Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Hospital-level care can be provided at home for less money

Being hospitalized can be a traumatic experience, especially for older persons. Hospitals are noisy, disorienting, full of strangers and infections often spread among patients.

15 Dec 2005

Testosterone replacement therapy shows promise for Alzheimer sufferers

The first study of the effects of testosterone on mood, behavior and psychological health in men with mild Alzheimer disease finds significant improvements in quality of life, as assessed by caregivers.

13 Dec 2005

Anti-Abeta42 and Anti-Abeta40–specific monoclonal antibodies attenuate amyloid deposition in an Alzheimer disease mouse model

Current hypotheses suggest that it is the accumulation over time of amyloid beta peptide 1–42 (Abeta42) that triggers changes in the brain that lead to cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease.

13 Dec 2005

Hippocampal myo-inositol and cognitive ability in adults with Down Syndrome

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College London have identified a molecule that could be targeted to treat the cognitive impairment in people with Down syndrome.

7 Dec 2005

Functional amyloid formation within mammalian tissue

What do neurodegenerative diseases and suntans have in common? Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute have found an intriguing molecular connection.

7 Dec 2005

Cerebrospinal fluid analysis combined with brain scan predicts Alzheimer's

A combination of brain scanning with a new imaging agent and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis has left neuroscientists encouraged that they may finally be moving toward techniques for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease before its clinical symptoms become apparent.

5 Dec 2005

Findings may help in development of new anti-inflammatory compounds

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers studying the enzyme that triggers inflammation have found that it may be a target for a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs to treat arthritis, asthma, multiple sclerosis, lung and colon cancers and Alzheimer's disease.

2 Dec 2005

Cole Porter was wrong - love only lasts a year!

According to scientists, those who say that true love lasts a lifetime have got it completely wrong and in fact it only lasts a year.

2 Dec 2005

Elderly as much at risk with old mental health drugs as new ones

Researchers at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston are saying that many of the older drugs designed to treat mental problems such as delirium, agitation and psychosis may be even more hazardous to the elderly than newer medicines that now carry U.S. government warnings.

2 Dec 2005

Prion protein codon 129 genotype prevalence is altered in primary progressive aphasia

Most people with a rare type of dementia called primary progressive aphasia (PPA) have a specific combination of prion gene variants, a new study shows.

28 Nov 2005

Stenting of the carotid artery significantly improves cognitive speed

Stenting of the carotid artery significantly improves cognitive speed and may improve memory function in some patients, according to research presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

28 Nov 2005

Persistent amyloidosis following suppression of Ab production in a transgenic model of Alzheimer disease

Alzheimer Disease (AD) is characterized by hallmark lesions called amyloid plaques in the brain.

20 Nov 2005

Genetically modified allow scientists to examine the potential usefulness of new therapies for Alzheimer's disease

Researchers with the University of Florida and the California Institute of Technology have developed a new strain of genetically modified mice that allow scientists to examine the potential usefulness of new therapies for Alzheimer's disease.

20 Nov 2005

Cholesterol lowering drugs, including statins, may slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease

Cholesterol lowering drugs, including statins, may slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease, concludes a study in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

20 Nov 2005

Study suggests that subtle breakdowns in attention may offer a reliable clue to Alzheimer's-related dementia

People in early stages of Alzheimer's disease have greater difficulty shifting attention back and forth between competing sources of information, a finding that offers new support for theories that contend breakdowns in attention play an important role in the onset of the disease.

14 Nov 2005

Link between diet and epileptic seizures studied

Although the high-fat, calorie-restricted ketogenic diet (KD) has long been used to prevent childhood epileptic seizures that are unresponsive to drugs, physicians have not really understood exactly why the diet works.

13 Nov 2005

Lifelong exercise decreases cellular aging in the brain

In the first study to show that lifelong exercise decreases cellular aging in the brain, scientists from the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida say that moderately active rats have healthier DNA and more robust brain cells than their less active counterparts. The research was presented at the Society for Neuroscience's 35th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

13 Nov 2005

Those most at risk of Alzheimer's would allow loved ones enroll them in research

According to a new survey most people at high risk of Alzheimer's disease would be willing to have their loved ones enroll them in research studies when they could no longer give consent themselves.

8 Nov 2005

Should Alzheimer's sufferers take part in research?

Grandma has Alzheimer's disease - should you sign her up for a new research study, even if she doesn't really understand what it entails?

7 Nov 2005

Resveratrol effective in lowering amyloid-beta peptides

A study published in the November 11 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that resveratrol, a compound found in grapes and red wine, lowers the levels of the amyloid-beta peptides which cause the telltale senile plaques of Alzheimer's disease.

7 Nov 2005