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.

Study shows VEEG telemetry monitoring with early cessation of AED therapy is safe, effective

Patients with epilepsy often undergo evaluation by concurrent video and EEG monitoring (vEEG) for therapeutic planning, including possible epilepsy surgery. Seizures during monitoring increase the diagnostic yield and requires the withdrawal of anticonvulsant drugs (AEDs) to allow seizures to occur.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers uncover biological factor that may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer incidence

Researchers have uncovered a potential biological factor that may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer incidence and mortality between African-American and non-Hispanic white men in the United States, according to results presented here at the Sixth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved, held Dec. 6-9.

9 Dec 2013

Research findings suggest possible novel strategies to prevent SUDEP

Patients with epilepsy and, in particular, those with severe syndromic forms of the disorder, harbor a risk of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy, or SUDEP. Cardiac arrhythmias are a proposed cause. In a test of this theory, researchers have demonstrated that mice harboring a human SCN1A gene mutation that results in Dravet Syndrome, a severe and intractable genetic epilepsy, have electrical disturbances in the heart that culminate in ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death.

9 Dec 2013

Prolonged febrile seizures can affect pediatric patients

A long-standing hypothesis holds that prolonged febrile (fever induced) seizures, the most common form of childhood convulsive status epilepticus, cause mesial temporal sclerosis. CSE is a single seizure, or two or more seizures between which consciousness is not regained, lasting for more than 30 minutes.

9 Dec 2013

$Management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers$

Management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers

The management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers and from patient to patient. Rapid success in aborting these non-stop seizures is crucial as the risk of neurological damage is high and, though rare, may result in death depending on seizure duration. By pooling data and analyzing current RCSE management practices, researchers representing a multicenter network of tertiary referral hospitals in the U.S. conducted a study that could lead to improved treatment outcomes for potentially life-threatening seizures.

9 Dec 2013

Scientists identify important new genes for epilepsy

Scientists screening the DNA of large cohorts for known and suspected epilepsy associated genes are finding that, while some genes are implicated in discrete phenotypes or forms of epilepsy, other genes are implicated in a wider range of phenotypes. Although ion channel genes are a common cause of epilepsy, the researchers also report a significant number of epilepsy patients with mutations in non-ion channel genes. The studies have important implications for treatment, prognosis and risk counseling.

9 Dec 2013

Underlying loss of awareness during partial seizures is same as deep sleep

Epilepsy patients with complex partial seizures have impaired consciousness during seizure episodes and typically have no memory of the event. However, the mechanisms of seizure unconsciousness are unclear.

9 Dec 2013

Researchers investigate effect of epilepsy surgery on patients lives

Resective surgery is an effective treatment for dug-resistant epilepsy. To investigate the effect of epilepsy surgery on patients lives, researchers from the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit conducted a long-term retrospective follow up of surgical patients and correlated post-surgical psychosocial outcomes with seizure outcome and brain area surgically treated.

9 Dec 2013

Bonn researchers use reprogrammed neurons for drug testing in Alzheimer patients

Why do certain Alzheimer medications work in animal models but not in clinical trials in humans? A research team from the University of Bonn and the biomedical enterprise LIFE & BRAIN GmbH has been able to show that results of established test methods with animal models and cell lines used up until now can hardly be translated to the processes in the human brain.

9 Dec 2013

Scientists receive 2013 Horwitz Prize for discoveries on how brain calculates location, navigation

Edvard and May-Britt Moser of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), and John O'Keefe, from University College London have been awarded the 2013 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for discoveries that have illuminated how the brain calculates location and navigation.

9 Dec 2013

Study provides possible therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease via progesterone

Steroid hormones and their metabolites within the central nervous system are commonly defined as neuroactive steroids or neurosteroids. Although neuroactive steroids have been shown to improve learning and memory ability and protect against amyloid beta peptide-induced neurotoxicity, changes in their level during Alzheimer's disease and their role in Aβ-mediated cognitive impairment remain elusive given the limitation in sample sizes and analysis methods.

8 Dec 2013

ALS TDI forms research partnership with Neurimmune to advance potential treatments for ALS

The ALS Therapy Development Institute (ALS TDI), together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, Anelixis Therapeutics, announced today that it has formed a research partnership with Neurimmune to advance potential treatments for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

6 Dec 2013

Eli Lilly reports edivoxetine Phase III program did not meet primary endpoint for major depressive disorder

Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) announced today that results from three studies of edivoxetine did not meet the primary study objective of superior efficacy in depression after eight weeks of treatment.

6 Dec 2013

Eisai reports new data analyses on FYCOMPA (Perampanel) at AES meeting

Today, Eisai Inc. announced that 16 abstracts highlighting new data analyses on FYCOMPA (perampanel) will be presented at the 67th annual American Epilepsy Society (AES) meeting, taking place in Washington, D.C. from December 6 – 10.

6 Dec 2013

Scientists test affected human nerve cells to foretell efficacy of Alzheimer drugs

6 Dec 2013

Scientists receive 2013 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for advancements in field of neuroscience

For discoveries about how the brain calculates and remembers where it is—which could be part of the foundation of memory—Columbia University will award the 2013 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize to Edvard I. Moser, PhD, and May-Britt Moser, PhD, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway, and John Michael O'Keefe, PhD, of University College London in the UK.

6 Dec 2013

Combination of preventive and therapeutic moxibustion has beneficial effect for Alzheimer's disease

An increasing number of clinical and animal studies have confirmed that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Moxibustion is reported to be more effective than electro-acupuncture for improving space-recognizing memory ability in aged mice, suggesting that moxibustion is another alternative or complementary therapy used to treat Alzheimer's disease.

6 Dec 2013

New research shows that the brain can produce and release estrogen

A University of Wisconsin-Madison research team reports today that the brain can produce and release estrogen - a discovery that may lead to a better understanding of hormonal changes observed from before birth throughout the entire aging process.

5 Dec 2013

UCSB researcher tracks source of E280A gene mutation responsible for early-onset Alzheimer's

The age and origin of the E280A gene mutation responsible for early-onset Alzheimer's in a Colombian family with an unusually high incidence of the disease has been traced to a single founder dating from the 16th century.

5 Dec 2013

TB vaccine may help prevent multiple sclerosis

A vaccine used to prevent tuberculosis in other parts of the world may help prevent multiple sclerosis in people who show the beginning signs of the disease, according to a new study published in the December 4, 2013, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 Dec 2013

Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Study shows VEEG telemetry monitoring with early cessation of AED therapy is safe, effective

Researchers uncover biological factor that may contribute to disparities in prostate cancer incidence

Research findings suggest possible novel strategies to prevent SUDEP

Prolonged febrile seizures can affect pediatric patients

Management of refractory convulsive status epilepticus varies at different medical centers

Scientists identify important new genes for epilepsy

Underlying loss of awareness during partial seizures is same as deep sleep

Researchers investigate effect of epilepsy surgery on patients lives

Bonn researchers use reprogrammed neurons for drug testing in Alzheimer patients

Scientists receive 2013 Horwitz Prize for discoveries on how brain calculates location, navigation

Study provides possible therapeutic strategy for Alzheimer's disease via progesterone

ALS TDI forms research partnership with Neurimmune to advance potential treatments for ALS

Eli Lilly reports edivoxetine Phase III program did not meet primary endpoint for major depressive disorder

Eisai reports new data analyses on FYCOMPA (Perampanel) at AES meeting

Scientists test affected human nerve cells to foretell efficacy of Alzheimer drugs

Scientists receive 2013 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for advancements in field of neuroscience

Combination of preventive and therapeutic moxibustion has beneficial effect for Alzheimer's disease

New research shows that the brain can produce and release estrogen

UCSB researcher tracks source of E280A gene mutation responsible for early-onset Alzheimer's

TB vaccine may help prevent multiple sclerosis

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