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.

Engineered brain cells offer new hope for treating Alzheimer's

A new way to deliver disease-fighting proteins throughout the brain may improve the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders, according to University of California, Irvine scientists.

21 Apr 2025

Alzheimer's risk factors linked to cognition as early as young adulthood

A new study from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the Columbia Butler Aging Center suggests that risk factors and biomarkers related to Alzheimer's disease are associated with cognition much earlier in life than previously recognized.

21 Apr 2025

Researchers identify gene targets that may protect against Alzheimer’s

A study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children's Hospital provides solutions to the pressing need to identify factors that influence Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk or resistance while providing an avenue to explore potential biological markers and therapeutic targets.

17 Apr 2025

Calming the brain's immune cells may curb damaging inflammation in Alzheimer's

New research suggests that calming the brain's immune cells might prevent or lessen the damaging inflammation seen in Alzheimer's disease.

17 Apr 2025

Unlocking the secrets of synaptic plasticity during learning

How do we learn something new? How do tasks at a new job, lyrics to the latest hit song or directions to a friend's house become encoded in our brains?

17 Apr 2025

Sex and age play key roles in dementia biomarker levels

A new study has found important clues about the roles age, sex, hormonal changes and genetics play in how certain biomarkers for dementia are expressed in the blood, according to a study published on April 16, 2025, online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

16 Apr 2025

Harnessing the healing power of music in clinical care

Rhonda Winegar remembers watching the 2014 documentary "I'll Be Me," which chronicled country music legend Glen Campbell's struggles with Alzheimer's disease.

16 Apr 2025

Diabetes medications may help shield the brain from cognitive decline

A study led by researchers in the University of Florida College of Pharmacy has found that a pair of popular glucose-lowering medications may have protective effects against the development of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias in patients with Type 2 diabetes.

16 Apr 2025

Early detection of Alzheimer's disease through blood biomarker

Individuals with a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's disease show altered blood levels indicating damaged neuronal contacts as early as 11 years before the expected onset of dementia symptoms.

16 Apr 2025

Digital technology use linked to lower risk of cognitive decline

As the first generation that interacted with digital technology reaches an age where dementia risks emerge, scientists have asked the question: Is there a correlation between digital technology use and an increased risk of dementia?

15 Apr 2025

EAT-Lancet planetary diet shows no dementia risk, may protect against Alzheimer’s

In a large Swedish study, researchers found that the environmentally sustainable EAT-Lancet diet does not increase dementia risk and may lower the risk of Alzheimer’s and all-cause dementia, particularly in people without the APOE ε4 gene. The findings support the integration of sustainable diets into dementia prevention strategies.

15 Apr 2025

Scientists identify critical enzymes for astrocytic GABA production in Alzheimer’s disease

A research team at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has identified a previously unknown enzyme, SIRT2, that plays a key role in memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD).

14 Apr 2025

Can gut microbes help prevent Alzheimer’s?

A comprehensive review explores how gut microbiota diversity and fitness influence Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk through neuroinflammation, amyloid and tau pathology, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction. It highlights the therapeutic potential of probiotics, dietary interventions, and omics technologies in restoring microbial balance and preventing neurodegeneration.

13 Apr 2025

Northwestern scientists identify key genes behind Parkinson's development

A longstanding mystery in Parkinson's disease research has been why some individuals carrying pathogenic variants that increase their risk of PD go on to develop the disease, while others who also carry such variants do not.

11 Apr 2025

Heavy drinking linked to increased risk of brain lesions

Heavy drinkers who have eight or more alcoholic drinks per week have an increased risk of brain lesions called hyaline arteriolosclerosis, signs of brain injury that are associated with memory and thinking problems, according to a study published on April 9, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Apr 2025

Study explores impact of parental Alzheimer’s on tau protein spread in the brain

While some studies have suggested that having a mother with Alzheimer's disease may put you more at risk of developing the disease, a new study finds that having a father with the disease may be tied to a greater spread of the tau protein in the brain that is a sign of the disease, according to a study published on April 9, 2025, online in Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

9 Apr 2025

Tim-3 identified as promising therapeutic target for Alzheimer's disease

Tim-3 is an immune checkpoint molecule involved in immunity and inflammation recently linked to late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), but its role in the brain was unknown until now.

9 Apr 2025

Neural organoids offer insight into mechanisms of dementia

Researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine have discovered a new way that neurons act in neurodegeneration by using human neural organoids – also known as "mini-brain" models – from patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD).

9 Apr 2025

Breakthrough nanoparticle delivery method targets brain inflammation for multiple conditions

Oregon State University researchers have discovered a way to get anti-inflammatory medicine across the blood-brain barrier, opening the door to potential new therapies for a range of conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and cancer cachexia.

9 Apr 2025

Experimental drug NU-9 shows promise for Alzheimer's and ALS treatment

Experimental drug NU-9 - a small molecule compound approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for clinical trials for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - improves neuron health in animal models of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new Northwestern University study.

8 Apr 2025