Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Metabolic and neurological disorders may share common risk factors

Metabolic disorders such as obesity and diabetes appear to share risk factors with and may influence the development of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, according to several reports published in the March issue of Archives of Neurology.

10 Mar 2009

Diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol linked to faster cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients

A history of diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol, especially LDL cholesterol, are associated with faster cognitive decline in patients with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study from Columbia University Medical Center researchers.

10 Mar 2009

Diabetes and elevated levels of cholesterol linked to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's

10 Mar 2009

Curry ingredient curcumin makes membranes behave for better health

Revered in India as "holy powder," the marigold-colored spice known as turmeric has been used for centuries to treat wounds, infections and other health problems.

8 Mar 2009

Blood test predicts chance of frontal lobe dementia

Frontal lobe dementia (Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD) strikes people at an earlier age. After Alzheimer's disease, FTD is the form of dementia that occurs most frequently in patients younger than 65.

8 Mar 2009

Diabetes linked to cognitive deterioration

Blindness, renal failure, stroke and heart disease are potential complications of type 2 diabetes, which currently afflicts more than 15 million Americans.

5 Mar 2009

Naked mole rats may hold clues to successful aging

Naked mole rats resemble pink, wrinkly, saber-toothed sausages and would never win a beauty contest, even among other rodents.

4 Mar 2009

Off-label drug uses wasting millions, raising health risks

A recent study in Oregon suggests that drugs designed for treating the most severe mental illnesses are often prescribed at inappropriately low doses and at considerable expense, for use in conditions where their benefit has not been established.

4 Mar 2009

Better tests needed to pinpoint memory problems

There's a lot more to memory than the ability to remember a story, who the President is, or what you ate for lunch.

3 Mar 2009

Amyloid plaques may increase the activity of astrocytes

The impact of the amyloid plaques that appear in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease may extend beyond the deposits' effects on neurons – the cells that transmit electrochemical signals throughout the nervous system.

26 Feb 2009

Women who have more years of fertility at lower risk for Parkinson's disease

Women who have more years of fertility (the time from first menstruation to menopause) have a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease than women with fewer years, according to a large, new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University.

25 Feb 2009

Investigational protein may reverse neurodegenerative diseases

An investigational protein that transformed normal laboratory mice into super-jocks holds great promise in developing new treatments for neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), say researchers at the University of Virginia Health System.

24 Feb 2009

Mindset BioPharmaceuticals receives notice of allowance for European patent related to insulin sensitizers in dementia and memory loss

Mindset BioPharmaceuticals (USA) Inc ("MINDSET") a company privately held by MPM Capital and other shareholders announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance in Europe related to patent applications describing the use of insulin sensitizer drugs for the prevention and treatment of memory loss.

24 Feb 2009

Mechanisms that prevent Alzheimer's Disease: Enzymatic activity plays key role

In a project involving the collaboration of several institutes, research scientists of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz have succeeded in gaining further insight in the functioning of endogenous mechanisms that protect against the development of Alzheimer's disease.

23 Feb 2009

Can breastfeeding reduce multiple sclerosis relapses?

Women who have multiple sclerosis may reduce their risk of relapses after pregnancy if they breastfeed their babies, according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 61st Annual Meeting in Seattle, April 25 to May 2, 2009.

20 Feb 2009

Drug sodium phenylbutyrate could improve the memory of those with Alzheimer's disease

The results of the project, developed by researchers of the Center for Applied Medical Research (CIMA) of the University of Navarra have been published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology.

20 Feb 2009

Opportunities for the health system in a sick economy

With the interim report of the National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission published yesterday the time for implementing reform could hardly be better.

18 Feb 2009

Forgotten and lost -- when proteins 'shut down' our brain

Which modules of the tau protein, in neurons of Alzheimer disease patients, may act in a destructive manner were investigated by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen) and the Max Planck Unit for Structural Molecular Biology (Hamburg) with the help of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ( PLoS Biology , February 17, 2009).

18 Feb 2009

New nationwide Alzheimer's study underway

Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center are preparing to begin a clinical trial aimed at testing an investigational new drug that may help control the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

17 Feb 2009