Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Cases of elderly dementia projected to triple by mid-century

By the middle of the century, the number of older people suffering from Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia will nearly triple, severely straining caregiving resources, the charity Alzheimer's Disease International says in a new study released Thursday (Neuman, 9/19).

21 Sep 2013

Alzheimer Society of Canada requests for Canadian Alzheimer's disease and dementia partnership

On the eve of World Alzheimer's Day, the Alzheimer Society of Canada has called on the Federal Government to immediately establish a Canadian Alzheimer's disease and dementia partnership to lead and facilitate the development and implementation of a national dementia strategy.

21 Sep 2013

First Edition: September 20, 2013

Today's headlines include the latest on the Capitol Hill hijinx surrounding efforts to defund the health law and avert a government shutdown.

20 Sep 2013

Blood lipid marker may help predict risk for Parkinson's disease

A genetic mutation, known as GBA, that leads to early onset of Parkinson's disease and severe cognitive impairment (in about 4 to 7 percent of all patients with the disease) also alters how specific lipids, ceramides and glucosylceramides are metabolized. Mayo Clinic researchers have found that Parkinson's patients who do not carry the genetic mutation also have higher levels of these lipids in the blood. Further, those who had Parkinson's and high blood levels were also more likely to have cognitive impairment and dementia.

19 Sep 2013

New tools can help manage negative behavioural symptoms in dementia patients

A rapidly aging population means an increased likelihood of the diseases of old age becoming more prevalent and more problematic for those afflicted with such illnesses, their family and carers, and overburdened healthcare services.

19 Sep 2013

Study: Neurocognitive impairment is one of common side effects of HIV and AIDS

One of the common side effects of HIV and AIDS is neurocognitive impairments - changes in how fast a person can process information, pay attention, multi-task and remember things - yet there are no adequate tests to screen patients for these problems, according to a new study out of St. Michael's Hospital.

19 Sep 2013

NIH announces $45 million grant to find effective interventions for Alzheimer's

The National Institutes of Health announced on Wednesday the award of a new research grant to discover, characterize and validate complex molecular networks and candidate genes that influence susceptibility to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease.

19 Sep 2013

Comprehensive changes in lifestyle could reverse ageing

A pilot study, published in The Lancet Oncology, shows that comprehensive lifestyle changes may increase the length of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that control cell ageing.

19 Sep 2013

New information about how estrogens regulate memory formation

The loss of estrogens at menopause increases a woman's risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, yet hormone replacement therapy can cause harmful side effects.

19 Sep 2013

First clinical trials to diagnose and treat Alzheimer’s disease

More than a century ago, Alois Alzheimer, a Bavarian physician, first identified the neurodegenerative brain condition that came to be known as Alzheimer's disease. Finding ways to diagnose and treat this disease has frustrated scientists and clinicians ever since.

19 Sep 2013

Nonmotor symptoms contribute to early Parkinson’s subtypes

Researchers have characterized four distinct subgroups of patients with early Parkinson’s disease, distinguished by both motor and nonmotor symptoms.

18 Sep 2013

Cognitive barriers, sensory problems put patients at risk of receiving sub-optimal treatment

Patients' inability to communicate because of sensory or cognitive impairment can be a significant barrier to pain management, according to researchers writing in the journal Nursing Older People.

18 Sep 2013

Emotional stress, cognitive impairment linked to early hospital readmission of heart patients

Heart patients' mental state and thinking abilities may help predict whether costly and potentially dangerous early hospital readmission will follow their release after treatment, according to the results of a significant new study by Henry Ford Hospital researchers.

18 Sep 2013

Improve Your Lifestyle, Lengthen Your Telomeres

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17 Sep 2013

Patients with pre-existing dementia may experience delirium when hospitalized

More than half of all patients with pre-existing dementia will experience delirium while hospitalized. Failing to detect and treat their delirium early leads to a faster decline of both their physical and mental health, according to health researchers.

17 Sep 2013

Study shows that changes in diet, lifestyle choices may result in longer telomeres

A small pilot study shows for the first time that changes in diet, exercise, stress management and social support may result in longer telomeres, the parts of chromosomes that affect aging.

17 Sep 2013

Data shows Americans are living longer, reporting fewer symptoms of disease

Thanks to medical advances, better treatments and new drugs not available a generation ago, the average American born today can expect to live 3.8 years longer than a person born two decades ago.

13 Sep 2013

Brain atrophy leads to cognitive decline in T2DM people

New research has shown that cognitive decline in people with Type 2 Diabetes is likely due to brain atrophy, or shrinkage, that resembles patterns seen in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

13 Sep 2013

Study finds Americans enjoy more healthy years than a generation ago

The average American today can look forward to over two more years of healthy life than they could just a generation ago, Harvard researchers have found.

13 Sep 2013

New Tailored Activity Program to ease troublesome symptoms of dementia

A transformation in the treatment of patients with dementia is quietly taking place at the Lakeside Medical Unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. There, as part of a collaboration with researchers at the Hopkins School of Nursing (JHUSON), clinicians are putting into practice a protocol that can ease the most troublesome symptoms of dementia, not through drugs but with behavior therapy.

12 Sep 2013