Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

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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.

Easing cellular traffic jams in Huntington’s disease may save brain cells

Working with mouse, fly and human cells and tissue, Johns Hopkins researchers report new evidence that disruptions in the movement of cellular materials in and out of a cell's control center - the nucleus- appear to be a direct cause of brain cell death in Huntington's disease, an inherited adult neurodegenerative disorder.

5 May 2017

Researcher develops new language intervention to help treat patients with rare form of dementia

A Baycrest Health Sciences researcher and clinician has developed the first group language intervention that helps individuals losing the ability to speak due to a rare form of dementia, and could help patients maintain their communication abilities for longer.

4 May 2017

Gene mutation may accelerate loss of memory and thinking skills in people with Alzheimer's risk

A gene mutation may accelerate the loss of memory and thinking skills in people who are at risk for Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the May 3, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The gene mutation is called the BDNF Val66Met allele, or just the Met allele.

4 May 2017

Walking intervention may reestablish protective neuronal connections in older adults with MCI

Could the initiation of a simple walking exercise program help older adults to reverse declines in key brain regions? A new study led by University of Maryland School of Public Health researchers adds more information about how physical activity impacts brain physiology and offers hope that it may be possible to reestablish some protective neuronal connections.

3 May 2017

Detailed images reveal how regulatory proteins affect function of brain receptors

Scientists at Columbia University have obtained the first detailed images of interactions between the AMPA receptor and molecules that regulate chemical signaling in the brain.

3 May 2017

Positive social support from adult children linked to reduced dementia risk

Positive social support from adult children is associated with reduced risk of developing dementia, according to a new research published today.

2 May 2017

Powerful pain medicine may help reduce vision damage of glaucoma

The tip of our optic nerve is typically the first place injured by glaucoma. Now researchers want to know if the powerful pain medicine (+)-pentazocine can help avoid the damage.

2 May 2017

Do brain training apps really work?

There are dozens of brain training apps on the market. Regrettably, very few have any studies showing efficacy. A recent systematic review from experts at five Alzheimer’s research centers looked at 32 brain training programs, and found only seven had any studies to review showing effects in the target population of aging adults.

28 Apr 2017

Scientists aim to build computer model of complex memory formation

Much of what scientists know about human memory comes from studies involving relatively simple acts of recollection--remembering lists of words or associations between names and faces.

28 Apr 2017

Antidepressant improves drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier, rat study shows

NIH rat study suggests amitriptyline temporarily inhibits the blood-brain barrier, allowing drugs to enter the brain.

27 Apr 2017

Improvements to animal testing protocols could yield more useful clinical results

The use of animals in biomedical research has long been the focus of campaigns by animal rights activists. Two leading scientists writing in the European Journal of Internal Medicine give their expert view of the importance of animal testing to medical progress and present ways it could be further improved to yield more useful clinical results.

27 Apr 2017

Study provides preliminary evidence that Parkinson's disease may start in the gut

Parkinson's disease may start in the gut and spread to the brain via the vagus nerve, according to a study published in the April 26, 2017, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The vagus nerve extends from the brainstem to the abdomen and controls unconscious body processes like heart rate and food digestion.

27 Apr 2017

Experts aim to develop noninvasive technology that accelerates learning

The adage "put your thinking caps on" might evoke visions of an elementary classroom, where a teacher has just admonished cherubic little learners about to embark on a particularly difficult academic adventure.

26 Apr 2017

New technique dramatically accelerates search for new cancer treatments

A new technique developed at the University of Virginia School of Medicine will let a single cancer research lab do the work of dozens, dramatically accelerating the search for new treatments and cures.

26 Apr 2017

Researchers discover genes linked to resilience against brain pathologies

The pathologies (damage) in the brain that stroke, Alzheimer's disease and other neurological conditions cause in older adults only partially explain the memory loss, reduced reasoning ability and other cognitive impairments that result from these conditions. Little is known about why the effects of brain pathology vary between people who develop it.

26 Apr 2017

Brain’s ability to rewire after injury can lead to long-term strains

Like air-traffic controllers scrambling to reconnect flights when a major hub goes down, the brain has a remarkable ability to rewire itself after suffering an injury.

25 Apr 2017

Person's brain age could help identify risk of functional decline and mortality

Some elderly people's brains appear older than the age on their birth certificates. These people have a higher risk of developing deteriorating age-associated conditions and impairments, and even of experiencing an earlier death than expected.

25 Apr 2017

Researchers identify new rare genetic variants linked to extreme longevity

The search for the genetic determinants of extreme longevity has been challenging, with the prevalence of centenarians (people older than 100) just one per 5,000 population in developed nations.

25 Apr 2017

Neurobiologists use skin stem cells to generate new microglia

Using human skin cells, University of California, Irvine neurobiologists and their colleagues have created a method to generate one of the principle cell types of the brain called microglia, which play a key role in preserving the function of neural networks and responding to injury and disease.

25 Apr 2017

Low levels of NPTX2 protein in the brain may lead to learning and memory loss in Alzheimer's disease

Working with human brain tissue samples and genetically engineered mice, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers together with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health, the University of California San Diego Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Columbia University, and the Institute for Basic Research in Staten Island say that consequences of low levels of the protein NPTX2 in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease (AD) may change the pattern of neural activity in ways that lead to the learning and memory loss that are hallmarks of the disease.

25 Apr 2017

Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Easing cellular traffic jams in Huntington’s disease may save brain cells

Researcher develops new language intervention to help treat patients with rare form of dementia

Gene mutation may accelerate loss of memory and thinking skills in people with Alzheimer's risk

Walking intervention may reestablish protective neuronal connections in older adults with MCI

Detailed images reveal how regulatory proteins affect function of brain receptors

Positive social support from adult children linked to reduced dementia risk

Powerful pain medicine may help reduce vision damage of glaucoma

Do brain training apps really work?

Scientists aim to build computer model of complex memory formation

Antidepressant improves drug delivery across the blood-brain barrier, rat study shows

Improvements to animal testing protocols could yield more useful clinical results

Study provides preliminary evidence that Parkinson's disease may start in the gut

Experts aim to develop noninvasive technology that accelerates learning

New technique dramatically accelerates search for new cancer treatments

Researchers discover genes linked to resilience against brain pathologies

Brain’s ability to rewire after injury can lead to long-term strains

Person's brain age could help identify risk of functional decline and mortality

Researchers identify new rare genetic variants linked to extreme longevity

Neurobiologists use skin stem cells to generate new microglia

Low levels of NPTX2 protein in the brain may lead to learning and memory loss in Alzheimer's disease

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