Financial management skills can decline with age, which can lead to catastrophic money woes for seniors.Declining financial aptitude can also be a sign of impending memory loss. UAB researchers present some warning signs.
People whose jobs require more complex work with other people, such as social workers and lawyers, or with data, like architects or graphic designers, may end up having longer-lasting memory and thinking abilities compared to people who do less complex work, according to research published in the November 19, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Protein misfolding” diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer’s may be seriously exacerbated by the body’s own response against that misfolding, according to a new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute.
Dr. Maya Schuldiner’s lab has identified an unusual cellular mechanism – a two-part zinc pump – that is faulty in some types of Alzheimer’s. While it’s not yet clear how the finding links to Alzheimer’s, it does offer new directions for investigating the causes of the disease.
Blocking a key receptor in brain cells that is used by oxygen free radicals could play a major role in neutralizing the biological consequences of Alzheimer’s disease, according to researchers at Temple University.
A multi-institutional study has defined and established criteria for a new neurological disease closely resembling Alzheimer’s disease called primary age-related tauopathy (PART). Patients with PART develop cognitive impairment that can be indistinguishable from Alzheimer’s disease, but they lack amyloid plaques. Awareness of this neurological disease will help doctors diagnose and develop more effective treatments for patients with different types of memory impairment.
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are seeking patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) to take part in a study of an investigational agent which may have the potential to protect nerve cells in the brain.
People with a newly identified genetic variant perform better on certain types of memory tests, a discovery that may point the way to new treatments for the memory impairments caused by Alzheimer's disease or other age-associated conditions.
In a pair of related studies, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a number of new therapeutic targets for memory disorders and have developed a new screening test to uncover compounds that may one day work against those disorders.
Lewy Body Dementia medical expert explains the conflicting information that was revealed in the autopsy of the late actor/comedian Robin Williams. Relation between Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy Body is described.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has boosted funding for the first large-scale clinical trial aimed at identifying drugs to stop or slow Alzheimer’s disease in people destined to get the debilitating illness.
Researchers at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre have potentially discovered a major cause of dementia. In this type of dementia, there is damage to the white matter (nerve fibres) of the brain apparent on computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of older individuals.
Dietary cocoa flavanols—naturally occurring bioactives found in cocoa—reversed age-related memory decline in healthy older adults, according to a study led by Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) scientists.
Researchers discover the cell events in the brains of individuals with Down syndrome that lead to the amyloid pathology observed in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The findings support a novel approach to treating and preventing both diseases.
Women who are anxious, jealous, or moody and distressed in middle age may be at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life, according to a nearly 40-year-long study published in the October 1, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In the first, small study of a novel, personalized and comprehensive program to reverse memory loss, nine of 10 participants, including the ones above, displayed subjective or objective improvement in their memories beginning within 3-to-6 months after the program’s start.
New research suggests that people without dementia who begin reporting memory issues may be more likely to develop dementia later, even if they have no clinical signs of the disease. The study is published in the September 24, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
New research by scientists at the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging suggests that people who notice their memory is slipping may be on to something.
Using a songbird as a model, scientists have described a brain pathway that replaces cells that have been lost naturally and not because of injury. If scientists can further tap into the process, it might lead to ways to encourage replacement of cells in human brains that have lost neurons naturally because of aging or Alzheimer's disease.
Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you suffered from dementia other than Alzheimer’s disease? Wonder no more. The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA), today, unveils what might be a typical day in the life for caregivers and their loved ones who suffer with Lewy body dementia (LBD), a complex, challenging, and surprisingly common brain disease. LBD families have unique challenges that differ from Alzheimer’s, and awareness is needed by healthcare professionals and the general public to better support them.
Judy picks out Bob’s clothes every morning and helped him dress. After a slow, unsteady walk down the stairs, he takes the medicine Judy doles out and later “helps” her dry the breakfast dishes. They go out together some days to run errands, but everything takes longer now because of Bob’s confusion, muscle stiffness, and slow, shuffling walk. Sometimes he can zip his coat up on the first try, but there are days he doesn’t understand
Researchers at Jacksonville’s campus of Mayo Clinic have discovered a defect in a key cell-signaling pathway they say contributes to both overproduction of toxic protein in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients as well as loss of communication between neurons — both significant contributors to this type of dementia.
The link between a protein typically associated with Alzheimer’s disease and its impact on memory and cognition may not be as clear as once thought, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Waisman Center. The researchers looked at the role of the brain protein amyloid-β in adults living with Down syndrome, a genetic condition that leaves people more susceptible to developing Alzheimer’s.
Researchers at UAB report in Nature the discovery of a novel mechanism in the brain involved in the formation of memory and learning. The discovery could have therapeutic ramifications for conditions including dementia, age-related memory loss or even post-traumatic stress disorder.
Molecular biologists are wielding a hot new gene editing tool called CRISPR to mutate, slice, and hopefully repair virtually any spot in the genome of any animal. Neuroscientists are finally taking advantage of the new technique, with an eye toward potential therapies for genetic diseases.
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that the most common variant of the circulating protein apolipoprotein E, called apoE3, helps repair the lining of blood vessels.
Heat shock proteins protect the molecules in all human and animal cells with factors that regulate their production and work as thermostats. In new research published Sept. 16 in the journal eLife, scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere report for the first time that a protein called translation elongation factor eEF1A1 orchestrates the entire process of the heart shock response.
People with blood type AB may be more likely to develop memory loss in later years than people with other blood types, according to a study published in the September 10, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Alzheimer’s disease experts at NYU Langone Medical Center and elsewhere are reporting success in specifically harnessing a mouse’s immune system to attack and remove the buildup of toxic proteins in the brain that are markers of the deadly neurodegenerative disease.
Researchers have discovered that three commonly used nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, alter the activity of enzymes within cell membranes. Their finding suggests that, if taken at higher-than-approved doses and/or for long periods of time, these prescription-level NSAIDs and other drugs that affect the membrane may produce wide-ranging and unwanted side effects.
Patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease currently have no treatment options to slow brain cell deterioration. Researchers at Houston Methodist’s Nantz National Alzheimer Center are studying an investigational drug that proposes to do just that.
Today, the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) steps up its awareness and fundraising effort “Lewy Who?” to put the brakes on Lewy body dementia (LBD). With symptoms that resemble both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, LBD is the most misdiagnosed form of dementia. Yet, following Alzheimer’s disease, it is the second most common cause of progressive dementia, affecting 1.3 million Americans. Families can fight this debilitating disease while educating others about LBD. LBDA offers five (5) ways to fight: (1) donate, (2) employer matching gifts, (3) plan a community event, (4) volunteer, or (5) partner with LBDA.
A new technique developed by Elisa Konofagou, associate professor of biomedical engineering and radiology at Columbia Engineering, has demonstrated for the first time that the size of molecules penetrating the blood-brain barrier can be controlled using acoustic pressure—the pressure of an ultrasound beam—to let specific molecules through. This innovative method, published in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow & Metabolism, may help improve drug delivery to the brain.
Even though Lewy body dementia is second only to Alzheimer’s disease as the most common cause of progressive dementia, affecting 1.3 million Americans, the symptoms of LBD are not well recognized by many physicians, especially primary care physicians and other general practitioners. Unfortunately, then, most people are not diagnosed until they are at moderate or severe states, leaving their caregivers unprepared and the patient vulnerable to potentially deadly medication side effects.
In the largest study of its kind, researchers suggests that in older people, not getting enough vitamin D may double the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The study is published in the August 6, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A new study gives insight into the relationship between depression and dementia. The study is published in the July 30, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
University of Washington bioengineers have a designed a peptide structure that can stop the harmful changes of the body's normal proteins into a state that's linked to widespread diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and Lou Gehrig's disease.
The groundbreaking scientific studies featured at the 2014 AACC Annual Meeting & Clinical Lab Expo will include research on a blood test for Alzheimer’s that uses biochip technology, a new test to diagnose colon cancer early, a more accurate method for determining multiple myeloma prognosis, a less stressful test for sleep apnea, and the development of a bank of biospecimens from pregnant women that could prove crucial for women’s health research.
A study involving nearly 27,000 older adults on five continents found that nearly 1 in 10 met criteria for pre-dementia based on a simple test that measures how fast people walk and whether they have cognitive complaints. People who tested positive for pre-dementia were twice as likely as others to develop dementia within 12 years. The study, led by scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center, was published online on July 16, 2014 in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A new University of Iowa study, published online July 14 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals a potential link between epilepsy and neurodegenerative disorders.
“I watched my husband experience a decline in cognition followed by a period of what seemed like improved function only to plunge again into confusion with more frequent hallucinations,” says one caregiver newly acquainted with Lewy body dementia (LBD). According to the Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA), these ups and downs in function are sometimes refer to by family caregivers as the “roller-coaster effect” of LBD. Fluctuating levels of cognitive ability, attention and alertness are one of the core features of LBD.
Researchers from the NYU Langone Medical Center, NYU School of Medicine, the Nathan S. Kline Research Institute and the NYU Alzheimer’s Disease Center (ADC) will present new findings at the 2014 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, July 12 – 17, 2014.
New research has identified a potential cause of and a better diagnostic method for preeclampsia, one of the most deadly and poorly understood pregnancy-related conditions in the world.