Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Consortium aims to study link between childhood blood sugar levels and mid-life brain health

A consortium of Louisiana scientists from LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Tulane University and Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center aims to discover how blood sugar levels early in life contribute to a person's brain health in middle age.

12 May 2019

Psychologists find link between working memory and sleep, age, depressed mood

A team of psychologists has found strong associations between working memory -- a fundamental building block of a functioning mind -- and three health-related factors: sleep, age, and depressed mood.

12 May 2019

NIH announces awards to advance development of vaccines for sexually transmitted infections

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, today announced awards to establish four Cooperative Research Centers focused on developing vaccines to prevent sexually transmitted infections.

10 May 2019

Examining the Long-term Effects of Concussion in Sport

An interview with The Drake Foundation, discussing the short and long-term effects of concussions obtained during contact sports such as football and rugby.

10 May 2019

Light therapy may dramatically reduce neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at MIT have found that light therapy can enhance synaptic function and protect against cell death in Alzheimer’s disease.

9 May 2019

New Marko system could provide insights into people's behavior and health

We live in a world of wireless signals flowing around us and bouncing off our bodies.

9 May 2019

Cell's cytoskeleton aids in energy transfer and information processing within neurons, study finds

Dysfunctions and malformations in the scaffold of a cell are thought to contribute to heart muscle weakness, neurodegenerative disease and even deafness.

8 May 2019

Fatty molecules which induce sleep may help with diagnosing Alzheimer's

A new study published today in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, has found that a particular class of molecules may help with diagnosing Alzheimer's Disease.

8 May 2019

Security cameras installed in nursing homes may do more harm than good

For many people who care for aging parents, one solution is a safe, responsible nursing home. But an increasingly common means of ensuring that safety -- security cameras installed by relatives -- may do more harm than good, says Clara Berridge, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Washington.

8 May 2019

Enhancing the effectiveness of cognitive tests for diagnosing dementia

Cognitive difficulties are a symptom of many neurodegenerative conditions, and the benefits of early and accurate diagnosis are well recognized.

7 May 2019

New drug successfully lowers levels of toxic protein that causes Huntington disease

An international clinical trial has found that a new drug for Huntington disease is safe, and that treatment with the drug successfully lowers levels of the abnormal protein that causes the debilitating disease in patients.

7 May 2019

New two-tier method can enable early-stage detection of Alzheimer’s

Using current techniques, Alzheimer's disease, the most frequent cause of dementia, can only be detected once the typical plaques have formed in the brain.

3 May 2019

Targeting antidiuretic hormone vasopressin shows promise for autism

Autism is a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with no known drug treatment up until now. Researchers have finally found tweaking certain hormones could help patients with autism. There were two independent clinical trials including children and adults with autism that altered the effects of the hormone vasopressin and to assess the effects on social functioning.

2 May 2019

Alzheimer's disease may be caused by infectious proteins called prions

Scientists have used advanced laboratory assays to show that high levels of prions are implicated in early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

2 May 2019

UNC School of Medicine initiative providing unique care to dementia patients

The Dementia Friendly Hospital Initiative will reach a total of 3,900 employees in four hospitals across North Carolina to raise awareness of how patients with dementia experience care, and to meet their unique needs with strategic and compassionate treatment.

2 May 2019

New type of dementia is '100 times more common' than ALS

Physicians have defined a new form of dementia that may be more common than Alzheimer’s disease. The condition, named LATE, affects a different part of the brain.

1 May 2019

Researchers define brain disorder that mimics symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

A brain disorder that mimics symptoms of Alzheimer's disease has been defined with recommended diagnostic criteria and guidelines for advancing future research on the condition.

30 Apr 2019

A poor sense of smell increases your risk of dying early, but scientists don’t know why

Researchers have found that a poor sense of smell during older age is be associated with an increased likelihood of dying within the next ten years. However, they can’t explain why.

30 Apr 2019

Researchers gain new insight into Alzheimer's using organoids that resemble mini brains

In the majority of cases, dementia can be traced back to Alzheimer's disease. Its causes are not really understood yet. What is known is that plaques form from misfolded proteins and that there is an increase in neuronal cell death levels in the brain. However, the plaques don't necessarily go hand in hand with any symptoms.

30 Apr 2019

Researchers seek sage advice of elders on aging issues

Rachel O'Conor booted up her slides and began posing questions to six older adults sitting around a table: How should primary care physicians support patients and caregivers after a diagnosis of dementia? And what stands in the way of getting adequate support?

25 Apr 2019