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.

Researchers refine breast cancer identification

Not all breast cancers are the same, and not all will have fatal consequences.

27 Jan 2009

Vitamin D linked to cognitive problems in seniors

Researchers from the Peninsula Medical School, the University of Cambridge and the University of Michigan, have for the first time identified a relationship between Vitamin D, the "sunshine vitamin", and cognitive impairment in a large-scale study of older people.

23 Jan 2009

Drinking apple juice may delay onset of Alzheimer's disease

A growing body of evidence demonstrates that we can take steps to delay age-related cognitive decline, including in some cases that which accompanies Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

23 Jan 2009

Researchers identify biochemical switch required for nerve cells to respond to DNA damage

The finding, scheduled for advance online publication in Nature Cell Biology, illuminates a connection between proteins involved in neurodegenerative disease and in cells' response to DNA damage.

19 Jan 2009

Eli Lilly to pay $1.415 billion for off-label promotion of Zyprexa

American pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly and Company today agreed to plead guilty and pay $1.415 billion for promoting its drug Zyprexa for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Justice announced today.

19 Jan 2009

Study looks at public attitudes toward early detection of dementia across different health-care systems

A new study has found that in spite of their universal health care system which facilitates access to free dementia care, older adults in the United Kingdom are less willing to undergo dementia screening than their counterparts in the U.S. because the Britons perceive greater societal stigma from diagnosis of the disease than do Americans.

19 Jan 2009

DREAM gene found to be a genetic candidate for explaining old age dementia

In 2002, a group of scientists at the University of Toronto was able to identify a gene which they dubbed DREAM (downstream regulatory element antagonistic modulator).

19 Jan 2009

Most support Alzheimer's research based on family consent

By the time they have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, many patients' decision-making ability is so impaired that they cannot give informed consent to participate in research studies.

15 Jan 2009

Midlife caffeine intake lowers risk of late-life dementia

Midlife coffee drinking can decrease the risk of dementia/Alzheimer's disease (AD) later in life.

15 Jan 2009

Delusions associated with consistent pattern of brain injury

A new study provides a novel theory for how delusions arise and why they persist.

13 Jan 2009

Discovery of first gender-linked susceptibility gene for late-onset Alzheimer's disease

In the Jan. 11 online edition of Nature Genetics, they report the results of their two-stage genome-wide association study of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The research showed that women who inherited two copies of a variant in the PCDH11X gene, found on the X chromosome, are at considerably greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.

12 Jan 2009

Discovery of mechanism that may explain Parkinson's and other neurological disorders

Studying just eight families worldwide, the international team of researchers have discovered a genetic defect that results in profound depression and parkinsonism in a disorder known as Perry syndrome.

12 Jan 2009

New cataract early detection device

A compact fiber-optic probe developed for the space program has now proven valuable for patients in the clinic as the first non-invasive early detection device for cataracts, the leading cause of vision loss worldwide.

8 Jan 2009

Lasers show potential to 'zap' amyloid proteins

Researchers have found that a technique used to visualize amyloid fibers in the laboratory might have the potential to destroy them in the clinic.

7 Jan 2009

Discovery of more efficient way to create induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells

A Boston University School of Medicine-led research team has discovered a more efficient way to create induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS) cells, derived from mouse fibroblasts, by using a single virus vector instead of multiple viruses in the reprogramming process.

7 Jan 2009

Clioquinol - gastrointestinal drug could become anti-aging treatment

Recent animal studies have shown that clioquinol – an 80-year old drug once used to treat diarrhea and other gastrointestinal disorders – can reverse the progression of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases.

6 Jan 2009

New hope for leptin as a solution to obesity

The discovery more than a decade ago of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone secreted by fat tissue, generated headlines and great hopes for an effective treatment for obesity.

6 Jan 2009

Innovative brain-scan technology helps visualize brain aging before symptoms appear

UCLA scientists have used innovative brain-scan technology developed at UCLA, along with patient-specific information on Alzheimer's disease risk, to help diagnose brain aging, often before symptoms appear.

6 Jan 2009

Apolipoprotein D protects against Alzheimer's

Do Carmo and her collaborators have successfully demonstrated the protective and reparative role of apolipoprotein D, or ApoD, in neurodegenerative diseases. Their discovery suggests interesting avenues for preventing and slowing the progression of this type of illness.

6 Jan 2009

Collagen VI protects brain cells against amyloid-beta proteins

Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND), UCSF, and Stanford have discovered that a certain type of collagen, collagen VI, protects brain cells against amyloid-beta proteins, which are widely thought to cause Alzheimer's disease (AD).

5 Jan 2009