Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 60. AD is the most common cause of dementia among older people, but it is not a normal part of aging. Dementia refers to a decline in cognitive function that interferes with daily life and activities. AD starts in a region of the brain that affects recent memory, then gradually spreads to other parts of the brain. Although treatment can slow the progression of AD and help manage its symptoms in some people, currently there is no cure for this devastating disease.

Gut antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for Crohn's disease

A collaboration led by the Burnham Institute for Medical Research has found that an antibody which binds to an unusual sugar molecule residing in the gut halts the inflammation seen in Crohn's disease and other intestinal inflammations. The antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for these common chronic intestinal disorders.

9 Oct 2005

Earliest signs of Alzheimer's can be screened for with an electroencephalograph

Although Alzheimer's disease affects millions of people worldwide, there is no way to identify this devastating brain disease at its earliest stages when there still may be time to delay or even prevent the downward spiral into dementia.

5 Oct 2005

PET imaging with FDG represents one of the most promising tools for diagnosis of Alzheimer's

Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging--with the radiotracer fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)--is a promising tool in detecting Alzheimer's disease in patients who have mild cognitive impairment (MCI), according to a study reported in the October issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine's Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

5 Oct 2005

Divalent metal transporter-1 decreases metal-related injury in the lung

Multi-vitamin products, nutritional supplements and parents tout the need for such mineral elements as calcium, zinc, phosphorus, iron and others.

4 Oct 2005

Landmark study aims to find genetic link to Alzheimer's disease

More than 500 families affected by Alzheimer's Disease are participating in a landmark study led by Columbia University Medical Center to find a genetic link to the disease. That number will now double to 1,000 under a new $10 million five-year grant from National Institute on Aging.

3 Oct 2005

Researchers have successfully combined computer modeling and experimental results in folding studies for small proteins

In unprecedented new research, scientists at Rice University have combined theory and experiment for the first time to both predict theoretically and verify experimentally the protein-folding dynamics of a large, complex protein.

3 Oct 2005

Potential beneficial effect of copper orotate

As one of the services for patients with Alzheimer's disease, the Department of Psychiatry at the Saarland University Medical Center offers participation in a clinical phase II trial. This clinical trial aims to elucidate a potential beneficial effect of copper orotate (an organic copper salt), which is given together with a standard cholinesterase inhibitor.

3 Oct 2005

Loss of body mass over time appears to be strongly linked to older adults' risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

The findings are the first to associate decline in body mass index (BMI) with the eventual onset of AD. The researchers suggest that the loss of body mass reflects disease processes and that change in BMI might be a clinical predictor of the development of AD.

26 Sep 2005

Tests of cognitive function are the best way so far to predict whether healthy elderly people will develop Alzheimer's

Although Alzheimer's disease begins long before symptoms appear, early diagnosis of Alzheimer's has so far been elusive. And given that there is no cure for the disease, benefits of early detection remain questionable.

26 Sep 2005

Scientists reverse memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's

In mice, that had been genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer's disease, scientists were able to reverse the rodents' memory loss by reducing the amount of an enzyme that is crucial for the development of Alzheimer's disease.

26 Sep 2005

Notch1 and Jagged1 genes are likely markers indicating a patient's probable aggressive breast cancer

In a new study, scientists at The Hospital for Sick Children and Princess Margaret Hospital have shown that two genes called Notch1 and Jagged1 are linked to more aggressive breast cancers and that patients are less likely to survive the disease when these two genes are highly expressed.

26 Sep 2005

Two recent studies may help clinicians and researchers better predict and understand dementia of the Alzheimer's type

Both studies appear in the September issue of Neuropsychology, which is published by the American Psychological Association (APA). Psychologists focus on early detection in part because current medications are useful only when given very early in the course of the disease.

26 Sep 2005

HIV-infected macrophages in the brain continuously travel to part of the brain Alzheimer's disease often damages

Bacteria-eating cells that generally fight infection may cause dementia in HIV patients, University of Florida and University of California at San Francisco researchers have found.

26 Sep 2005

Prediction of new polymorph of the Alzheimer's drug, piracetam

A challenge, presented at last year's e-Science All Hands meeting, has resulted in an e-Science project achieving one of the holy grails of the pharmaceutical industry - the computational prediction of a previously unidentified crystal structure, or polymorph, of a drug molecule.

22 Sep 2005

Botox helps explain possible causes of nerve diseases

Botox, used by Hollywood stars to smooth out facial wrinkles, is playing an important role in UQ research to understand how nerve cells communicate with each other.

22 Sep 2005

First clinical guidelines to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of people with normal pressure hydrocephalus

An international team of medical experts led by a Virginia Commonwealth University researcher has established the first clinical guidelines to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of people with normal pressure hydrocephalus, a debilitating condition in the brain that often goes undiagnosed or is misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

21 Sep 2005

Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Gut antibody could prove to be a promising drug target for Crohn's disease

Earliest signs of Alzheimer's can be screened for with an electroencephalograph

PET imaging with FDG represents one of the most promising tools for diagnosis of Alzheimer's

Divalent metal transporter-1 decreases metal-related injury in the lung

Landmark study aims to find genetic link to Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have successfully combined computer modeling and experimental results in folding studies for small proteins

Potential beneficial effect of copper orotate

Loss of body mass over time appears to be strongly linked to older adults' risk of developing Alzheimer's disease

Tests of cognitive function are the best way so far to predict whether healthy elderly people will develop Alzheimer's

Scientists reverse memory loss in mice with Alzheimer's

Notch1 and Jagged1 genes are likely markers indicating a patient's probable aggressive breast cancer

Two recent studies may help clinicians and researchers better predict and understand dementia of the Alzheimer's type

HIV-infected macrophages in the brain continuously travel to part of the brain Alzheimer's disease often damages

Prediction of new polymorph of the Alzheimer's drug, piracetam

Botox helps explain possible causes of nerve diseases

First clinical guidelines to help improve the diagnosis and treatment of people with normal pressure hydrocephalus

Failure to block out inappropriate sensory stimulation activity in Alzheimer disease

Green tea may protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease

Prions rapidly 'remodel' good protein into bad

Can we reverse mental declines? Well, for most of us, the answer is yes

Aneuro: An Overview of Neuroscience Research eBook

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