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.

Early results from Alzheimer's neuroimaging studies could speed research

Disease researchers may be able to reduce the time and expense associated with clinical trials, according to early results from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), a public-private research partnership organized by the National Institutes of Health.

14 Jun 2007

Easily distressed people more likely to develop memory problems

People who are easily distressed and have more negative emotions are more likely to develop memory problems than more easygoing people, according to a study published in the June 12, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

14 Jun 2007

Continuous positive airway pressure improves sleep in patients with both Alzheimer's and a sleep-related breathing disorder

Patients with both Alzheimer disease and a sleep-related breathing disorder (SRBD) experience disrupted sleep, resulting in increased nocturnal awakenings and a decreased percentage of REM sleep.

14 Jun 2007

Gamma-secretase acts as a tumor suppressor

Researchers at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham) have provided the first evidence that gamma-secretase, an enzyme key to the progression of Alzheimer's, acts as a tumor suppressor by altering the pathway of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a potential treatment target for cancer.

14 Jun 2007

Global prevalence of Alzheimer's disease will grow to 106 million by 2050

More than 26 million people worldwide were estimated to be living with Alzheimer's disease in 2006, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

14 Jun 2007

Distress and negative emotions lead to memory problems

According to the latest research people who are easily distressed and have more negative emotions are more likely to develop memory problems than more easygoing types.

12 Jun 2007

Alzheimer's predicted to affect 106 million by 2050

Researchers in the United States say by the year 2050, globally more than 100 million people will be suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

11 Jun 2007

Researchers discover how strokes trigger biochemical events that increase amyloid-beta production in the brain

Researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disorders (MGH-MIND) have discovered how the death of brain cells caused by a stroke or head injury may cause generation of amyloid-beta protein ? the key component of senile plaques seen in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jun 2007

Funding to upgrade stem cell research facilities at UC San Diego

The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Human Stem Cell Core Facility, which supports multiple research projects using stem cells to advance the understanding and ultimately the treatment of disease and injury, will receive a $2.8 million Shared Research Laboratory Grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

8 Jun 2007

Gene found that increases risk for Alzheimer's disease

A study comparing more genetic markers in the DNA of people with and without Alzheimer's disease than ever before has enabled researchers to identify a common gene that appears to increase a person's risk for developing Alzheimer's disease.

8 Jun 2007

Strokes role in Alzheimer's disease

Researchers have discovered key details of how stroke or traumatic brain injury can trigger Alzheimer's disease (AD) by enhancing formation of brain-clogging amyloid plaques.

8 Jun 2007

Congress urged to cover home infusion therapy for Medicare beneficiaries

The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) is urging Congress to support the Medicare Home Infusion Therapy Coverage Act of 2007 (H.R. 2567), bipartisan legislation introduced yesterday by Reps.

8 Jun 2007

New gene influences susceptibility to late-onset Alzheimer's disease

A new gene that influences susceptibility to late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) has been identified by an international research team that analyzed the genomes of more than a thousand people with and without the disorder.

8 Jun 2007

Researchers track how spores break out of dormant state

Tapping into the unknown world of awakening dormant bacterial spores, researchers have revealed through atomic force microscopy (AFM) the alterations of spore coat and germ cell wall that accompany the transformation from a spore to a vegetative cell.

5 Jun 2007

What the brain does while idle

Indiana University neuroscientists Olaf Sporns and Christopher Honey find the 98 percent of brain activity that other researchers consider just background noise to be fascinating and important.

5 Jun 2007

Blocking stress protein decreases Alzheimer's peptide

Scientists revealed in November 2006 that stress increases production in mice of a brain peptide critical to Alzheimer's disease.

5 Jun 2007

What causes Alzheimer's disease?

Researchers tied the accumulation of the toxic brain protein beta-amyloid to Alzheimer's disease, according to a study reported at the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals.

5 Jun 2007

Stroke victims could be more vulnerable to Alzheimer's

University of Leeds scientists have shown how stroke victims could be more vulnerable to Alzheimer's disease – years or even decades after making a full recovery.

5 Jun 2007

AMPAKINE drugs may provide protection from drug-induced respiratory depression

Drug-induced respiratory depression is a life-threatening condition caused by analgesic, hypnotic, and anesthesia medications.

5 Jun 2007

World's first PET/MR images of the human brain

The world's first PET/MR images of the human brain, taken simultaneously by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and magnetic resonance (MR), debuted during the 54th Annual Meeting of SNM, the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals, June 2-6 in Washington, D.C.

From Siemens Healthineers 5 Jun 2007