Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Innovative program benefits incapacitated patients with no family or friends

A Regenstrief Institute and Eskenazi Health study reports on an innovative program that trains and supervises volunteers who act as advocates for adults and seniors who are unable to make their own decisions due to conditions like Alzheimer's disease or coma, but have no family or friends to help them.

11 Nov 2014

Applying lessons learnt from failed Alzheimer's studies for future research

Disappointing results in clinical Alzheimer's studies discourage doctors and scientists from continuing their research into ɣ-secretases and a possible treatment against Alzheimer's disease. In the prestigious journal Cell, the Alzheimer's expert Bart De Strooper (VIB-KU Leuven) argues that these studies are not pointless, but merely indicate what the next steps should be for the Alzheimer's research.

7 Nov 2014

Effective health interventions needed to increase life expectancy of older people

A major new Series on health and ageing, published in "The Lancet", warns that unless health systems find effective strategies to address the problems faced by an ageing world population, the growing burden of chronic disease will greatly affect the quality of life of older people. As people across the world live longer, soaring levels of chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are poised to become a major global public health challenge.

7 Nov 2014

NIH boosts funding for first large-scale clinical trial aimed at identifying drugs for Alzheimer's

The National Institutes of Health has boosted funding for the first large-scale clinical trial aimed at identifying drugs to stop or slow Alzheimer's disease in people destined to get the debilitating illness.

6 Nov 2014

New educational program aims to reduce fatalities involving older drivers

Every day in America, roughly 10,000 people turn age 65. To help keep roadways safe as America grays and to help preserve the freedom of mobility of older drivers, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine are training law enforcement officers to recognize warning signs of impaired driving skills and to take appropriate, compassionate action. They are also training doctors to think more about their patients' ability to drive safely with age.

6 Nov 2014

Hemp Health launches CBD wellness supplements

Hemp Health Inc., a pioneer in hemp cannabidiol (CBD) products, today launched their line of CBD wellness supplements. Available in oil, spray and capsule form, Hemp Health's products offer a compelling alternative to medical marijuana. The CBD supplements provide consumers with the therapeutic ingredient in hemp while allowing them to avoid the negative mental and physical effects of marijuana.

4 Nov 2014

3D brain-like tissue: an interview with Professor David Kaplan, Tufts University

In 2D, neurons tend to form limited connectivity reflective of the 3D complexity in the brain and have more limited cultivation time before reduction in functions.

4 Nov 2014

Tau proteins spur neuron death in Alzheimer's disease

New research points to tau, not amyloid-beta (Abeta) plaque, as the seminal event that spurs neuron death in disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. The finding, which dramatically alters the prevailing theory of Alzheimer's development, also explains why some people with plaque build-up in their brains don't have dementia.

3 Nov 2014

Krembil researchers potentially discover major cause of dementia

Researchers at the Krembil Neuroscience Centre have potentially discovered a major cause of dementia. In this type of dementia, there is damage to the white matter (nerve fibres) of the brain apparent on computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of older individuals.

31 Oct 2014

Einstein-Montefiore researchers to present latest finding on aging research at GSA 2014

Investigators at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center will present their latest aging research at the Gerontological Society of America's 67th Annual Scientific Meeting.

31 Oct 2014

New blood test could predict early onset Alzheimer’s disease with high accuracy

The research team previously identified that changes in the brain occur two decades before patients show signs of dementia. These changes can be detected through expensive brain imaging procedures.

30 Oct 2014

DSN supports research into possible links between deafness and dementia

A Cheshire charity is set to generate national impact by backing research into possible links between deafness and dementia.

30 Oct 2014

Roskamp Institute Discovers New Target For Drugs To Treat Alzheimer's Disease

Scientists at the Roskamp Institute, a not-for-profit biomedical research facility specializing in Alzheimer's disease research, have isolated a key molecule that gives researchers a new drug target for the treatment of the progressive, irreversible neurological disorder.

28 Oct 2014

Researchers receive EPSRC grant to develop real-time diagnostic technique for dementia

A research team from Plymouth University, together with colleagues from Swansea University, has received funding of £1M from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to develop an innovative, real-time diagnostic technique for dementia using wonder-material graphene.

27 Oct 2014

Early brain imaging studies may help prevent vascular diseases

Future prevention and treatment strategies for vascular diseases may lie in the evaluation of early brain imaging tests long before heart attacks or strokes occur, according to a systematic review conducted by a team of cardiologists, neuroscientists, and psychiatrists from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the October issue of JACC Cardiovascular Imaging.

27 Oct 2014

High risk for congenital heart defects in Down syndrome provides tool to identify changes in genes

Down syndrome is the most common chromosomal abnormality in humans, involving a third copy of all or part of chromosome 21. In addition to intellectual disability, individuals with Down syndrome have a high risk of congenital heart defects. However, not all people with Down syndrome have them – about half have structurally normal hearts.

25 Oct 2014

Nonmotor predictors of Parkinson’s dementia revealed

Researchers have identified nonmotor and nondopaminergic motor features that predict incident dementia in patients with Parkinson’s disease.

22 Oct 2014

Higher level of vocabulary can help combat cognitive impairment

Some people suffer incipient dementia as they get older. To make up for this loss, the brain's cognitive reserve is put to the test.

21 Oct 2014

BIDMC investigators develop three-minute assessment that identifies delirium in older hospital patients

Delirium is a state of confusion that develops suddenly, often following an acute medical illness, a surgical procedure or a hospitalization. Although delirium is estimated to complicate hospital stays for over 2.5 million elderly individuals in the U.S. each year, this common condition often goes undetected. The end result can be serious complications with sometimes devastating consequences for vulnerable hospitalized elders.

21 Oct 2014

New SPANS assessment can help patients recover from traumatic brain injuries

A dynamic new assessment for helping victims of trauma to the brain, including those suffering from progressive conditions such as dementia, has been developed by a clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Leicester.

21 Oct 2014