Frontotemporal Dementia News and Research

RSS

Autophagy disruption may be at the root of early cognitive changes in Huntington’s disease

Huntington's Disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative condition characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms, and motor symptoms are often preceded by cognitive changes.

15 Jul 2021

New blood test for improved frontotemporal dementia diagnostics

A new study by researchers at the University of Eastern Finland shows for the first time that blood-based measurement of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) enables distinguishing patients with frontotemporal dementia from those with primary psychiatric disorders or healthy individuals.

6 Jul 2021

Promising preclinical results of new dementia treatment candidate set the stage for human trials

Researchers have identified a new treatment candidate that appears to not only halt neurodegenerative symptoms in mouse models of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, but also reverse the effects of the disorders.

29 Jun 2021

Biomarker of chronic cellular stress is associated with Huntington's disease, shows study

A new University of California, Irvine-led study finds that the persistence of a marker of chronic cellular stress, previously associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), also takes place in the brains of Huntington's disease (HD) patients.

24 Jun 2021

A single blood-based biomarker can help indicate underlying neurodegeneration

Levels of a protein called neurofilament light chain (NfL) in the blood can identify those who might have neurodegenerative diseases such as Down's syndrome dementia, motor neuron disease (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia, when clinical symptoms are not definitive

7 Jun 2021

Study reveals potential mechanism for how traumatic brain injury leads to neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists have revealed a potential mechanism for how traumatic brain injury leads to neurodegenerative diseases, according to a study in fruit flies, and rat and human brain tissue, published today in eLife.

1 Jun 2021

Aiding her dying husband, a geriatrician learns the emotional and physical toll of caregiving

The loss of a husband. The death of a sister. Taking in an elderly mother with dementia.

18 May 2021

Study examines a pathway responsible for the formation of tau tangles in the brain

Since the discovery of Alzheimer's disease over a century ago, two hallmarks of the devastating illness have taken center stage.

12 May 2021

New method shows that tau forms small aggregates as part of the body's normal physiology

It turns out that not all build-ups of tau protein are bad, and a team of researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania developed a method to show that.

6 May 2021

Trouble managing money may be an early sign of dementia

After Maria Turner's minivan was totaled in an accident a dozen years ago, she grew impatient waiting for the insurance company to process the claim.

5 May 2021

Researchers develop novel algorithm for the diagnostics of dementia

Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Oulu in collaboration with an international team have created a new diagnostic biomarker-based algorithm for the diagnostics of dementia.

30 Apr 2021

Repairing faulty drains could be key to unlocking the potential of Alzheimer's therapies

Experimental Alzheimer's drugs have shown little success in slowing declines in memory and thinking, leaving scientists searching for explanations.

29 Apr 2021

Study demonstrates profound anhedonia in people with frontotemporal dementia

People with early-onset dementia are often mistaken for having depression and now Australian research has discovered the cause: a profound loss of ability to experience pleasure - for example a delicious meal or beautiful sunset - related to degeneration of 'hedonic hotspots' in the brain where pleasure mechanisms are concentrated.

12 Apr 2021

Researchers test novel gene regulation approach to treat brain diseases

Researchers at the DZNE (Germany), at Massachusetts General Hospital (USA) and at the genomic medicine company Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. tested a novel gene regulation approach to treat brain diseases such as Alzheimer's in laboratory studies.

22 Mar 2021

Researchers unveil a neuroprotective pathway that suppresses ALS

In general, the RAN proteins are more abundant in the cell nucleus, but in patients with Lou Gehrig's disease, they begin to leak out into the cytoplasm, thereby resulting in abnormal concentration differences.

19 Mar 2021

Study demonstrates intricate relationship between Prpf19 and Exoc7 in inherited ataxias

Spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3), also known as Machado-Joseph Disease (MJD), describes the most common form of dominantly inherited ataxia in many populations worldwide, including Hong Kong and mainland China.

1 Mar 2021

Gait variability could help diagnose different types of dementia, Alzheimer's disease

Canadian researchers are the first to study how different patterns in the way older adults walk could more accurately diagnose different types of dementia and identify Alzheimer's disease.

16 Feb 2021

Researchers find mechanism underlying plasticity in adult brains

Developing brains constantly sprout new neuronal connections called synapses as they learn and remember. Important connections — the ones that are repeatedly introduced, such as how to avoid danger — are nurtured and reinforced, while connections deemed unnecessary are pruned away.

24 Dec 2020

First UK lockdown during COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted dementia care

Researchers in the United Kingdom have conducted an extensive survey exploring the impact that lockdown had on people living with low prevalence and young-onset dementias during the first wave of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

23 Dec 2020

Study finds surprising link between ALS, FTD and Huntington's disease-associated mutation

A study led by researchers at the National Institutes of Health has made a surprising connection between frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), two disorders of the nervous system, and the genetic mutation normally understood to cause Huntington's disease.

5 Dec 2020