A study led by St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital investigators links the muscle weakness and other symptoms of a rare neurodegenerative disease to a misstep in functioning of a normal protein, rather than its build-up inside cells.
Neurological researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found a new therapeutic target that can potentially lead to a new way to prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The target called neutral sphingomyelinase (N-SMase) is a protein that when activated, can cause a chain of reactions in the cell leading to neuronal death and memory loss.
Elevated levels of a growth protein in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients is linked to impaired neurogenesis, the process by which new neurons are generated, say researchers at the University of California, San Diego in today’s edition of The Journal of Neuroscience.
New research suggests that old age may not play a role in why older people become forgetful. According to a study published in the September 15, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, the same brain lesions that are associated with dementia are responsible for mild memory loss in old age.
Simply getting older is not the cause of mild memory lapses often called senior moments, according to a new study by researchers at the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center. The study found that even the very early mild changes in memory that are much more common in old age than dementia are caused by the same brain lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
A team of scientists, led by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers, has synthesized hundreds of new compounds with the potential of reducing the production of the A-beta 42 peptide, a primary component of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
A new study shows that mild cognitive impairment (MCI) may affect more men than women. The research is published in the September 7, 2010, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A new Mayo Clinic study found that the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment was 1.5 times higher in men than in women.
New research shows that mentally stimulating activities such as crossword puzzles, reading and listening to the radio may, at first, slow the decline of thinking skills but speed up dementia later in old age. The research is published in the September 1, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Scientists have discovered how the cancer drug Gleevec attacks beta-amyloid, the primary component of senile plaques in Alzheimer's disease. The finding suggests that drugs modeled on Gleevec could provide new treatments for this disease.
An intervention that targeted modifiable stressors in the home of patients with dementia resulted in better outcomes for the patients and their caregivers at 4 months, but not at 9 months, although the caregivers perceived greater benefits, according to a study in the September 1 issue of JAMA.
Most recent studies show that elderly people over the age of 80 often have mixed pathologies in their brains that account for their memory loss and confusion. Very few senior citizens have “pure Alzheimer disease”; therefore, this terminology should be used with caution. It now appears that vascular problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes can shrink the parts of the brain that control memory and can significantly affect at what age elderly people become demented. The following tips may be able to postpone cognitive decline late in life.
People with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes appear to be at an increased risk of developing plaques in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research published in the August 25, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Sanford-Burnham scientists uncover new clues to the molecular action of memantine, a drug used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, that show why side effects are rare.
A U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritionist has collaborated in ongoing research that has taken a closer look at the role the B vitamins may play in preventing decline in brain function.
In a world first, Dr. Andres M. Lozano and his team at Toronto Western Hospital has shown using Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on patients with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease is safe and may help improve memory.
Sanford-Burnham researchers uncover new clues about the cause of brain cell death in neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases
A new study shows that a sleep disorder may be a sign of dementia or Parkinson’s disease up to 50 years before the disorders are diagnosed. The research is published in the July 28, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
A review and analysis of previous research indicates that delirium in elderly patients is associated with an increased risk of death, dementia, and institutionalization, independent of age, co-existing illnesses or illness severity, according to a study in the July 28 issue of JAMA.
Much-studied protein involved in aging, and tied to red wine ingredient resveratrol, is required for recall in mice; but over-expression fails to improve performance, according to a new study in Journal of Neuroscience.
Lorna W. Role, Ph.D. to receive up to $2.5 million over five years for research that could help individuals with Alzheimer's and other degenerative brain diseases.
Investigators have found that fruit fly males -- in which the activity of an Alzheimer’s disease protein is reduced by 50 percent -- show impairments in learning and memory as they age. What’s more, the researchers were able to prevent the age-related deficits by treating the flies with drugs such as lithium, or by genetic manipulations that reduced nerve-cell signaling.
Researchers from Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus say that dementia in some diabetics appears to be caused often by vascular disease in the brain, and the dementia that develops in people without diabetes is more likely associated with deposition of the plaque seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have used a newly discovered class of biomarkers to investigate the possibility that the shape of brain protein deposits is different in people with Alzheimer’s who have the highest-risk gene type than in those with the condition who have a neutral risk gene type. The study is being presented July 14 at the 2010 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Honolulu, Hawaii.
New research shows that people with Alzheimer’s disease who have large heads have better memory and thinking skills than those with the disease who have smaller heads, even when they have the same amount of brain cell death due to the disease. The research is published in the July 13, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Next, researchers will study whether treating neuropsychiatric symptoms in MCI can delay the onset of dementia.
The University of Virginia School of Medicine is launching Memory Commons (www.memorycommons.org), an interactive, first-of-its-kind educational website for physicians and healthcare professionals that focuses specifically on Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia.
A new study shows that having depression may nearly double your risk of developing dementia later in life. The research will be published in the July 6, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Researchers at Rush University Medical found that depressive symptoms show little change during the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. The study suggests depression is a true risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and not just an early sign of the disease.
A South Dakota State University researcher and his colleagues elsewhere have discovered a previously unreported mitochondrial protein that interacts with a protein known to play a role in Alzheimer’s disease.
New research has identified the memory and brain scan tests that appear to predict best whether a person with cognitive problems might develop Alzheimer’s disease. The research is published in the June 30, 2010, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology
Is this the modus operandi for a self-described "leading not-for-profit research and development institution" that is suing 10 AD research entities, from pharma and biotech companies to not-for-profit institutions, over use of mice, cells, and other tools derived from the Swedish APP mutation? The discovery of this mutation 18 years ago helped open up the molecular biology of Alzheimer's research, but advances in this area have become ensnared in litigation again and again. Esther Landhuis and Gabrielle Strobel investigated: Buckle your seatbelt for a ride through the maze that is U.S. patent law, and sit in wonder at the multitude of obstacles that stand in the way of finding treatments for loved ones.
Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have found that lower, though not necessarily impaired, performance on tests measuring story learning or retention and processing speed in motor tasks dependent on visual control, as well as symptoms of depression, predicted subsequent cognitive decline in a normal population.
Study used MRI to detect deterioration of white matter bracts in the brains of healthy adults at high risk for Alzheimer's disease. Data suggest that changes in white matter connections may be among the earliest brain changes in Alzheimer's disease, which may prove important for early detection by non-invasive imaging.
Scientists at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have discovered characteristic amyloid plaques in retinas from Alzheimer’s disease patients and used a noninvasive optical imaging technique to detect retinal plaques in live laboratory mice, suggesting the possibility of early noninvasive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
A trial of a novel radioactive compound readily and safely distinguished the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients from healthy volunteers on brain scans and opens the doors to making such imaging available beyond facilities that can manufacture their own radioactive compounds. The results, reported by a Johns Hopkins team in the June Journal of Nuclear Medicine, could lead to better ways to distinguish Alzheimer’s from other types of dementia, track disease progression and develop new therapeutics to fight the memory-ravaging disease.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that the drug carvedilol, currently prescribed for the treatment of hypertension, may lessen the degenerative impact of Alzheimer’s disease and promote healthy memory functions.
An organic compound found in red wine – resveratrol – has the ability to neutralize the toxic effects of proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to research led by Rensselaer Professor Peter M. Tessier.
The first trial of a new model for testing Alzheimer's treatments has reassured researchers that a promising class of drugs does not exacerbate the disease if treatment is interrupted.
In diverse neurodegenerative diseases ranging from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s, researchers have long noted accumulations of a little-understood neuronal protein called α-synuclein. Pathological and genetic evidence strongly suggested that excessive α-synuclein played a role in the evolution of these diseases, but it was unclear how too much α-synuclein culminated in synaptic damage and neurodegeneration.
CIHR experts discuss the impact of music on people’s health.
A molecule implicated in Alzheimer’s disease interferes with brain cells by making them unable to “recycle” the surface receptors that respond to incoming signals, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
On the 9 June 2010, 119 participants from industry, academia, and related stakeholder communities in the U.S. and Europe joined Alzforum for a Webinar with Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) director Paul Aisen, who explained what kinds of project ideas the ADCS leaders welcome from the worldwide Alzheimer Disease research community as they prepare for a new round of federal ADCS funding next year. The ADCS runs trials with public-private collaborations, and has developed a clinical trial infrastructure and a tool kit well suited to push drug trials into the pre-symptomatic phase of the disease.
Representatives of the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) today signed a cooperation agreement that aims to establish and apply harmonised guidelines and technologies for research on neurodegenerative diseases.
Researchers have discovered how mutations in the presenilin 1 gene cause early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The finding, reported online in the journal Cell, opens the door to developing novel treatments for this form of the mind-robbing disease and for the more common, late-onset form that develops later in life and affects millions of people worldwide.
Patients in the early to moderate stages of Alzheimer’s Disease could have their cognitive impairment slowed or even reversed by switching to a healthier diet.
Older veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appear more likely to develop dementia over a seven-year period than those without PTSD, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Reducing a protein called beta-amyloid in young mice with a condition resembling Down syndrome improves their ability to learn, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.
A surgical treatment that stimulates distressed neural networks through electrodes threaded directly into a person's brain has quietly made a difference in the lives of tens of thousands of people with Parkinson disease, essential tremor, and dystonia over the course of the past decade. What about the mind? Could DBS eventually help other brain diseases such as Alzheimer's? Alzforum reporter Amber Dance investigates in a new four-part series.
Writing the latest pages of an anthropological mystery, scientists propose in this month’s Archives of Neurology that it is highly possible that Auguste Deter, the first identified Alzheimer disease patient, carried the N141I presenilin-2 mutation—the same one as in present-day U.S. families descended from German emigrants who settled near the river Volga in Russia.
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