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.

Research sheds light on memory by erasing it

For years, scientists have studied the molecular basis of memory storage, trying to find the molecules that store memory, just as DNA stores genetic memory.

9 May 2007

Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes similar at the molecular level

Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, the human version of mad cow disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), and other degenerative diseases are more closely related at the molecular level than many scientists realized, an international team of researchers, including an ESRF researcher, report in the journal Nature.

8 May 2007

Brain scans of people with mild cognitive impairment show signs of early Alzheimer's disease

For the study, PET scans were performed on the brains of 13 elderly men and women with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 14 elderly people without memory problems.

8 May 2007

Hypertension drugs offer a double whammy

Researchers at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in the U.S. suggest that some medications taken for high blood pressure may have other uses.

7 May 2007

"Cup of joe" found to have more health benefits

According to a new study drinking coffee may offer protection from type 2 diabetes and some types of cancer.

7 May 2007

Reducing levels of the protein tau can prevent seizures and neurological deficits related to Alzheimer's disease

The findings, reported in the journal Science, demonstrate that when tau is removed from mice genetically engineered to simulate Alzheimer's disease, their memory function is retained and they live a normal lifespan. Reducing tau levels also made mice more resistant to epileptic seizures.

4 May 2007

Phase III data on Safinamide in Parkinson's disease

Merck Serono S.A. has announced that Phase III data on safinamide, a new agent in Phase III development for the treatment of Parkinson's disease symptoms, were presented by Professor Fabrizio Stocchi at the American Academy of Neurology 59th Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

4 May 2007

Scientists film pairs of molecules during recognition process

The body is an almost perfect machine. For it to function properly, each individual component, that is each molecule, must reliably fulfill its specific function. Each molecule must thus "recognize" other molecules and work with them.

4 May 2007

Women who use estrogen hormone therapy before 65 reduce likelihood of Alzheimer's or dementia

Women who use hormone therapy before the age of 65 could cut their risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or dementia.

4 May 2007

Just to confuse you even more - HRT now linked to Alzheimer's!

To add to the utter confusion many women are feeling with regard to Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), new research is now suggesting HRT may reduce a woman's risk of Alzheimer's disease.

3 May 2007

Seniors are being stereotyped as grouchy

A study of caregivers of Alzheimer's patients and non-caregivers done by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada revealed that seniors are being stereotyped as grouchy, inflexible to change, and mostly living in nursing homes, when the opposite is true.

2 May 2007

New compounds show potential for cognitive disorders

UC Irvine researchers have identified a new class of compounds that could be used for drugs to treat cognitive disorders that accompany schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease and ADHD, according to an article published today in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

2 May 2007

Lawmakers have proposed 'witch's brew' of biotech bills

Lawmakers in recent months "have stirred up a witch's brew of initiatives that is cause for some concern -- not only for the biotech industry, but for all Americans," James Mullen, president and CEO of Biogen and chair of the Biotechnology Industry Organization, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

1 May 2007

Simvastatin may help sufferers with Alzheimer's

Treatment with Simvastatin, one of the statin drugs widely used for lowering cholesterol in humans, significantly improved spatial memory - how to navigate a water maze - in mice genetically bred to have an Alzheimer's like disease.

1 May 2007

Moderate coffee drinking reduces many risks

Although the American Society for Nutrition's popular ,controversy session, at Experimental Biology 2007 focuses on the health effects of coffee drinking, panel chair Dr. James Coughlin, a toxicology/safety consultant at Coughlin & Associates, says that recent advances in epidemiologic and experimental knowledge have transformed many of the negative health myths about coffee drinking into validated health benefits.

1 May 2007

Fish oil may help people with chronic kidney disease

Fish oil, it's been touted as an answer to Alzheimers, arthritis and even weight-loss but now a Queensland University of Technology researcher will test its health benefits in people with chronic kidney disease.

1 May 2007

Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, type 2 diabetes are more closely related at the molecular level than scientists realized

Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes, the human version of mad cow disease, and other degenerative diseases are more closely related at the molecular level than scientists realized, a team reports this week in an advanced online publication of the journal Nature.

1 May 2007

Environment rich in sensory stimuli restores memory in mice with neurodegeneration

Mice whose brains had lost a large number of neurons due to neurodegeneration regained long-term memories and the ability to learn after their surroundings were enriched with toys and other sensory stimuli, according to new studies by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers.

30 Apr 2007

Keeping the mind busy and occupied restores memories lost to dementia

Scientists in the U.S. believe that mental stimulation along with drug therapy may help people with diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia regain some of their lost memories.

30 Apr 2007

Scientists identify key mechanism for successfully transplanting tissue into the adult central nervous system

Scientists at the Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, have identified a key mechanism for successfully transplanting tissue into the adult central nervous system.

27 Apr 2007