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.

Healthy lifestyles linked to younger brains

Using an AI tool, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have analyzed brain images from 70-year-olds and estimated their brains' biological age.

20 Dec 2024

Drinking more coffee linked to reduced cognitive decline in people with atrial fibrillation

Drinking multiple cups of coffee a day may help prevent cognitive decline in people with atrial fibrillation (AFib or AF), according to new research published on Dec. 14, 2024 in the Journal of the American Heart Association, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal of the American Heart Association.

19 Dec 2024

Vanderbilt researchers achieve milestone in Alzheimer's drug development

Researchers at the Warren Center for Neuroscience Drug Discovery, a clinical stage biotech within the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Basic Sciences, have detailed the successful drug discovery of a phase I single ascending dose clinical trial of VU319, a drug for memory loss in people with Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia.

19 Dec 2024

Chronic gut infection may play role in Alzheimer’s disease progression

Arizona State University and Banner Alzheimer's Institute researchers, along with their collaborators, have discovered a surprising link between a chronic gut infection caused by a common virus and the development of Alzheimer's disease in a subset of people.

19 Dec 2024

Miniature VR headsets unlock insights into spatial memory and brain disorders

In recent years, mice have entered a new arena – virtual reality – and now Cornell University researchers have built mini VR headsets to more fully immerse them.

19 Dec 2024

Structural sexism may accelerate memory decline in women

Women born in the most sexist U.S. states experience faster memory decline in later years compared to women born in the least sexist states, a new study by researchers at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons has found.

18 Dec 2024

Taxi and ambulance drivers show reduced Alzheimer’s mortality

Taxi drivers and ambulance drivers, whose jobs require frequent spatial and navigational processing, have the lowest levels of death due to Alzheimer's disease compared with other occupations, finds a study in the Christmas issue of The BMJ.

18 Dec 2024

Heat waves pose unique threats to people with Parkinson's and dementia

As 2024 is set to end as Earth's hottest year on record – breaking the previous record set in 2023– a UCLA Health researcher says people living with neurodegenerative diseases will be uniquely vulnerable to worsening heat waves because of a higher risk of heat-related complications.

17 Dec 2024

Researchers receive NIH grant to study dementia caused by cerebral small vessel disease

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have been awarded $7.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to investigate a form of dementia caused by cerebral small vessel disease, the second-leading cause of dementia after Alzheimer's disease.

17 Dec 2024

Driving occupations could lead to lower rates of death from Alzheimer's disease

A new study raises the possibility that jobs that require frequent spatial processing - such as figuring out a taxi route or the best way to navigate to a hospital - could lead to lower rates of death from Alzheimer's disease.

17 Dec 2024

Promising ultrasound therapy for Alzheimer's disease licensed to new start-up

A promising ultrasound therapy to potentially restore brain function in people with Alzheimer's disease has been licenced to a new start-up spun out of The University of Queensland.

16 Dec 2024

Breathing rhythms coordinate brain waves to strengthen memory during sleep

Just as a conductor coordinates different instruments in an orchestra to produce a symphony, breathing coordinates hippocampal brain waves to strengthen memory while we sleep, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

16 Dec 2024

TTUHSC researcher to uncover mechanisms that regulate gene expression in Alzheimer's disease

More than six million Americans are affected by Alzheimer's disease, a form of dementia marked by accumulation of amyloid-β within the brain. Amyloid-β is a relatively small protein that forms toxic plaques in the brain contributing to the harmful effects of Alzheimer's disease.

14 Dec 2024

New funding for innovative dementia vaccine research

Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia are devastating disorders that emerge following the buildup of misfolded proteins in the brain.

13 Dec 2024

Portable MRI and AI improve Alzheimer’s diagnosis with cost-effective precision

Researchers optimized portable low-field MRI with machine learning to improve brain morphometry and white matter hyperintensity detection, making Alzheimer's diagnosis more accessible and cost-effective.

12 Dec 2024

Common brain network connected to heterogeneous patterns of brain atrophy in schizophrenia

A new study led by investigators from Mass General Brigham has identified a unique brain network that links varied patterns of brain atrophy, or shrinkage, associated with schizophrenia.

12 Dec 2024

Penn-led consortium to advance imaging of brain diseases

A Penn Medicine-led consortium of radiology and chemistry researchers across the United States will advance imaging of diseases like Parkinson's by testing radiotracers they identified that illuminate α-synuclein (αSyn) or 4R tau proteins on positron emission tomography (PET) scans.

11 Dec 2024

Blood pressure fluctuations linked to problems with thinking and memory skills

Older adults whose blood pressure fluctuates over time may be more likely to have problems with thinking and memory skills, according to a study published in the December 11, 2024, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

11 Dec 2024

Mouse study links glyphosate to Alzheimer's-like brain changes and anxiety

Glyphosate exposure in mice exacerbates Alzheimer's-like neuropathologies, increases neuroinflammation, and leaves lasting effects, even after prolonged recovery.

9 Dec 2024

X-chromosome study reveals hidden genetic links to Alzheimer’s disease

A groundbreaking study explores the overlooked X-chromosome’s role in Alzheimer’s disease, revealing seven genetic loci linked to neurodegenerative decline and cognitive reserve.

9 Dec 2024