Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

ARRA's legacies may solve challenges related to health, energy and environment

The presidents of six leading research universities and two higher-education associations joined Vice President Joe Biden and White House science advisor Dr. John Holdren this morning to discuss the scientific research and related activities that have been made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

22 Sep 2010

Elder mediation emerges as tool to help families make decisions about aging parents

AARP Bulletin: This article tells the story of the Bayliss family. Four sisters found themselves "at an impasse" regarding how to care for their 83-year-old mother who was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and experiencing other physical challenges.

22 Sep 2010

Rush University researchers identify potential new way to prevent Alzheimer's disease progression

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.

22 Sep 2010

QR Pharma and MUSC receive $220,000 SBIR grant to study Posiphen in AD transgenic mice

QR Pharma, Inc., a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company committed to developing therapeutics with novel approaches for the treatment of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) announced today that they received a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) phase I grant in the amount of $220,000 to study Posiphen® and its metabolites in cell culture and in transgenic Alzheimer mice.

22 Sep 2010

ADI releases World Alzheimer Report 2010

The World Alzheimer Report 2010 was released today to mark World Alzheimer's Day and heighten awareness of the global economic impact of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

21 Sep 2010

ASM awards UTHealth student 3-year, $33,000 fellowship for study of molecular details of protein folding in cells

Jennifer Abrams, a graduate student at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth), has been awarded a three-year, $33,000 fellowship from the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) to support her innovative research into the molecular causes of protein misfolding diseases like Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's and Parkinson's.

21 Sep 2010

Ginkgo-special extract improves mental performance of dementia patients

In a systematic review, known as a meta-analysis, a group of scientists at the University of Shanghai has demonstrated yet again that Ginkgo-special extract EGb 761 significantly improves the mental performance of dementia patients (Wang et al., 2010). A particular feature of this review was that, for the first time, researchers incorporated the risk of further deterioration of mental performance due to the natural progress of the disease into their assessment.

21 Sep 2010

Global dementia costs hit $604 billion: World Alzheimer Report 2010

The total estimated worldwide costs of dementia are $604 billion in 2010, according to the newly released World Alzheimer Report 2010, The Global Economic Impact of Dementia from Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI), a London based, nonprofit, international federation of 73 national Alzheimer organizations, including the Alzheimer's Association (U.S.).

21 Sep 2010

Alzheimer's disaster is no longer 'emerging'

Tomorrow on World Alzheimer's Day, the Alzheimer's Association recognizes the efforts of the Obama Administration for bringing stakeholders to the table to begin an important dialogue on how best to address the Alzheimer epidemic. The meeting will include representatives of the Alzheimer community, policymakers from across the federal government, Alzheimer researchers, people with Alzheimer's and care providers to exchange objectives and strategies on how to overcome the growing Alzheimer epidemic.

21 Sep 2010

Global action needed to address 'most significant health crisis of the 21st century'

A landmark report on the Global Economic Impact of Dementia finds that Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are exacting a massive toll on the global economy, with the problem set to accelerate in coming years. The World Alzheimer Report 2010 - issued on World Alzheimer's Day by Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) - provides the most current and comprehensive global picture of the economic and social costs of the illness.

21 Sep 2010

Arrayit installs microarray platform at NIH

Arrayit Corporation has completed installation and technical training of its proprietary microarray platform at the National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, in Rockville, Maryland. In 2010, the NIH will invest more than $31.2 billion in medical research for the American people through 50,000 competitive grants to 325,000 researchers at 3,000 universities, hospitals, companies, medical schools and scientific institutions in the United States and around the world.

21 Sep 2010

Pollution increases risk for sudden cardiac arrest

The fine particles of pollution that hang in the air can increase the risk for sudden cardiac arrest, according to a new study conducted by a team from Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research.

21 Sep 2010

Intravenous aspirin safe, effective option for severe headache or migraine

A new study shows that aspirin, given intravenously (IV), may be a safe and effective option for people hospitalized for severe headache or migraine, undergoing medication withdrawal. The research will be published in the September 21, 2010, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Sep 2010

URB937 drug boosts natural painkiller level: Study

A new study has shown how a novel compound boosts levels of a natural painkiller at the site of an injury. The ground-breaking study published today in Nature Neuroscience shows how the potential drug URB937 acts in peripheral tissue and may have the potential to relieve pain without the side effects associated with many current painkillers that act centrally on the nervous system.

20 Sep 2010

Gene deletion may make you smarter: Study

A new study has shown that switching off a single gene in mice unlocks a part of their brain that is otherwise inactive, boosting learning and memory. Considering the fact that humans have a similar gene, this sparks hope for many especially those who suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s.

20 Sep 2010

New findings in brain plasticity and development

Brain plasticity – the brain’s ability to reorganise neural pathways – will be discussed at a major symposium this week at the University of New South Wales (Friday 24 September).

19 Sep 2010

$ONS trial results show promise for treating medically refractory chronic migraines: ONSTIM study$

ONS trial results show promise for treating medically refractory chronic migraines: ONSTIM study

Medtronic, Inc. announced that data from a multicenter, prospective, randomized, blinded, feasibility trial published today show promise for occipital nerve stimulation for treating medically refractory chronic migraines and support the need for further controlled study of the treatment. The study, called Occipital Nerve Stimulation for the Treatment of Intractable Migraine, included severely debilitated patients who had regularly experienced 15 or more headache days per month that were not responsive to currently available medical therapies.

18 Sep 2010

Caregiver Expo2010 to be held in November in conjunction with National Family Caregiver Month

The Caregiver Expo2010, presented by Alternatives for Seniors, will be held 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, November 13, 2010 at the Doubletree Hotel, in Oak Brook, Illinois. The free event is being held in conjunction with the National Family Caregiver Month observed every November. National Family Caregiver Month is a nationally recognized time to focus attention on the more than 65 million family caregivers who provide 80% of our nation's long term care services.

18 Sep 2010

Ligand Pharmaceuticals transfers license rights to Proximagen for CXCR4 target

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated announced today that it has transferred exclusive license rights to Proximagen Limited for a series of compound hits related to the CXCR4 target with application for a number of indications including those related to the central nervous system. Ligand will receive an upfront payment and continue to be entitled to receive potential future milestone and royalty payments.

18 Sep 2010

FDA accepts to review Aricept NDA for Alzheimer's disease

Teikoku Pharma USA, Inc., an international specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the New Drug Application (NDA) for a new weekly transdermal patch of Aricept, a leading medication for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

18 Sep 2010