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.

Arterial spin labeling distinguishes between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

A non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called arterial spin labeling is just as accurate as invasive scanning techniques in distinguishing Alzheimer's disease from frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in the brains of elderly people, according to a new study at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC).

19 Jun 2005

Early exposure to inflammatory disease multiplies Alzheimer's risk

A new study of dementia in identical twins suggests that exposure to inflammation early in life quadruples one's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

19 Jun 2005

Pioneering new technology helps ease dementia

In a remarkable enterprise psychologists at St Andrews University, computer experts at Dundee University, and researchers at the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art in Dundee, have collaborated to produce a "memory jukebox".

16 Jun 2005

First demonstration of a vaccine for Parkinson's

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine working with scientists at Elan Pharmaceuticals, have reported promising results in mice of a vaccine approach to treating Parkinson’s and similar diseases. These results appear in the June edition of the journal Neuron.

15 Jun 2005

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. One variant increases risk and the other decreases risk with a similar effect in whites, African-Americans, diabetic and non-diabetic individuals.

14 Jun 2005

Researchers explain how ubiquitin function is determined

University of Maryland researchers have explained, for the first time, why the linkage between the cell-regulating protein molecules called ubiquitins determines their function.

10 Jun 2005

Findings could lead to a new approach in diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s disease

The human body has its own defense against brain aging: the innate immune system, which helps to clean the brain of amyloid-beta waste products. However, UCLA researchers discovered that some patients with Alzheimer’s disease have an immune defect making it difficult to clean away these wastes.

From MP Biomedicals, LLC 10 Jun 2005

Experimental drug works best in combination with older remedy for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

An experimental drug combined with an already-popular memory-enhancing compound may further delay memory loss in patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, Johns Hopkins University scientists, in collaboration with researchers from University of North Carolina, have found.

9 Jun 2005

Research opens up new directions for studying prion diseases in humans

The mysterious, highly infectious prions, which cause the severe destruction of the brain that characterizes "mad cow disease" and several human brain degenerative disorders, can be rendered harmless in the laboratory by a slight alternation of the three-dimensional conformation or shape of the prion protein's structure.

9 Jun 2005

Fundamental insights in how amyloid fibers form

Amyloid fibers are best known as the plaque that gunks up neurons in people with neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer's and Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease--the human analog of mad cow disease.

9 Jun 2005

Discovery of molecular mechanism that seems to play an important role in Alzheimer's disease

An international team of chemists and molecular biologists has discovered a fundamental molecular mechanism that seems to play an important role in Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, mad cow disease and two-dozen other degenerative and fatal diseases.

8 Jun 2005

Canada's first two human embryonic stem cell lines

A senior scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital has developed Canada's first two human embryonic stem cell lines, giving researchers across the country new potential and hope for eventually discovering treatments and cures for many chronic and fatal diseases.

8 Jun 2005

New dopamine transporter gene findings may be relevant for substance abuse, tobacco smoking, and ADHD

Confirming findings in a previous study, Yale researchers observed an altered availability of the dopamine transporter in healthy persons with a genetic variation linked to substance abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

6 Jun 2005

Grandma was right an apple a day, if its a red one, keeps the doctor away

Scientists say there may be more truth in the old wives tale that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, than was initially credited.

6 Jun 2005

Novel insights into how prion and other neurodegenerative diseases develop

Abnormal prion proteins are little understood disease agents involved in causing horrific brain-wasting diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease in people, mad cow disease in cattle and chronic wasting disease in deer and elk.

3 Jun 2005

New research shows that threatened drug treatments slow damage to the brain caused by dementia

New research suggests that currently available anti dementia drugs not only alleviate the symptoms, but also reduce the destructive processes that kill brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease.

2 Jun 2005

Ageing and Health publication by the Medical Research Council highlights groundbreaking work on the ageing process

With life expectancy increasing worldwide, a new 'Ageing and Health' (PDF) publication by the Medical Research Council (MRC) highlights groundbreaking work on the ageing process, which could help elderly people not only live longer, but also lead healthier and happier lives.

2 Jun 2005

Interconnections between different parts of the brain are dynamic and not static

Using a newly released method to analyze functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Northwestern University researchers have demonstrated that the interconnections between different parts of the brain are dynamic and not static.

1 Jun 2005

New clue to understanding how fatty acids work in the brain

Scientists in Cambridge have discovered that a brain protein called syntaxin enables fatty molecules, used widely in health supplements, to work in the brain to make it function properly. Lead Scientist, Dr Bazbek Davletov and his colleague Dr Colin Rickman from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK report their findings in the journal Chemistry and Biology.

1 Jun 2005

Young adults forget their own life-support decisions

More than half of young adults soon unwittingly change their minds about decisions they make governing future life-saving medical treatment for themselves, a new study has found.

30 May 2005

Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

Further Reading

Arterial spin labeling distinguishes between Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia

Early exposure to inflammatory disease multiplies Alzheimer's risk

Pioneering new technology helps ease dementia

First demonstration of a vaccine for Parkinson's

Two common gene variations are associated with the risk for developing chronic kidney disease

Researchers explain how ubiquitin function is determined

Findings could lead to a new approach in diagnosing and treating Alzheimer’s disease

Experimental drug works best in combination with older remedy for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias

Research opens up new directions for studying prion diseases in humans

Fundamental insights in how amyloid fibers form

Discovery of molecular mechanism that seems to play an important role in Alzheimer's disease

Canada's first two human embryonic stem cell lines

New dopamine transporter gene findings may be relevant for substance abuse, tobacco smoking, and ADHD

Grandma was right an apple a day, if its a red one, keeps the doctor away

Novel insights into how prion and other neurodegenerative diseases develop

New research shows that threatened drug treatments slow damage to the brain caused by dementia

Ageing and Health publication by the Medical Research Council highlights groundbreaking work on the ageing process

Interconnections between different parts of the brain are dynamic and not static

New clue to understanding how fatty acids work in the brain

Young adults forget their own life-support decisions

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