Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Blood test for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease

Soon researchers may be able to detect signs of Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear by a simple blood test. Currently, biological tests to diagnose Alzheimer's use invasive and costly procedures including brain imaging and spinal punctures.

2 Apr 2012

Non-invasive brain stimulation cuts time to improve speech in stroke patients

One of the most frustrating challenges for some stroke patients can be the inability to find and speak words even if they know what they want to say. Speech therapy is laborious and can take months. New research is seeking to cut that time significantly, with the help of non-invasive brain stimulation.

2 Apr 2012

Study provides new information on why A-T disease attacks the brain

Rutgers scientists think they have found a way to prevent and possibly reverse the most debilitating symptoms of a rare, progressive childhood degenerative disease that leaves children with slurred speech, unable to walk, and in a wheelchair before they reach adolescence.

2 Apr 2012

Brain images show nerves ‘crisscrossing’ in neat but complex patterns: Study

New images of the brain reveal a deceptively simple pattern of organization in the wiring of this complex organ. Instead of nerve fibers travelling randomly through the brain like spaghetti, as some imaging has suggested, the new portraits reveal two-dimensional sheets of parallel fibers ‘crisscrossing’ other sheets at right angles in a grid-like structure that folds and contorts with the convolutions of the brain. This same pattern appeared in the brains of humans, rhesus monkeys, owl monkeys, marmosets and galagos, researchers report Thursday in the journal Science.

1 Apr 2012

SAP protein promotes deposition of amyloid beta in Alzheimer's

The deposition of amyloid beta in the brain of individuals with Alzheimer's disease is the focus of much research into both its cause and treatment.

31 Mar 2012

Scientists reveal powerful role of astrocytes in the brain

A type of cell plentiful in the brain, long considered mainly the stuff that holds the brain together and oft-overlooked by scientists more interested in flashier cells known as neurons, wields more power in the brain than has been realized, according to new research published today in Science Signaling.

30 Mar 2012

Lumbar puncture, PET scan not useful to establish diagnosis of Alzheimer's

Investigators from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, have shown that in most elderly patients invasive and expensive techniques, i.e. lumbar puncture and PET scan, are not useful to establish the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. They arrived at this conclusion after analysis of data from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a large collaborative research project of medical centers in the USA and Canada.

30 Mar 2012

Bilingualism can offer protection from symptoms of dementia

New research explains how speaking more than one language may translate to better mental health. A paper published by Cell Press in the March 29th issue of the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences examines how being bilingual can offer protection from the symptoms of dementia, and also suggests that the increasing diversity in our world populations may have an unexpected positive impact on the resiliency of the adult brain.

30 Mar 2012

Dementia numbers to triple by 2050: Australian Report

In a discussion paper given to the State Government, Alzheimer's Australia NSW estimates the number of Australians diagnosed with dementia will rise from 280,000 to around 943,000 by 2050. Of these, 303,500 people will be from NSW.

29 Mar 2012

Bristol-Myers Squibb, Meso Scale Discovery collaborate to advance AD research

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Meso Scale Discovery today announced they have entered an agreement to develop diagnostic assays that will measure cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers for use in Alzheimer's disease research.

29 Mar 2012

Stem Cells reports results of Neuralstem ALS Phase I trial

Neuralstem, Inc. announced that safety results from the first 12 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) to receive its stem cells were reported online in the peer-reviewed publication, Stem Cells, on March 13th.

29 Mar 2012

AHF calls on FDA Commissioner Hamburg to step down

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation's largest HIV/AIDS organization, today called on Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg to step down in response to the agency's gross mismanagement of new product reviews and a lack of transparency.

29 Mar 2012

Mylan receives FDA approval for generic Seroquel ANDA

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. has received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for Quetiapine Fumarate Tablets, 25 mg.

29 Mar 2012

Cracking Your Genetic Code raises bioethics issues

Will genetic testing and personalized medicine change the way you think about your life? Should it? What can you really learn about your future from direct-to-consumer genetic tests-or even from whole genome scanning, which is becoming increasingly affordable? And what about your privacy: how well is your genetic information protected?

28 Mar 2012

Stress response reduces memory during tests in older adults

Your mother had a doctor's appointment for a memory test. The results are conclusive: she presents with the first signs of Alzheimer type dementia. Now, to get to her appointment, your mother, who is no longer used to driving in town, took her car, looked for a parking space for 15 minutes, got lost in a labyrinth of one-way streets, had never used those new electronic parking meters before and is convinced that the "machine" stole her credit card number.

28 Mar 2012

Data supports links between AD and diabetes: New study

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression, according to the Alzheimer's Association. Today, 5.4 million Americans are living with the disease, and another American develops it every 69 seconds.

28 Mar 2012

Mount Sinai researchers present 86 abstracts and plenary sessions at ACC meeting

Mount Sinai School of Medicine researchers presented 86 abstracts and plenary sessions at the American College of Cardiology's (ACC) 61st Annual Scientific Session, including ground-breaking research on aggressive statin therapy, the prevalence of unrecognized cardiovascular disease symptoms in women, and morbidity associated with non-adherence to medication after stent implantation. The meeting took place March 23-27, 2012 in Chicago.

28 Mar 2012

Cigarette smoke responsible for spread of cancer cells

Cigarette smoke cannot only cause cancer, but it's also responsible for the spread of it, according to research by UC Merced biochemistry Professor Henry Jay Forman.

28 Mar 2012

Dementia research gets a boost in the UK

The UK has seen a rise in the number of dementia sufferers by 50,000 in the past year, new figures have revealed. There are now more than 800,000 victims in Britain, with three out of four becoming anxious or depressed and six out of 10 feeling lonely, according to a new survey.

27 Mar 2012

Vermillion fourth quarter total revenues increase 152% to $868,000

Vermillion, Inc., a leading molecular diagnostics company, reported financial and operational results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011.

From Quest Diagnostics 27 Mar 2012