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.

Less education may lead to delayed awareness of Alzheimer's onset

A review of epidemiological data has found evidence that people who spend fewer years in school may experience a slight but statistically significant delay in the realization that they're having cognitive problems that could be Alzheimer's disease.

24 Jan 2008

Driving proves potentially hazardous for people with early Alzheimer's

A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University finds that people with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) experienced more accidents and performed more poorly on road tests compared to drivers without cognitive impairment.

24 Jan 2008

New method for measuring protein synthesis

In a major breakthrough for future research and drug development, a team of Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute (LA BioMed) investigators developed a new, more reliable method for measuring protein synthesis and turnover, processes that are critical to understanding cellular functions.

23 Jan 2008

Dark-field X-rays give more revealing images of body tissue

A new method of using standard X-ray equipment gives scientists more revealing images of body tissue.

23 Jan 2008

Dark-field x-ray images sharpen medical imaging

Researchers at the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and the EPFL in Switzerland have developed a novel method for producing dark-field x-ray images at wavelengths used in typical medical and industrial imaging equipment.

21 Jan 2008

British scientists given go-ahead for human-animal embryo research

Scientists in Britain have been given the go-ahead to create human-animal hybrid embryos for research.

20 Jan 2008

Arthritis drug Etanercept clears up symptoms of psoriasis

New research from the United States has found that a drug commonly used to treat arthritis significantly reduces the symptoms of psoriasis in children.

20 Jan 2008

Diet and lifestyle critical to recovery

Diet and lifestyle may play a much more significant role in a person's ability to respond favourably to certain drugs, including some cancer therapies, than previously understood, say scientists.

From The University of Manchester 18 Jan 2008

Alzheimer's molecule is a smart speed bump on the nerve-cell transport highway

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine discovered that proteins carrying chemical cargo in nerve cells react differently when exposed to the tau protein, which plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease.

18 Jan 2008

Altering brain's lipid metabolism reduces Alzheimer's plaques in mice

Increasing levels of a protein that helps the brain use cholesterol may slow the development of Alzheimer's disease changes in the brain, according to researchers studying a mouse model of the disease at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

18 Jan 2008

New device quickly detects early Alzheimer's

The latest medications can delay the onset of Alzheimer's disease, but none are able to reverse its devastating effects.

17 Jan 2008

New clues about BRCA1 role in breast cancer

A breast cancer gene's newly discovered role in repairing damaged DNA may help explain why women who inherit a mutated copy of the gene are at increased risk for developing both breast and ovarian cancer.

17 Jan 2008

Statins may not prevent Alzheimer's disease

Contrary to some reports, taking statins, which are cholesterol-lowering drugs, offers no protection against Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in the January 16, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 Jan 2008

Etanercept drug reverses early symptoms of Alzheimer's in 10 minutes

Scientists in the U.S. say a drug which can reverse some of the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease takes effect within 10 minutes.

14 Jan 2008

New method to identify genetic determinants of Alzheimer's

A rapid and accurate DHPLC assay for determination of apolipoprotein E genotypes has been developed by researchers from the Department of Medical Genetics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China.

14 Jan 2008

Memantine and Alzheimer's

In a study published this month in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, researchers from the University of Aberdeen report that the drug memantine, used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and praised as "the first and only representative of a new class of Alzheimer drugs" works in fact similar to other existing compounds, and is beneficial only in a narrow concentration range.

14 Jan 2008