Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

NHS: Old-fashioned decor to help patients with dementia

As more elderly patients with dementia are increasingly making use of hospital care, the NHS is responding in a kinder, gentler manner by changing its wards into places that evoke the décor of yesteryear.

23 Sep 2019

Scientists discover how neural circuits play critical role in learning and memory

A University of California, Irvine-led team of scientists has discovered how newly identified neural circuits in the brain's hippocampal formation play a critical role in object-location learning and memory.

23 Sep 2019

Scientists move one step closer to discovering the causes of immune diseases

Scientists are one step closer to discovering the causes of immune diseases such as asthma, multiple sclerosis and arthritis

23 Sep 2019

RNA hitches lysosome rides to make proteins far away from the nucleus

Proteins inside a cell are often made at the site where they are used, rather than being shipped long distances. This is so with nerve cells which have long cell extensions in the form of axons and dendrites, up to four feet long in some case

22 Sep 2019

Wearable brain-machine interface could help disabled people to control a wheelchair or vehicle

Combining new classes of nanomembrane electrodes with flexible electronics and a deep learning algorithm could help disabled people wirelessly control an electric wheelchair, interact with a computer or operate a small robotic vehicle without donning a bulky hair-electrode cap or contending with wires.

20 Sep 2019

Targeting specific enzyme could combat Alzheimer’s disease on two fronts

UQ researchers have discovered a potential drug target for Alzheimer’s disease — an enzyme which has effects on both the immune and nervous systems.

19 Sep 2019

AAN recommends assessment of people aged 65 and older for memory problems

People with mild cognitive impairment have thinking and memory problems but usually do not know it because such problems are not severe enough to affect their daily activities.

19 Sep 2019

New peptides improve memory in mice with Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects over 44 million people the world over. But now, neurologist Jack Jhamandas and his team have found two short peptides which, on daily injection into mice with symptoms of AD for just five weeks, led to a significant improvement.

18 Sep 2019

Exercise may delay brain deterioration in people at high risk for Alzheimer's

Exercising several times a week may delay brain deterioration in people at high risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to a study that scientists say merits further research to establish whether fitness can affect the progression of dementia.

18 Sep 2019

World Alzheimer’s Day 2019: A timely reminder of urgent need for new drugs to tackle disease

As World Alzheimer’s Day 2019 approaches (21 September), with the aim this year of raising global awareness and understanding of the stigma, stereotypes and myths that surround a dementia diagnosis;

17 Sep 2019

Strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease impairs function of human microglia

A study carried out with a new human stem cell-derived model reveals that the most prevalent genetic risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), impairs the function of human brain immune cells, microglia. These findings pave the way for new, effective treatment approaches for AD. The results were published in Stem Cell Reports.

17 Sep 2019

Tea improves brain circuits, structure and memory

A recent study showed that people who drink tea regularly have brains which function better and also show a greater degree of organization. This could strengthen the case for drinking tea to help prevent dementia. The study is important because, unlike most others which look only at tests of mental ability, it also examined structural brain changes with tea drinking.

16 Sep 2019

Alzheimer's drug associated with two-fold higher risk of hospitalization for rhabdomyolysis

A drug commonly used to manage symptoms of Alzheimer disease and other dementias -- donepezil -- is associated with a two-fold higher risk of hospital admission for rhabdomyolysis, a painful condition of muscle breakdown, compared with several other cholinesterase inhibitors, found a study in CMAJ.

16 Sep 2019

Four reasons to prioritize family health and fitness

Many people think about ways to stay physically fit as individuals. But what about creating a health and fitness plan for the entire family?

12 Sep 2019

Brain changes may help track people most likely to develop dementia

Even before dementia diagnosis, people with mild cognitive impairment may have different changes in the brain depending on what type of dementia they have, according to a study published in the September 11, 2019, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Sep 2019

Pupil dilation provides clues to future Alzheimer’s risk

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the quality of life of those affected by the disease. The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease negatively impacts thinking, memory, behavior. Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease but treatments can slow its progression.

11 Sep 2019

Novel protein biomarker can help improve dementia risk prediction

Identifying those who are at risk of dementia, a type of neurodegenerative disease, is crucial for early treatment and development of new therapies, a new study suggests.

11 Sep 2019

Calcium channel blockers may help effectively treat memory loss in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia but the changes in brain cell function underlying memory loss remains poorly understood.

11 Sep 2019

California hospitals and nursing homes brace for wildfire blackouts

California has seen a relatively slow start to this year's wildfire season, but Wanda Chaney still frets every time it's hot and windy in Chico, a college town about two hours north of Sacramento. She's far less worried about an actual wildfire than the power company shutting off her electricity to prevent one.

11 Sep 2019

EEG slowing may be a valuable biomarker for delirium severity

An EEG (electroencephalogram) can provide a valuable biomarker for detecting delirium, a serious mental disturbance that is often underrecognized, as well as predicting poor clinical outcomes, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital have found.

11 Sep 2019