.

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Rutgers scientists have found a compound in coffee that may team up with caffeine to fight Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia – two progressive and currently incurable diseases associated with brain degeneration.

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Researchers have discovered what might be an effective strategy to prevent and combat cognitive dysfunction in obese individuals. They are the first to examine the modulatory role of an exercise-induced protein in the brain that promotes neuron survival using high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) in obese and normal-weight subjects. Obesity reduces the expression of this protein and lower levels are associated with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and obesity. HIIE upregulated this protein in the obese subjects compared to normal-weight subjects.

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Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have identified in live human brains new radioactive “tracer” molecules that bind to and “light up” tau tangles, a protein associated with a number of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementias.

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Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Funding Brings Together Interdisciplinary Experts to Accelerate Understanding

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The non-pregnant uterus is commonly assumed to be an unimportant organ. One third of American women have a hysterectomy by age 60, often before natural menopause. Arizona State University researchers have found an animal model of hysterectomy resulted in decreased memory capacity and an altered hormonal profile within two months after surgery. The study suggests an important role for the uterus that could impact cognitive aging.

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Older adults who take up drawing could enhance their memory, according to a new study. Researchers from the University of Waterloo found that even if people weren't good at it, drawing, as a method to help retain new information, was better than re-writing notes, visualization exercises or passively looking at images.

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Jonathan Haines, PhD, with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine will lead a national collaboration to expand big data genetic research into Alzheimer’s disease to include stronger representation from African-American and Hispanic communities. Funding for the research – $14.6 million to be awarded over multiple years – is from the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health.

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A UCLA-led research team has identified genetic processes involved in the neurodegeneration that occurs in dementia — an important step on the path toward developing therapies that could slow or halt the course of the disease. The findings appear Dec. 3 in the journal Nature Medicine.

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The PhRMA Foundation awarded more than $6 million over the last two years to more than 100 leaders in scientific research in the United States. The Foundation is proud to announce another successful year supporting innovative research efforts in areas of great importance: Alzheimer’s Disease, Melanoma, Parkinson’s Disease, Schizophrenia, Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, Leukemia, Ulcerative Colitis, Vascular Disease, and Colorectal Cancer. This year the Foundation also funded two Centers of Excellence in Value Assessment.

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Quick tests used in primary care settings to identify whether people are likely to have dementia may often be wrong, according to a study published in the November 28, 2018, online issue of Neurology® Clinical Practice, an official journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Clinical Studies in Patients using IB1000s with Lewy Body Dementia and Fronto-Temporal Dementia Showed Marked Improvement in Quality of Life, Cognition, Mobility, Speech, and a Disease-Modifying Effect

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Though Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy have long been considered separate conditions, research is suggesting they could be related in certain ways. ILAE talks with Dr. Andrew Cole, director of the Massachusetts General Hospital Epilepsy Service and professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.

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Middle-aged adults with lung disease may be at greater risk of developing dementia or cognitive impairment later in life, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

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Eating leafy greens, dark orange and red vegetables and berry fruits, and drinking orange juice may be associated with a lower risk of memory loss over time in men, according to a study published in the November 21, 2018, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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With the growing popularity of at-home genetic testing kits as holiday gifts, the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is advising consumers about what to know before taking a genetic test to learn health information.

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Scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have identified gene recombination in neurons that produces thousands of new gene variants within Alzheimer’s disease brains. The study, published today in Nature, reveals for the first time how the Alzheimer’s-linked gene, APP, is recombined by using the same type of enzyme found in HIV.

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There are 5.7 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease, according to Alzheimers.org, and the dreaded disease has caused more deaths than both breast and prostate cancer combined. Finding a cure is paramount.

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A DNA vaccine tested in mice reduces accumulation of both types of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to research that scientists say may pave the way to a clinical trial.

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Doctors may one day be able to gauge a patient's risk of dementia with an MRI scan, according to a new study from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Francisco. Using a new technique for analyzing MRI data, researchers were able to predict who would experience cognitive decline with 89 percent accuracy.

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A new frontier in the science of circadian rhythms – whose disruption is linked to major diseases like cancer and diabetes – suggests a previously unknown mechanism at work in our daily biological cycle.

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University of Iowa music therapist PhD student Alaine E. Reschke-Hernández planned and facilitated a study in four Iowa nursing homes to examine the effectiveness of a music therapy intervention with people with Alzheimer’s or related dementias.

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Research is starting to connect the dots between Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy. What does the future hold?

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Rong Xu, PhD, recently received a total of $5 million for two projects that will use big data methods for a comprehensive look at a range of factors that may inform the mechanism of Alzheimer’s and related dementia.

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In the largest genetic study of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, have found that genes that increase risk of cardiovascular disease also heighten the risk for Alzheimer’s.

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Like humans, fruit flies are active during the day, sleep at night and have similar sleep characteristics. A study has discovered a new gene and uncovered a mechanism that modulates sleep by controlling the movement of taurine – a common ingredient found in many energy drinks like Red Bull™ – into neuron cells of the fly brain. Taurine also is abundant in the human brain and is consistently elevated in blood and urine of sleep-deprived people.

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Research from the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging has identified two potential ways to predict VCID – the second leading cause of dementia behind Alzheimer's disease

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Landmarks across the country and around the world will light up teal on November 8th to raise Alzheimer’s awareness as part of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s (AFA) Light the World in Teal program. The annual program, held in November for Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, aims to literally shine a spotlight on Alzheimer’s disease and show support for the millions of people affected by it.

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A new study out of the Krembil Brain Institute, part of the Krembil Research Institute, suggests drinking coffee may protect you against developing both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

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Rutgers scientists have created a tiny, biodegradable scaffold to transplant stem cells and deliver drugs, which may help treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, aging brain degeneration, spinal cord injuries and traumatic brain injuries. Stem cell transplantation, which shows promise as a treatment for central nervous system diseases, has been hampered by low cell survival rates, incomplete differentiation of cells and limited growth of neural connections.

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People with Alzheimer’s disease who were treated with diabetes drugs showed considerably fewer markers of the disease—including abnormal microvasculature and disregulated gene expressions—in their brains compared to Alzheimer’s patients without treatment for diabetes, Mount Sinai researchers report.

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Throughout November, let us not just create awareness about the problem of Alzheimer’s disease. Let’s commit to finding solutions, to providing greater support for the millions of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease or caring for someone who has it, and to work harder than ever to find the cure that so many are desperately waiting for. Let’s create hope

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The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology announced today that Kerry-Anne Rye of the University of New South Wales Sydney and Nicholas O. Davidson of Washington University in St. Louis will be the next editors-in-chief of the Journal of Lipid Research.

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New Vanderbilt research finds how long humans and other warm-blooded animals live—and when they reach sexual maturity— may have more to do with their brain than their body. More specifically, it is not animals with larger bodies or slower metabolic rates that live longer; it is animals with more neurons in the cerebral cortex, whatever the size of the body.

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Nearly 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease and 16.1 million Americans provide unpaid care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, accounting for an estimated 18.4 billion hours of care. As part of Alzheimer’s Awareness Month in November, UAB geriatricians provide tips, ideas and best practices to help family caregivers care for a loved one living with Alzheimer’s or dementia, while also keeping the patient and the caregiver safe and sane. The tips include ways to talk about major decisions, such as taking away the keys or moving someone to a new home, as well as ideas to allow the patient to stay safe while continuing to live with dignity and feel valued in their community.