Feature Channels: Alzheimer's and Dementia

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In Alzheimer’s and related neurodegenerative diseases, the brain protein tau is closely linked to brain damage and cognitive decline. A new study from researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis indicates that T cells play a key role in tau-related neurodegeneration, a finding that suggests new treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s and related diseases.

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Cedars-Sinai investigators have produced the most extensive analysis to date of changes in the retina—a layer of tissue at the back of the eye where visual information originates—and how those retinal changes correspond to brain and cognitive changes in Alzheimer’s disease patients.

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Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a method for predicting fall accidents and cognitive illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease by reading a person’s walking pattern with the aid of a radar sensor.

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Three faculty from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have been named 2023 Hastings Center Fellows. Emily Largent, PhD, RN, Peter Reese, MD, PhD, and Dominic Sisti, PhD, are among 12 new Fellows joining an elected group of over 200.

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Cleveland: A self-administered screening tool, developed by Cleveland Clinic researchers, can effectively and efficiently assess cognition issues in older adults.

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A new technique that targets and breaks apart certain proteins — rather than just interfering with them — may offer a pathway toward treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Researchers reporting in ACS Central Science have designed a compound that breaks down a protein closely associated with the disease.

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According to new research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, people who experience discrimination during their lifetimes have an increased risk of dementia. The study appears in the February issue of Alzheimer’s & Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

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New research that followed female participants for two decades has found that seven healthy habits and lifestyle factors may play a role in lowering the risk of dementia. The preliminary study released today, February 27, 2023, will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th Annual Meeting being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023.

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Black people are receiving medications for dementia less often than white people, according to a preliminary study released today, February 26, 2023, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th Annual Meeting being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023.

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Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons that would normally be destroyed in ALS, based on a study in mice. Upper motor neurons initiate movement, and they degenerate in ALS.

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Less than one year after stepping away from acting due to a diagnosis of aphasia, Bruce Willis has been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. Here, a neurologist answers key questions about FTD.

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Patients with higher levels of a key molecule involved in the formation of new blood vessels were more likely to have cognitive impairment or evidence of brain injury, a consortium of academic medical centers reported.

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People who regularly use laxatives, a common treatment for constipation, may have more than a 50% increased risk of developing dementia than people who do not use laxatives, according to a study published in the February 22, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers also found people who used only osmotic laxatives, a type of laxative that attracts water to the colon to soften stool, had an even greater risk. Other types of laxatives are bulk-forming, stool-softening, and stimulating. The study does not prove that laxatives cause dementia. It only shows an association.

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Living closer to outdoor spaces and water sources may reduce older people’s risk of having serious psychological distress, which can lead to mild cognitive impairment and dementia, according to a preliminary study released today, February 22, 2023, that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 75th Annual Meeting being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023.

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The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) Catalyst recently published an article by Ochsner Health neuropsychologist and a team of researchers discussing the critical need for value-based care models for patients with dementia.

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Of all the known genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, the strongest is a gene for the protein called ApoE4.

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Leqembi, Recientemente Aprobado por la FDA, Muestra un Beneficio Potencial para los Pacientes con Enfermedad en Etapa Temprana, pero la Disponibilidad Llevará tiempo, Comenta Experta de Cedars-Sinai

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Um grupo de trabalho de especialistas reformulou o que é considerado clinicamente significativo para desacelerar a progressão da doença de Alzheimer durante ensaios clínicos, incluindo o impacto do tratamento ao longo do tempo e a necessidade de terapias combinadas.

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Un grupo de trabajo de expertos ha replanteado qué es importante a nivel clínico para retrasar el avance de la enfermedad de Alzheimer durante los ensayos clínicos, incluidas la repercusión del tratamiento a lo largo del tiempo y la necesidad de terapias combinadas.

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Dementia affects millions of Americans — including nearly one in 10 adults over age 65. While the causes of different dementias vary, a 2020 report from a Lancet commission identified several modifiable risk factors that together account for around 40% of dementia worldwide. Neurologists share how you can reduce your risk for dementia and maintain a healthy brain throughout your life.

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Delray Medical Center is the first hospital in Florida to treat an Alzheimer’s disease patient using non-invasive focused ultrasound technology as part of a groundbreaking study being conducted in collaboration with FAU’s Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention (I-Health). In the FDA-approved clinical trial, focused ultrasound technology is used to disrupt the blood-brain barrier in participating Alzheimer’s patients.

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People with diabetes are twice as likely to develop dementia as those without the disease. In a new study, people with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes who took the diabetes drug pioglitazone were less likely to later develop dementia than those who did not take the drug. The study is published in the February 15, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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People living in disadvantaged neighborhoods—areas with higher poverty levels and fewer educational and employment opportunities—had an increased risk of dying within a month of being hospitalized for stroke, epilepsy and other neurologic diseases compared to people living in neighborhoods with fewer disadvantages, according to new research published in the February 15, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Neuroimaging techniques, like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), are not able to directly measure neuronal activity. To address this knowledge gap, a research team led by Ian Shih, PhD, professor and vice chair of the Department of Neurology and associate director of the Biomedical Research Imaging Center, has created a novel experimental platform that is able to optically record local neuronal activity during brain-wide fMRI in rodents.

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The Faculties of Medicine and Science, Chulalongkorn University, in collaboration with University College London (UCL), the United Kingdom, together with industrial partner have developed Eartest by Eartone Application that examines hearing with Thai words processing that the public can use to screen dementia by themselves before consulting physicians to help prevent and reduce future risk of dementia.

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The relentless neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) eventually shuts down the entire body, but the devastation starts at a molecular level. The possibility of stopping the disease by repairing and preserving proteins in the brain has inspired experiments in the lab of Meredith Jackrel, an assistant professor of chemistry in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.

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Kei Igarashi, associate professor of anatomy & neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, has been named one of six scholars to win the 19th Japan Academy Medal. Widely considered the academy’s most prestigious award for Japanese researchers under the age of 45 in all fields of science and humanities, it was bestowed on Igarashi in recognition of his discoveries on the neural circuit mechanisms of associative memory and how they are affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

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An expert work group has reframed what is clinically meaningful to slow Alzheimer's disease progression during clinical trials, including treatment impact over time and the need for combination therapies.

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A study conducted by Florida State University Psychology Professor Chris Martin and a team of researchers at the University of Toronto, shows that a smart phone application can enhance memory function in older adults.

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The presence of apathy in patients with mild cognitive impairment is strongly linked to a progression to Alzheimer’s disease, giving physicians a possible early diagnosis tool, according to UTHealth Houston research published recently in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

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For the more than 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, related dementias, or mild cognitive impairment, anxiety is often an accompanying challenge. A Florida State University psychologist has received a five-year, $3.7 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to study intervention techniques that aim to combat anxiety in these groups and improve quality of life.

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妙佑医疗国际(Mayo Clinic)的研究人员与合作者已确定了关键的临床发现，可帮助临床医生识别具有潜在可治疗病因的快速进展性痴呆症患者，否则这些患者可能会被误诊为克雅氏症。他们的研究已在线发表于美国神经病学学会的官方期刊《神经病学临床实践》上。

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Investigadores y colaboradores de Mayo Clinic han descubierto hallazgos clínicos clave que pueden ayudar a los médicos clínicos a reconocer causas que podrían tratar la demencia rápidamente progresiva en pacientes que, de lo contrario, podrían recibir un diagnóstico de enfermedad de Creutzfeldt-Jakob. Su estudio se publicó en la versión en línea de Neurology Clinical Practice, la revista médica oficial de la Academia Americana de Neurología.

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Os pesquisadores e colaboradores da Mayo Clinic identificaram achados clínicos importantes que podem ajudar os médicos a reconhecer pacientes com causas potencialmente tratáveis de demência rapidamente progressiva e que seriam diagnosticados erroneamente com a doença de Creutzfeldt-Jakob. O estudo foi publicado on-line na Neurology Clinical Practice, uma revista médica oficial da American Academy of Neurology.

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Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences (RBHS) is launching the Herbert and Jacqueline Krieger Klein Alzheimer’s and Dementia Clinical Research and Treatment Center. Based at the Rutgers Brain Health Institute and scheduled to open in fall 2023, the center will offer research expertise from the institute, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research as well as facilitate clinical research in Alzheimer’s disease that could result in new medical treatments.

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Below are some of the latest articles that have been added to the Surgery and the Transplantation channels on Newswise, a free source for journalists.