Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Mystery blood vessel disorder implicated in lacunar or "mini" strokes

Physicians have long been puzzled by a condition called intracranial arterial dolichoectasia, in which the larger arteries of the brain become elongated and misshapen.

28 Feb 2005

PET/CT imaging technology for cancer patients

Cancer patients at Mercy & Unity Hospitals have access to the latest in diagnostic imaging to assess the presence and extent of most types of cancer.

28 Feb 2005

Early Alzheimer's disease may be precipitated by a neuron traffic jam

Early Alzheimer's disease may be precipitated by a “traffic jam” within neurons that causes swelling and prevents proper transport of proteins and structures in the cells, according to new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers.

27 Feb 2005

Second-generation Antidepressants

A recent article in the prestigious British Medical Journal seems to confirm an increased risk for suicidal behavior among adults taking popular antidepressants. This follows evidence that certain selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) may have a similar effect among children and adolescents.

27 Feb 2005

Cutting edge technology identifies genes that are involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease

Phoenix-Researchers at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Kronos Science Laboratories, an affiliate of Phoenix-based Kronos Optimal Health Company, have initiated a study with unprecedented power to identify genes that are involved in the development of Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of disabling memory and thinking problems in older persons.

24 Feb 2005

Research shows preventive effects of cannabinoids on Alzheimer's disease

New research shows that a synthetic analogue of the active component of marijuana may reduce the inflammation and prevent the mental decline associated with Alzheimer's disease.

22 Feb 2005

Diagnosis of prions in patients should utilize novel strategy, conformation-dependent immunoassay

A technique for detecting prions in tissue, developed in recent years by UCSF scientists, is significantly more sensitive than the diagnostic procedures currently used to detect the lethal particles in samples of brain tissue from patients, according to a study performed by a UCSF team.

22 Feb 2005

New clues to amyloidoses

Familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP), a hereditary disease characterised by abnormal deposits of insoluble protein in the organs, results from a mutation in a single gene (the transthyretin or TTR gene). Nevertheless, disease incidence and age of onset can vary significantly between patients what have always puzzled scientists.

21 Feb 2005

Quetiapine speeds up rate of decline in Alzheimers

Quetiapine, a drug commonly used in nursing homes to treat agitation and related symptoms in people with Alzheimers' disease actually worsens patients' illness, speeding up their rate of decline significantly, says a paper published on bmj.com.

20 Feb 2005

Shedding new LIGHT on disease

New drugs for the 270,000 people who suffer heart attacks every year in the UK will be among the projects in Leeds' new research institute. The Leeds Institute of Genetics Health and Therapeutics (LIGHT) was opened by head of the Medical Research Council chief executive Professor Colin Blakemore yesterday.

17 Feb 2005

Are hormone therapy drugs safe?

The history of hormone therapy drugs – once thought of as almost magic pills to keep women healthy, vital and young – shows why it is so important to conduct research studies to identify the risks and benefits of drugs, say researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

17 Feb 2005

When does occasional absentmindedness signal the start of memory decline?

Forgetfulness is something everyone experiences at one time or another, but at what point does it indicate the beginning of a serious memory loss?

17 Feb 2005

Young blood revives aging muscles

Any older person can attest that aging muscles don't heal like young ones. But it turns out that's not the muscle's fault. A study in the Feb. 17 issue of Nature shows that it's old blood that keeps the muscles down.

16 Feb 2005

Changing chemistry helps explain estrogen threat to the heart

A piece of the topical puzzle of how estrogen goes from protecting women from heart disease to apparently increasing their risk later in life may have been found.

16 Feb 2005

Vioxx doubles risk of heart attacks and strokes

The largest prospective trial ever examining the anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx as a chemoprevention agent found that the risk of developing a cardiovascular "event" - heart attacks and/or strokes - was almost double in patients who received the drug, compared to patients who took the placebo, according to a study out Feb. 15 on-line in The New England Journal of Medicine.

15 Feb 2005

The link between intelligence and dementia

Scientists have turned to the brightest brains in Britain in a bid to understand the link between intelligence and dementia.

15 Feb 2005

Paradox suggests reasons why COX-2 inhibitors hurt and help

Laboratory studies at Johns Hopkins have revealed that certain products of the enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 can both protect and damage the brain. The findings, published in the February 2005 issue of the Journal of Neurochemistry, offer tantalizing clues to why drugs like Vioxx and Celebrex, which block COX-2, can ease arthritis but potentially harm the heart and brain.

14 Feb 2005