Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

RSS

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 60. AD is the most common cause of dementia among older people, but it is not a normal part of aging. Dementia refers to a decline in cognitive function that interferes with daily life and activities. AD starts in a region of the brain that affects recent memory, then gradually spreads to other parts of the brain. Although treatment can slow the progression of AD and help manage its symptoms in some people, currently there is no cure for this devastating disease.

New eye drops could prevent vision loss after retinal vein occlusion

Researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center have developed eye drops that could prevent vision loss after retinal vein occlusion, a major cause of blindness for millions of adults worldwide.

29 Jun 2020

Older people less likely to share memories of their past experiences

By the time people reach a certain age, they've accumulated enough life experience to have plenty of stories to tell about life "back in their day."

29 Jun 2020

Remodeling may make neurons more prone to Alzheimer's disease

Neurons that regularly remodel are more prone to Alzheimer's disease and die when that remodeling goes awry, a new study suggests. The work is the first to track the progression of Alzheimer's at the genetic and molecular levels within neurons vulnerable to the disease.

29 Jun 2020

New model helps study human hippocampal neurons

Neuroscientists and stem cell researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a research model that allows studying human hippocampal neurons, the brain cells primarily affected by Alzheimer's disease pathology.

29 Jun 2020

Study highlights a complex and under-recognized form of dementia

The long-running study on aging and brain health at the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging Alzheimer's Disease Center has once again resulted in important new findings - highlighting a complex and under-recognized form of dementia.

27 Jun 2020

Researchers provide mechanistic insight into protein co-aggregation in Alzheimer's disease

A research team lead by Ludmilla Morozova Roche at Umeå University, Sweden, has provided the mechanistic insight into protein co-aggregation in Alzheimer's disease.

26 Jun 2020

Pediatric patients more resilient against COVID-19 compared to adults

The majority of children with COVID-19 in 26 countries fared well clinically compared to adults during the first four months of the pandemic, a newly released study shows.

26 Jun 2020

New steroid compounds from deep-water starfish show anticancer activity

Russian scientists from Far Eastern Federal University, G. B. Elyakov Pacific Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, and A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center for Marine Biology have discovered four new steroid substances which target cells of human breast cancer, and colorectal carcinoma.

26 Jun 2020

Study shows why ApoE4 increases risk of Alzheimer's disease

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is kind of like a delivery service for the human brain. It supplies neurons with important nutrients, including with polyunsaturated fatty acids - which are building blocks of the membranes surrounding the neurons.

26 Jun 2020

Researchers identify new molecules to study specific glial cells integral to synapses

While the brain is composed of two types of cells, glia tend to receive far less attention for their importance in brain function and disease than the more celebrated neurons.

26 Jun 2020

Researchers study unique needs of caregivers of persons with ADRD during COVID-19

Sixteen million family members in the U.S. are caregivers for the more than 6 million people living with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD).

25 Jun 2020

Parkinson's disease breakthrough seen in mouse model

Researchers from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found a way to create new neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease. The severely debilitating and progressive neurodegenerative disease, as of now, has no cure, and this breakthrough could help hundreds of thousands of patients with the condition feel experts.

25 Jun 2020

Study examines statin use among nursing home residents nearing the end of life

Cardiovascular disease (also called heart disease) is one of the most common medical conditions older adults face. In nursing homes, almost half of all older adult residents have been diagnosed with problems affecting the heart and/or blood vessels.

24 Jun 2020

Tau protein modifications may be linked to heterogeneity in Alzheimer’s disease

A new study reveals a possible biological reason that Alzheimer's Disease (AD) progresses at different rates in different patients.

24 Jun 2020

Hungarian physician to receive the Körber Prize for European Science 2020

The Körber Prize for European Science 2020, which is endowed with one million euros, is being awarded to the Hungarian physician Botond Roska.

23 Jun 2020

Newly discovered Alzheimer's gene may drive earliest brain changes

A newly discovered Alzheimer's gene may drive the first appearance of amyloid plaques in the brain, according to a study led by researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

22 Jun 2020

Specific changes in DNA affect the existence and amount of gut bacteria, study finds

The role genetics and gut bacteria play in human health has long been a fruitful source of scientific enquiry, but new research marks a significant step forward in unraveling this complex relationship.

22 Jun 2020

New study may provide a 'playlist' for testing brain disorders

Psychologists and medical researchers for years have used familiar tunes to study brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia, but they've never had a common set of songs to draw from.

22 Jun 2020

Brain-transportable soy derivate reduces memory degradation in mice

In a study that could help one day give a literal meaning to food for thought, researchers from Kyushu University in Japan have reported that a protein fragment that makes its way into the brain after being ingested can reduce memory degradation in mice treated to simulate Alzheimer's disease.

21 Jun 2020

Researchers caution use of chloroquine therapy for patients at higher risk of heart rhythm abnormalities

A patient who met many of the published safety guidelines for chloroquine therapy against COVID-19 was observed to have a very abnormal ECG pattern after treatment began, leading to multiple episodes of torsade de pointes (TdP), a life-threatening arrhythmia in which the lower chambers of the heart beat out of sync with the upper chambers.

18 Jun 2020