Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Pitt researcher to explore the neurological sex-based divide in dementia

Fifty million people worldwide are living with dementia, a broad term for diseases and conditions characterized by progressive cognitive decline.

28 May 2020

Two marine molecules show potential to treat Alzheimer's disease

An interdisciplinary research study of the University of Barcelona identified two potential candidates to treat Alzheimer's disease. These are two marine molecules, meridianine and lignarenone B, able to alter the activity of GSK3B activity, a protein associated with several neurodegenerative diseases.

28 May 2020

Studies advance the understanding of sensory disconnection during sleep and anesthesia

During sleep and under anesthesia, we rarely respond to such external stimuli as sounds even though our brains remain highly active.

28 May 2020

Faulty ApoE4 gene increases risk for Alzheimer’s and for COVID-19

It has not been clear whether dementia worsens the infection or if it has resulted from the patient's old age and the severity of care home outbreaks. Now, a new study sheds light on the reason why people with dementia are at a high risk of developing severe disease caused by the coronavirus disease.

27 May 2020

Is air pollution a risk factor for COVID-19 infection?

The COVID-19 pandemic began at the very end of 2019 in Wuhan city, Hubei province, China. However, its spread soon began to threaten the health of the whole country and then of the world, leading to nearly 5.7 million cases and over 355,000 dead as of today. A new study, published on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020, explores the effects of air pollution on COVID-19 infections in China.

27 May 2020

Research provides new evidence for potential blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's

A potential blood-based biomarker for Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases seems even more promising thanks to new research from a Massachusetts General Hospital-led study.

27 May 2020

Molecular pair offers hope for development of new Parkinson's treatment

A promising molecular pair has offered hope that could lead to the development of a new treatment to slow down Parkinson's disease, a study by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and Harvard University has found.

27 May 2020

Updates on stem cell therapeutics and regenerative medicine

Stem cell and regenerative medicine research is an important area of clinical research which promises to change the face of medicine as it will be practiced in the years to come.

27 May 2020

Research could help identify disturbances in the body's copper metabolism

In biology it is well-known that every living organism is triggered by the hereditary material or DNA that encodes various protein molecules, which in turn perform all the necessary biological functions and it might seem that nothing else is needed to sustain the life of an organism.

26 May 2020

Early surgery improves outcome and survival in patients with hydrocephalus

Early surgery improved both outcome and survival in patients with the neurological condition hydrocephalus, while mortality was higher in those who had to wait, according to a thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

26 May 2020

Genes associated with dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19

Having a faulty gene linked to dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19, according to a large-scale study.

26 May 2020

New design strategy marks a potential advance in the fight against Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have found a way to design an antibody that can identify the toxic particles that destroy healthy brain cells - a potential advance in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

26 May 2020

Inherited genetic variations can alter progression of melanoma, indicates study

Sometimes cancer stays put, but often it metastasizes, spreading to new locations in the body. It has long been suspected that genetic mutations arising inside tumor cells drive this potentially devastating turn of events.

26 May 2020

IL-6 blocker use in severe COVID-19 increases risk of secondary infections

With many hundreds of thousands of deaths due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, there is a rush to find an effective vaccine or drug against the virus. A new study on the preprint server medRxiv* in May 2020 shows that the use of some biologically plausible drugs may be counterproductive, and care should be taken when trying out unproven therapies.

22 May 2020

Lowering blood pressure reduces risk of developing dementia, research shows

Research completed in NUI Galway has shown that lowering blood pressure by taking blood pressure medications reduces the risk of developing dementia and cognitive impairment by 7%.

21 May 2020

Exercise boosts blood flow into brain regions associated with memory

Scientists have collected plenty of evidence linking exercise to brain health, with some research suggesting fitness may even improve memory. But what happens during exercise to trigger these benefits?

20 May 2020

MU researchers examine how menopause can impact cognitive function

Characterized by a buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain, Alzheimer's is an irreversible disease that leads to memory loss and a decrease in cognitive function.

19 May 2020

Researchers explore how a small change in protein shape causes long-term consequences

Sometimes proteins misfold. When that happens in the human brain, the pileup of misfolded proteins can lead to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and ALS.

19 May 2020

A new treatment option for activating cellular defenses against neurodegenerative disease

Talk about motherly instincts: Biologists at the University of Iowa have learned that female roundworms can alert their future offspring of dangers they will encounter when born, and the mothers pass on these warnings even before the offspring have been conceived.

19 May 2020