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.

UCL researchers create first massive open online course on four less-common forms of dementia

Researchers at University College London have created the first massive open online course on four of the less-common forms of dementia. Developed by Timothy Shakespeare, with Sebastian Crutch and Nick Fox, "The Many Faces of Dementia" will kick off on March 14.

22 Feb 2016

Antibody can give more precise information about Alzheimer's disease than regular radioactive tracers

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in passing an antibody through the blood-brain barrier to act as a tracer for PET imaging of the brain. This resulted in more precise information being obtained than with regular radioactive tracers. The study provides hope for more effective diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer's disease and improvements in monitoring the effects of medication.

22 Feb 2016

Penn researchers develop new mathematical model to estimate mutation rates in the human genome

It turns out that the type, how frequent, and where new mutations occur in the human genome depends on which DNA building blocks are nearby, found researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in an advanced online study published this week in Nature Genetics.

22 Feb 2016

New discoveries provide further evidence for benefits of a good night's sleep

Why does sleeping on it help? This is the question tackled by new research at the University of Bristol, which reveals how brain activity during sleep sorts through the huge number of experiences we encounter every day, filing only the important information in memory.

22 Feb 2016

Amarantus BioScience Holdings closes $3M investment

Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Inc., a biotechnology company developing products in Regenerative Medicine, Neurology and Orphan diseases, today announced the closing of a $3M investment from an institutional investor. Under the terms of the agreement, the investor will be issued $3.3M worth of Series H Convertible Preferred Stock (including 10% original issue discount) from the Company and five year warrants exercisable for 13,200,000 shares of common stock at $0.40 per share.

22 Feb 2016

TSRI's Courtney Miller to receive Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Courtney Miller, associate professor on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute, has been selected to receive a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers.

19 Feb 2016

FDA-approved Alzheimer's medications may help people quit smoking

Despite several safe drug therapies available to help smokers quit, three-quarters report relapsing within six months of a quit attempt. University of Pennsylvania researchers Rebecca Ashare and Heath Schmidt saw potential for a permanent cessation solution in a class of FDA-approved medications used to improve cognitive impairments from Alzheimer's disease.

19 Feb 2016

Antibiotics may be linked to delirium and other brain problems

Antibiotics may be linked to a serious disruption in brain function, called delirium, and other brain problems, more than previously thought, according to a "Views and Reviews" article published in the February 17, 2016, online issue of Neurology, a medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

18 Feb 2016

Eating one portion of fish a week helps reduce dementia risk

Eating at least one portion of fish per week helps to reduce a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related illnesses. This was evidenced by international research conducted at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and published in the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA).

18 Feb 2016

Researchers identify brain region where Alzheimer's disease starts

A critical but vulnerable region in the brain appears to be the first place affected by late onset Alzheimer's disease and may be more important for maintaining cognitive function in later life than previously appreciated, according to a new review of the scientific literature.

17 Feb 2016

Edward Jones commits $4.7 million to support mission of Alzheimer's Association

The Alzheimer's Association today announced an historic partnership with St. Louis-based financial services firm Edward Jones. Edward Jones has committed $4.7 million over two years to support the mission of the Alzheimer's Association.

16 Feb 2016

Study finds no beneficial effect of cancer medication on Alzheimer's disease

The cancer medication bexarotene, aka Targretin, made headlines when researchers reported that it quickly lowered Aβ in the brain, reduced amyloid plaques, and improved learning and memory in mice that mimic salient features of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

16 Feb 2016

First patients dosed in Neurotrope's Bryostatin-1 Phase 2b trial for treatment of advanced Alzheimer’s disease

Neurotrope, Inc. today announced that the first patients have been dosed in the Company’s Phase 2b clinical trial of its lead candidate, Bryostatin-1, for the treatment of advanced Alzheimer’s disease.

16 Feb 2016

Mayo Clinic researchers uncover clues to apraxia of speech

It may start with a simple word you can't pronounce. Your tongue and lips stumble, and gibberish comes out. Misspeaking might draw a chuckle from family and friends. But, then, it keeps happening. Progressively, more and more speech is lost. Some patients eventually become mute from primary progressive apraxia of speech, a disorder related to degenerative neurologic disease.

15 Feb 2016

Anti-cancer drug delays onset of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have identified a drug that targets the first step in the toxic chain reaction leading to the death of brain cells, suggesting that treatments could be developed to protect against Alzheimer's disease, in a similar way to how statins are able to reduce the risk of developing heart disease.

15 Feb 2016

Astrocytes implicated in preclinical AD

Astrocytes are activated in the brains of people with autosomal dominant Alzheimer’s disease long before symptoms appear and even before amyloidosis begins, a study shows.

12 Feb 2016

Poor physical fitness in middle age linked to smaller brain size 20 years later

Poor physical fitness in middle age may be linked to a smaller brain size 20 years later, according to a study published in the February 10, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

12 Feb 2016

TAU research highlights neuroprotective potential of protein-protectant drug candidate SKIP

Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP), essential for brain formation, is frequently mutated in children on the autism spectrum. In older men and women, ADNP expression in the blood is correlated with cognition and further altered in Alzheimer's disease.

11 Feb 2016

Researchers devise lipid-based diets to relieve symptoms of Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer´s disease (AD) is the most common disease underlying memory problems and dementia in the elderly. One of the invariable pathologies in AD is degeneration of cholinergic synapses in brain cortex and hippocampus.

11 Feb 2016

Dementia incidence highest in African Americans, lowest in Asian Americans

The first study to look at dementia risk in a population representing the diversity of the United States finds dementia incidence to be highest in African Americans and lowest in Asian Americans. The rate of occurrence of dementia in African Americans was found to be 65 percent higher than Asian Americans.

10 Feb 2016