Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Hospice and Palliative care

The word hospice originated from the Latin hospitium, which means "to host or offer a place of shelter." In 2009, an estimated 1.56 million patients, more than 40 percent of deaths, received hospice services in the United States.

14 Mar 2011

OICR welcomes Government of Canada's announcement of support for cancer control

Dr. Tom Hudson, President and Scientific Director of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research today welcomed the Government of Canada's announcement of support for cancer control with a renewal of the mandate of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer for five years and $250 million in funding.

14 Mar 2011

Study identifies potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disorders

Cell biologists pondering the death of neurons - brain cells - said today that by eliminating one ingredient from the cellular machinery, they prolonged the life of neurons stressed by a pesticide chemical. The finding identifies a potential therapeutic target to slow changes that lead to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

14 Mar 2011

Home genetic tests need medical supervision: Expert panel

According to an advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, genetic tests sold directly to consumers that might help to predict health risks may need to be supplied through doctors. An official, Alberto Gutierrez, director of the FDA office that regulates diagnostic screening tools reported that the Molecular and Clinical Genetics Advisory Panel concluded two days of hearings on the increasingly popular tests and had come to this resolution.

14 Mar 2011

Novel biomarkers may aid in diagnosis and management of asthma, COPD

Four novel biomarkers have been identified which may aid in the diagnosis and management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a study conducted by researchers in Australia, who determined the biomarkers may be used in different combinations to successfully identify patients with either of the airway diseases.

14 Mar 2011

Alzheimer's vaccine - First evidence for efficacy

AFFiRiS' Alzheimer's vaccine candidate AD02 showed indicative evidence for potential efficacy in a phase I clinical trial. This was demonstrated by the analysis of the data from secondary clinical study endpoints.

12 Mar 2011

Roundup: Poll finds satisfaction with Mass. health coverage; Kan. Gov. seeks Medicaid block grant

The first survey of consumers who receive subsidized health insurance through the state's Health Connector shows most give it high marks, according to results released yesterday by the Connector Authority. Eighty-six percent of those surveyed said they were pleased with the range of services covered and the quality of care available, and 82 percent had similar feelings about their choice of doctors.

11 Mar 2011

Scientists develop new model for neurodegenerative disease

A team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco has developed a new model for how inherited genes contribute to a common but untreatable and incurable neurodegenerative disease.

10 Mar 2011

Idera reports $6.0 million net loss for fourth quarter 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2010.

10 Mar 2011

Professor utilizes $300,000 N.Y. grant to study adult neural stem cells

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Deanna Thompson is utilizing more than $300,000 in New York state funding as part of the state stem cell research program, NYSTEM, to study adult neural stem cells.

10 Mar 2011

Caspase inhibition can prevent brain inflammation in neurological diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are partly attributable to brain inflammation. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet now demonstrate in a paper published in Nature that a well-known family of enzymes can prevent the inflammation and thus constitute a potential target for drugs.

10 Mar 2011

St. Joseph's Hospital launches new neuromodulation center in Barrow

St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center's Barrow Neurological Institute has received a $10.1 million donation, the largest single gift in the organization's history and one of the biggest ever given to any Arizona hospital.

10 Mar 2011

California leaders completes much-anticipated State Plan for Alzheimer's disease

Anticipating a catastrophic increase in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, California leaders have completed the much-anticipated California State Plan for Alzheimer's disease, a disease estimated to double among Californians by the year 2030.

10 Mar 2011

First disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease identified

Neena Singh, MD, PhD and colleagues at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have identified the first disease-specific biomarker for sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), a universally fatal, degenerative brain disease for which there is no cure. sCJD is one of the causes of dementia and typically leads to death within a year of disease onset.

10 Mar 2011

Vascular disorder of the brain most frequently misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis

A devastating vascular disorder of the brain called CADASIL, which strikes young adults and leads to early dementia, often is misdiagnosed as multiple sclerosis, Loyola University Health System researchers report.

10 Mar 2011

EDT receives European approval for XEPLION injection to treat schizophrenia

Elan Drug Technologies, the drug delivery unit of Elan Corporation, plc, today announced that the first injectable product using EDT's NanoCrystal technology has been approved by the European Commission.

9 Mar 2011

KineMed extends collaboration with BMY to identify and characterize Alzheimer's biomarkers

KineMed, Inc. announced today the extension of its collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb in the area of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.

9 Mar 2011

NeuroDerm commences ND0611 Phase I/II trial to treat Parkinson's disease

NeuroDerm, Ltd. announced today the enrollment of the first group of patients in its Phase I/II clinical trial of ND0611, a new patch for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

9 Mar 2011

Economic benefits of enabling people to age at home

There are a number of studies that look at the economics of technologies to enable people to age at home rather than in some other kind of accommodation. In 2010, CSES contributed an economic analysis for the ATSE report written by Greg Tegart drawing in part on these studies and using Australian data on demographic trends and healthcare costs.

9 Mar 2011

USPTO grants new patent to Intellect's Alzheimer's vaccine

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company with an internal preclinical and clinical-stage pipeline and licenses with major pharmaceutical companies covering products in late-stage clinical trials, announced today that it has received a new patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office in relation to the Company's RECALL-VAXTM technology platform.

9 Mar 2011