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.

Eight myths and truths about Alzheimer's disease

Although Alzheimer's disease (AD) impacts more than five million Americans and 15 million caregivers year-round, the nation is especially focused on the disease this month as it observes "National Alzheimer's Disease and Awareness Month."

11 Nov 2015

Anavex reports safety and efficacy data of ANAVEX 2-73 Phase 2a trial in Alzheimer’s patients

On Saturday, investigators presented positive safety and cognitive efficacy data for ANAVEX 2-73, the Company’s lead investigational oral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease targeting sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors, which are believed to reduce protein misfolding including reduction of beta amyloid, tau protein and inflammation at the international CTAD 2015 conference in Barcelona, Spain.

11 Nov 2015

Possible reasons found for Alzheimer’s treatment failure

Agglutinated proteins in the brain, known as amyloid-β plaques, are a key characteristic of Alzheimer’s. One treatment option uses special antibodies to break down these plaques.

10 Nov 2015

Two studies explore potential new blood tests for Alzheimer's disease

There is increasing evidence that the brain changes of Alzheimer's disease begin decades before memory and thinking problems occur, prompting the need for better methods of early detection for this progressive, fatal brain disease. Consequently, there is a growing school of thought that the most effective future Alzheimer's drug therapies will be administered to those who are at high risk of the disease before cognitive symptoms appear.

10 Nov 2015

Vanderbilt wins NIA grant to study effectiveness of nicotine patch in improving memory loss in older adults with MCI

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $9.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to test the effectiveness of a transdermal nicotine patch in improving memory loss in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor to Alzheimer's disease.

6 Nov 2015

UCSF scientists identify eye drop chemical that may reverse cataracts

A chemical that could potentially be used in eye drops to reverse cataracts, the leading cause of blindness, has been identified by a team of scientists from UC San Francisco (UCSF), the University of Michigan (U-M), and Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL).

6 Nov 2015

Researchers discover potential solution for side effects of immunotherapy treatment for Alzheimer's

It is estimated that 46.8 million people worldwide are living with dementia, with Alzheimer's disease the most common form.

5 Nov 2015

University of Leicester awarded BBSRC grant to explore three key areas that impact human health

The University of Leicester has been awarded over £1.5 million in order to advance knowledge and understanding in three key areas that impact on health.

5 Nov 2015

Estrogen-like drug may not be beneficial to women with Alzheimer's dementia

An estrogen-like drug, raloxifene, has no demonstrated benefit on memory and thinking skills for women with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the November 4, 2015, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Nov 2015

Harnessing the brain's immune system to combat Alzheimer's disease

A new study appearing in the Journal of Neuroinflammation suggests that the brain's immune system could potentially be harnessed to help clear the amyloid plaques that are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

5 Nov 2015

Researchers successfully repair nerve cell damage in Alzheimer's dementia

In laboratory experiments on the basic mechanisms that cause Alzheimer's dementia, an international research team led by Heidelberg neurobiologist Prof. Dr. Ulrike Müller and a team of French scientists have succeeded in largely "repairing" the nerve cell damage typical in this disease.

5 Nov 2015

Article explores viewpoints on role of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

The current issue of Neurodegenerative Disease Management explores evolving viewpoints on the role of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's Disease (PD-MCI), a medical issue which currently lacks consensus. Neurodegenerative Disease Management is published by Future Science Group. The article is also available free of charge to members of Neurology Central, FSG's online community for the international neurology community.

5 Nov 2015

Swedish measurement method to be used as standard in Alzheimer's diagnostics worldwide

Researchers at Gothenburg University have developed a reference method for standardized measurements that diagnose Alzheimer's disease decades before symptoms appear. The method has now formally been classified as the international reference method, which means that it will be used as the standard in Alzheimer's diagnostics worldwide.

4 Nov 2015

Oxford professor wins Heinrich Wieland Prize for pioneering method that helps control nerve cells with light

Gero Miesenböck was the first to insert a light-controlled on/off switch into brain cells. His pioneering method allows scientists to switch nerve cells on and off selectively and observe how the behaviour of, for example, fruit flies or mice changes as a result. In this way, researchers can learn in a step-by-step process what behaviour the studied brain circuits control and what goes awry in disease. For his method, hailed as a "breakthrough of the decade," Professor Gero Miesenböck of the University of Oxford will receive the 100,000-euro Heinrich Wieland Prize of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation in Munich on November 6, 2015.

4 Nov 2015

International research project examines effectiveness of tried and tested medicines for different diseases

The Medical University of Vienna is coordinating an international research project, which investigates the effectiveness of tried and tested medicines for the treatment of some of the heaviest burdens of our modern society including diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. One molecule that these disorders have in common is a receptor known as the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR), which is the molecular starting point of this project.

4 Nov 2015

Brain's hippocampus essential for recognizing previously encountered events

The hippocampus, a brain structure known to play a role in memory and spatial navigation, is essential to one's ability to recognize previously encountered events, objects, or people - a phenomenon known as recognition memory - according to new research from the departments of Neurosurgery and Psychology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 Nov 2015

Scientists propose that Alzheimer's disease should be treated separately

Deciphering the mechanism that underlies the development of Alzheimer's disease in certain families but not in others, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Medicine have proposed that the malady is actually a collection of diseases that probably should be treated with a variety of different approaches.

4 Nov 2015

APOE ε4 predicts risk of future depression

One of the most powerful predictors in neuropsychiatry is the epsilon 4 (ε4) allele of the apolipoprotein gene (APOE).

3 Nov 2015

Patients with Down syndrome face additional challenge of early-onset dementia

Individuals with Down syndrome who survive into adulthood face the additional challenge of early-onset dementia, in which toxic amyloid plaques build up in the brain. The condition is strikingly similar to Alzheimer's disease, and as new work led by researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University shows, dementia in Down syndrome involves defects in a regulatory enzyme known as γ-secretase activating protein (GSAP), which also happens to malfunction in Alzheimer's disease.

3 Nov 2015

Findings support higher dietary requirements of vitamin E for obese people with metabolic syndrome

A recent study suggests that obese people with metabolic syndrome face an unexpected quandary when it comes to vitamin E - they need more than normal levels of the vitamin because their weight and other problems are causing increased oxidative stress, but those same problems actually cause their effective use of vitamin E to be reduced.

3 Nov 2015

Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Eight myths and truths about Alzheimer's disease

Anavex reports safety and efficacy data of ANAVEX 2-73 Phase 2a trial in Alzheimer’s patients

Possible reasons found for Alzheimer’s treatment failure

Two studies explore potential new blood tests for Alzheimer's disease

Vanderbilt wins NIA grant to study effectiveness of nicotine patch in improving memory loss in older adults with MCI

UCSF scientists identify eye drop chemical that may reverse cataracts

Researchers discover potential solution for side effects of immunotherapy treatment for Alzheimer's

University of Leicester awarded BBSRC grant to explore three key areas that impact human health

Estrogen-like drug may not be beneficial to women with Alzheimer's dementia

Harnessing the brain's immune system to combat Alzheimer's disease

Researchers successfully repair nerve cell damage in Alzheimer's dementia

Article explores viewpoints on role of mild cognitive impairment in Parkinson's disease

Swedish measurement method to be used as standard in Alzheimer's diagnostics worldwide

Oxford professor wins Heinrich Wieland Prize for pioneering method that helps control nerve cells with light

International research project examines effectiveness of tried and tested medicines for different diseases

Brain's hippocampus essential for recognizing previously encountered events

Scientists propose that Alzheimer's disease should be treated separately

APOE ε4 predicts risk of future depression

Patients with Down syndrome face additional challenge of early-onset dementia

Findings support higher dietary requirements of vitamin E for obese people with metabolic syndrome

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