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.

Coffee reduces prostate cancer risk

In the 20-year study of almost 50,000 men, researchers noted that those who drank at least six cups a day were 20 per cent less likely to get prostate cancer than those who never took coffee. Strikingly, they were 60 per cent less likely than the non-coffee drinkers to die of the disease. The researchers also say that decaffeinated coffee is just as effective.

17 May 2011

First Edition: May 17, 2011

Reporting for Kaiser Health News, in collaboration with The Washington Post, Guy Gugliotta writes: "Minnesota state Rep. Steve Gottwalt, a three-term Republican with 10 years experience in the health care industry, is no fan of last year's health care law -- or its requirement that states set up insurance exchanges. But as chairman of the Health and Human Services Reform Committee, he decided he needed to weigh in on the exchange.

17 May 2011

PGT, Quintiles collaborate to bring genomic testing into mainstream drug development

Quintiles, the world's leading biopharmaceutical services company, and Population Genetics Technologies Ltd., creator of innovative solutions to reduce the costs and complexity of large-scale genomic testing and enable correlations with clinical outcomes, today announced a commercial collaboration to bring genomic testing into mainstream drug development in order to produce safer, more effective medicines.

17 May 2011

Early stages of Alzheimer’s difficult to detect: Study

According to a new study, more than half of people who develop Alzheimer's disease before the age of 60 are initially misdiagnosed as having other kinds of brain disease when they do not have memory problems. The research is published in the May 17, 2011, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 May 2011

New York Academy of Sciences and Zeltia to host marine drug discovery forum on May 20, 2011

Substances produced by living organisms found in nature-so-called "natural products"-have played a critical role in the development of drugs for life-threatening conditions. The anticancer agent Taxol was sourced from a plant, penicillin from a fungus, and a number of recent breakthroughs have resulted in the development and approval of anticancer drugs derived from marine sources such as coral and sponges.

16 May 2011

Alzheimer's Association commends U.S. House Representatives for new legislation

As the leading advocacy, research and support organization for Alzheimer's disease, the Alzheimer's Association commends Representatives Christopher Smith and Edward Markey for their leadership in introducing the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act (H.R.1897) in the U.S. House of Representatives.

16 May 2011

Scientists discover new class of compounds that selectively block 'serine hydrolases'

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have identified a class of compounds that could be a boon to basic research and drug discovery.

16 May 2011

Researchers uncover unexpected role of estrogen receptors in brain inflammation

Researchers have uncovered an unexpected role for estrogen receptors in the brain in keeping inflammation under control. The findings reported in the May 13 issue of the Cell Press journal Cell may have important implications for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS) and many other neurodegenerative diseases.

13 May 2011

UCSD scientists discover steroid hormone that inhibits brain inflammation

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a steroid hormone that inhibits inflammation in the brain. The findings, to be published in the May 13 issue of the journal Cell, have implications for understanding the exaggerated inflammatory responses that are characteristic features of numerous neurodegenerative diseases.

13 May 2011

New method for mapping myelin sheaths of nerve cells

Researchers including members from the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have developed a new method for making detailed X-ray images of brain cells.

13 May 2011

Copper intake linked to increased probability of developing Alzheimer's disease

Researchers at Banner Sun Health Research Institute has found further evidence linking copper to the increased probability of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the current issue of the International Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 2011, Article ID 987023.

12 May 2011

Conference to discuss process of synaptic plasticity in Alzheimer's disease

Optimal functioning of neural networks is critical to the complex cognitive processes of memory, language, emotion and reasoning that deteriorate in people suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

12 May 2011

Naurex announces completion of $18 million Series A financing

Naurex Inc., a clinical-stage company developing innovative treatments to address unmet needs in psychiatry and neurology, today announced the completion of an $18 million Series A financing led by Adams Street Partners and Latterell Venture Partners.

11 May 2011

Researchers identify mitochondrial proteins that can affect human ageing

Mitochondria are the body's energy producers, the power stations inside our cells. Researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have now identified a group of mitochondrial proteins, the absence of which allows other protein groups to stabilise the genome. This could delay the onset of age-related diseases and increase lifespan.

10 May 2011

UH chemist receives prestigious Sloan award for next-generation computer memory

Investigating the building blocks for next-generation computer memory has earned a University of Houston chemist his third Tier One research award.

10 May 2011

HFA develops free 'Alzheimer's Disease and Hospice Care' online webinar

The Hospice Foundation of America has developed "Alzheimer's Disease and Hospice Care," a free online webinar that examines how hospice care can support patients and families coping with end-stage Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

10 May 2011

EAS receives NIH grant to continue Alzheimer's disease research

An estimated five million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. Health experts expect the number of cases to rise dramatically as the population ages - reaching 13.5 million by 2050.

10 May 2011

New international project to create more mutant genes, address shortage of Cre resources

Local scientists are now part of an International team compiling an enormous bank of resources for research into the functions of all known genes. The development of these biological resources will eventually allow scientists to know how the human genome behaves in health and disease.

9 May 2011

Mithridion's MCD-386CR receives Orphan Drug designation from FDA for PSP treatment

Mithridion, Inc., a privately-owned clinical stage drug development company focusing on serious Central Nervous System disorders, announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has awarded Orphan Drug designation for MCD-386CR, its lead drug candidate, for the treatment of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.

9 May 2011

New rules regarding hospice stays respond to patients with unpredictable illnesses like Alzheimer's and heart failure

New government rules — enforcement kicked in last month — require hospices to send doctors or nurse practitioners for face-to-face visits with Medicare patients who have been on hospice more than six months to certify that the patients are really sick enough to need the program.

6 May 2011