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.

Hopkins researchers discover new link to schizophrenia

Neuroscientists at Johns Hopkins have discovered that mice lacking an enzyme that contributes to Alzheimer disease exhibit a number of schizophrenia-like behaviors. The finding raises the possibility that this enzyme may participate in the development of schizophrenia and related psychiatric disorders and therefore may provide a new target for developing therapies.

8 May 2008

Enkephalin pathway shows potential as new target for Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an incurable disease that is increasing in prevalence and will increase even more rapidly as the Baby Boom generation enters the age of highest risk. The available AD drugs are only partially effective in some patients. New strategies are urgently needed.

7 May 2008

Obesity may increase adults' risk for having dementia

Their analysis of published obesity and dementia prospective follow-up studies over the past two decades shows a consistent relationship between the two diseases. The results are published by The International Association for the Study of Obesity in the May, 2008 issue of Obesity Reviews.

7 May 2008

Obesity can increase dementia risk by up to 80 per cent - people who are underweight also face an elevated risk

Being obese can increase the risk of Alzheimer's Disease by as much as 80 per cent, according to a study in the May issue of the UK-based journal Obesity Reviews.

7 May 2008

Patent claims allowed covering Samaritan's Alzheimer's memory recovery drug in Australia

Samaritan Pharmaceuticals, a biopharmaceutical company committed to commercializing new innovative therapeutic drugs, has received notification that the claims in the patent application for "Neuroprotective Spirostenol Pharmaceutical Compositions" covering Caprospinol (SP-233) have been allowed by the Australian Patent Office.

6 May 2008

Ibuprofen found to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's

A large study by scientists in the U.S. has revealed that the long-term use of ibuprofen may reduce the risk of a person developing Alzheimer's disease.

6 May 2008

Prana Biotechnology has discovered novel drug candidates for use in Parkinson's disease

Prana Biotechnology Limited has announced that it has identified novel therapeutic drug candidates from its Parkinson's disease program. Already, a lead candidate drug has demonstrated positive effects in pre-clinical studies, protecting the brain from damage to the substantia nigra, the area of the brain affected in Parkinson's disease.

6 May 2008

Short arms and legs could mean greater dementia risk

People with shorter arms and legs may be at a higher risk for developing dementia later in life compared to people with longer arms and legs, according to a study published in the May 6, 2008, bonus issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

5 May 2008

Ibuprofen linked to lower risk of Alzheimer's

Long-term use of ibuprofen and other drugs commonly used for aches and pains was associated with a lower risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published in the May 6, 2008, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Previous studies have shown conflicting results, but this is the longest study of its kind.

5 May 2008

Breakthrough compound could lead to new class of antihypertensive drugs

University of Florida researchers have identified a drug compound that dramatically lowers blood pressure, improves heart function and - in a remarkable finding - prevents damage to the heart and kidneys in rats with persistent hypertension

1 May 2008

Alzheimer's disease risk differs between the sexes

The risks of developing Alzheimer's disease differ between the sexes, with stroke in men, and depression in women, critical factors, suggests research published ahead of print in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry.

30 Apr 2008

Alzheimer's and diabetes link

Diabetic individuals have a significantly higher risk of developing Alzheimer's disease but the molecular connection between the two remains unexplained. Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies identified the probable molecular basis for the diabetes - Alzheimer's interaction.

30 Apr 2008

New drug discovery tool for Alzheimer's disease

An article published in the April issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease presents a detailed characterization of a new drug discovery tool for Alzheimer's disease.

28 Apr 2008

Scientists explore brain's reaction to potent hallucinogen

Brain-imaging studies performed in animals at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory provide researchers with clues about why an increasingly popular recreational drug that causes hallucinations and motor-function impairment in humans is abused.

28 Apr 2008

Study looks at anesthetic desflurane and Alzheimer's

In studies of human brain cells, the widely-used anesthetic desflurane does not contribute to increased production of amyloid-beta protein; however, when combined with low oxygen conditions, it can produce more of this Alzheimer's associated protein.

27 Apr 2008

New insight into how the nervous system processes sensory information

The Stowers Institute's Yu Lab has published the results of large-scale imaging experiments examining how social signals are represented in the sensory system.

24 Apr 2008

FDA approves Relistor for opioid-induced constipation - helps reduce effects of drugs like morphine on bowel function

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Relistor (methylnaltrexone bromide) to help restore bowel function in patients with late-stage, advanced illness who are receiving opioids on a continuous basis to help alleviate their pain.

24 Apr 2008

New discovery on how memory is stored

Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine are the first to show that the location of protein-destroying "machines" in nerve cells in the brain may play an important role in how memories are formed - a finding with potential implications for treating Alzheimer's and other brain diseases. The research is published in the current issue of Learning & Memory.

23 Apr 2008

Major step forward in understanding how memory works

Our ability to remember the objects, places and people within our environment is essential for everyday life, although the importance of this is only fully appreciated when recognition memory beings to fail, as in Alzheimer's disease.

23 Apr 2008

Pin1 is beneficial in Alzheimer's disease, detrimental to some forms of dementia

The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and a relatively rare hereditary form of dementia, frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17, share a common pathology: Both are the result of an overaccumulation of tau proteins, which form tangled lesions in the brain's neurons and eventually lead to the collapse of the brain cells responsible for memory.

22 Apr 2008