Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Dopamine improves long-term memory

The feel-good hormone dopamine improves long-term memory. This is the finding of a team lead by Emrah D-zel, neuroscientist at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases and the University of Magdeburg.

9 Nov 2012

UIC researchers develop transgenic Alzheimer's mouse with apoE4 gene

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine have developed a transgenic mouse that carries a human gene known to increase risk of Alzheimer's 15-fold. This new mouse mimics the genetics of the human disease more closely than any of the dozen existing mouse models and may prove more useful in the development of candidate drugs to prevent or treat the disease.

9 Nov 2012

Lack of vitamin D2 associated with Alzheimer's

Scientists at London's Kingston University have uncovered evidence that lack of a particular form of vitamin D is associated with Alzheimer's disease.

8 Nov 2012

Physical activity reduces dementia risk in elderly

Physical activity reduces the risk for cognitive impairment, particularly vascular dementia, in older people who have developed white matter changes, shows research.

8 Nov 2012

Pay-for-performance schemes may help save lives of NHS patients

New research into controversial pay-for-performance schemes has suggested they may help to save the lives of NHS patients.

From The University of Manchester 8 Nov 2012

Early clues regarding progression of Alzheimer's disease found in brain's metabolism

When it comes to Alzheimer's disease, scientists usually - and understandably - look to the brain as their first center of attention. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University say that early clues regarding the progression of the disease can be found in the brain's metabolism.

8 Nov 2012

ACS Prized Science video features advances in personalized medicine

Personalized medicine - the promise of customizing treatments that will work best for each individual patient - could get a boost from advances in understanding how the proteins that help determine health and disease take the three-dimensional shapes needed to work in the body. That's the message of the latest episode of the 2012 edition of a popular video series from the American Chemical Society (ACS), the world's largest scientific society.

8 Nov 2012

In silico drug design may lead to new approach in treatment of Alzheimer's

Researchers at Dalhousie University have discovered a new technique using "computer-aided" drug design that may lead to an entirely new approach in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD).

8 Nov 2012

UC Irvine researchers create new stem cell-derived cell type for treatment of Alzheimer's

UC Irvine researchers have created a new stem cell-derived cell type with unique promise for treating neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

8 Nov 2012

Researchers develop new kind of intracranial pressure sensor

An increase in cerebral pressure may cause dementia and could destroy the brain. Companies have been seeking to find monitoring sensors that can be implanted into the brain, and read from outside the body. A tiny sensor may provide the help needed.

7 Nov 2012

Any hospice better than none at end of life

Nursing home residents with advanced dementia who receive any hospice care during the last 90 days of life receive fewer aggressive treatments and are less likely to die in hospital than their counterparts who do not receive such care, show US study results.

6 Nov 2012

Studies shake up Alzheimer’s hypotheses

Two studies in people at genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease reveal very early changes in brain structure and function that may actually precede amyloid beta deposition.

6 Nov 2012

Comprehensive overview of vascular risk factors to Alzheimer's disease

Over the last 15 years, researchers have found a significant association between vascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, diabetes type 2, hyperlipidemia, and heart disease and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

6 Nov 2012

Researchers analyse hydrogen bonds in tiny fibrils of amyloid-beta peptide

Using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, researchers at Luleå University of Technology in collaboration with Warwick University in the UK for the first time in the world managed to analyse hydrogen bonds in tiny fibrils of Amyloid-beta peptide , which probably causes Alzheimer's disease.

5 Nov 2012

Treatments and outcomes vary for nursing home residents who use Medicare SNF care: Study

A Medicare rule that blocks thousands of nursing home residents from receiving simultaneous reimbursement for hospice and skilled nursing facility care at the end of life may result in those residents receiving more aggressive treatment and hospitalization, according a new analysis.

3 Nov 2012

PET scans allow scientists to study link between caffeine and neurodegenerative disorders

Molecular imaging with positron emission tomography (PET) has enabled scientists for the first time to visualize binding sites of caffeine in the living human brain to explore possible positive and negative effects of caffeine consumption.

2 Nov 2012

Longer looks: Searching for a dementia gene; The trouble with medical device patents; Blue dog Matheson's re-election quest

When it comes to preparing for a natural disaster like superstorm Sandy, hospitals drill for such evacuations and activate emergency command centers to manage any increase in patients. Still, events like superstorm Sandy are hard to prepare for. "It's been an unprecedented situation that has required an unprecedented response from the whole tri-state health care system," says Jim Mandler, assistant vice president for public affairs for Continnum Health Partners hospitals.

2 Nov 2012

Study identifies monoacylglycerol lipase as new therapeutic target to treat Alzheimer's

Research led by Chu Chen, PhD, Associate Professor of Neuroscience at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, has identified an enzyme called Monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL) as a new therapeutic target to treat or prevent Alzheimer's disease.

2 Nov 2012

Blocking hyaluronidase activity can help repair brain damage associated with MS

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have discovered that blocking a certain enzyme in the brain can help repair the brain damage associated with multiple sclerosis and a range of other neurological disorders.

1 Nov 2012

Additional data from EnVivo’s EVP-6124 Phase 2b trial on AD presented at CTAD meeting

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing a broad range of novel central nervous system (CNS) therapies, today presented pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data along with the previously reported statistically significant clinical results from its Phase 2b clinical trial of EVP-6124, a novel alpha-7 agonist, in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

1 Nov 2012