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.

Simple lifestyle changes may improve cognitive function and brain efficiency

A UCLA research study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that people may be able to improve their cognitive function and brain efficiency by making simple lifestyle changes such as incorporating memory exercises, healthy eating, physical fitness and stress reduction into their daily lives.

23 May 2006

First signs of Alzheimer's and dementia may be physical ones

According to a joint study between the Group Health Cooperative and the University of Washington, the very first signs of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, may well be physical, rather than mental.

23 May 2006

Researchers identify target of the widely prescribed antidepressant Prozac

Researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island have identified which among several different kinds of cells in the brain is the chief target of the widely prescribed antidepressant Prozac.

23 May 2006

Well-functioning lungs reduce risk of dementia

A middle-aged woman with well-functioning lungs runs less risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

17 May 2006

Taking astrocytes seriously

By blowing gentle puffs of air onto a mouse's whiskers and watching how its brain reacts, scientists are discovering that a long-overlooked signaling system in the brain is crucial to our everyday activity.

17 May 2006

Improving care for Alzheimer disease sufferers

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia represent a major challenge in the care of older adults with Alzheimer disease.

12 May 2006

Neurons can produce Alzheimer's-linked apolipoprotein E

A question long debated among Alzheimer's disease researchers has been definitively answered by scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease in San Francisco.

10 May 2006

Neuren granted US patent for NNZ-2566

Neuren Pharmaceuticals has announced that its patent application entitled "GPE Analogs and Peptidomimetics" (PCT/US02/16361) has been issued in the United States (US Patent No: 7,041,314) on 9 May 2006.

10 May 2006

New phase-contrast microscopy developed at PSI enhances X-ray images

Imaging techniques are increasingly at the forefront of progress in science and technology.

10 May 2006

Autopsy study of mild cognitive impairment

A study led by Mayo Clinic demonstrates that mild cognitive impairment, a memory disorder considered a strong early predictor of Alzheimer's disease, not only results in behavioral symptoms, but also structural changes that can be identified in the brain. Findings will be published in the May issue of Archives of Neurology.

9 May 2006

Brain scan could reveal who will get Alzheimer's disease

According to researchers in California, a brain scan may possibly identify structural and metabolic brain changes that predict dementia or cognitive decline in normal older adults.

3 May 2006

Potentially powerful tool for designing novel Alzheimer's treatments

Researchers have identified a protein that reins in the rogue activity of the molecules that make the amyloid-beta protein--which may prevent normal brain function in people with Alzheimer's disease. Their findings reveal a potentially powerful tool for designing novel Alzheimer's treatments.

3 May 2006

Possible target for future therapies aimed at delaying or stopping Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Neurological Sciences Institute (NSI) have located a possible target for future therapies aimed at delaying or stopping Alzheimer's disease.

2 May 2006

Blood clots in the brain linked to Alzheimer's and dementia

According to researchers, from the University of Manchester, UK, spontaneous blood clots are significantly associated with both Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia.

From The University of Manchester 1 May 2006

Amyloid protein content in the brain linked to Alzheimer's disease risk

Researchers from the Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB) connected to the University of Antwerp are the first to show that the quantity of amyloid protein in brain cells is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Amyloid protein has already been known to be the primary component of the senile plaques in the brains of patients. The new discovery demonstrates that the greater the quantity of the protein that is produced, the younger the dementia patient is.

28 Apr 2006

Friends and family can protect against Alzheimer's disease

Having close friends and staying in contact with family members offers a protective effect against the damaging effects of Alzheimer's disease according to research by physicians at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The study, which is currently posted online in The Lancet Neurology, will be published in the May print edition of the journal.

26 Apr 2006

Study into whether folic acid and other B vitamins can help slow dementia

The world's largest ever study into a possible link between B vitamins and Alzheimer's disease is to be based at Oxford University.

20 Apr 2006

Promising treatment for Huntington's disease soon to be tested clinically

At the Institut Curie, CNRS and Inserm researchers have shown that cysteamine, which is already used to treat a rare disease called cystinosis, prevents the death of neurons in Huntington's disease. Like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Huntington's disease, is characterized by the abnormal death of neurons.

19 Apr 2006

Less chance of Alzheimer's when you follow a Mediterranean diet

Researchers in the U.S. say that eating a typical Mediterranean diet with lots of fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals, some fish and alcohol, and little dairy and meat helps prevent Alzheimer's disease.

18 Apr 2006

Mediterranean diet reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease

Americans who ate a Mediterranean diet--lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals, some fish and alcohol, and little dairy and meat--had a reduced risk for Alzheimer's disease as they aged. These findings are published in the April issue of Annals of Neurology.

18 Apr 2006