Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Elevated CRP is phenotype for familial preserved cognition

The first-degree relatives of very old people with preserved cognition and elevated C-reactive protein have a low risk for developing dementia, research shows.

29 Aug 2012

Being physically fit also increases the chances of aging healthily

Being physically fit during your 30s, 40s, and 50s not only helps extend lifespan, but it also increases the chances of aging healthily, free from chronic illness, investigators at UT Southwestern Medical Center and The Cooper Institute have found.

28 Aug 2012

Neuralstem completes NSI-566 Phase I trial on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

Neuralstem, Inc. announced the completion of the Phase I trial of its NSI-566 spinal cord neural stem cells for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease), with the eighteenth patient treated.

28 Aug 2012

Researchers discover new genetic disease related to vitamin B12 deficiency

Vitamin B12 is essential to human health. However, some people have inherited conditions that leave them unable to process vitamin B12. As a result they are prone to serious health problems, including developmental delay, psychosis, stroke and dementia. An international research team recently discovered a new genetic disease related to vitamin B12 deficiency by identifying a gene that is vital to the transport of vitamin into the cells of the body.

27 Aug 2012

Lilly’s solanezumab Phase 3 trials on AD do not meet primary endpoints

Eli Lilly and Company today announced that the primary endpoints, both cognitive and functional, were not met in either of the two Phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled solanezumab EXPEDITION trials in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

24 Aug 2012

Abnormalities in mitochondrial length promote development of neurodegenerative diseases

Goldilocks was on to something when she preferred everything "just right." Harvard Medical School researchers have found that when it comes to the length of mitochondria, the power-producing organelles, applying the fairy tale's mantra is crucial to the health of a cell. More specifically, abnormalities in mitochondrial length promote the development of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's.

24 Aug 2012

Women with Alzheimer's show worse mental deterioration than men

Women with Alzheimer's show worse mental deterioration than men with the disease, even when at the same stage of the condition, according to researchers from the University of Hertfordshire.

24 Aug 2012

Researchers create new type of biosensor that can detect glucose in saliva, tears

Researchers have created a new type of biosensor that can detect minute concentrations of glucose in saliva, tears and urine and might be manufactured at low cost because it does not require many processing steps to produce.

24 Aug 2012

Nonoperative management of inflamed gallbladder may be best for elderly

Medical rather than surgical management of acute cholecystitis – or inflamed gallbladder – may be the most appropriate option for elderly patients who may be unsuitable for surgery, report researchers.

23 Aug 2012

Study might help solve the biggest mystery of Parkinson’s

The recent discoveries that α-Synuclein(α-Syn) protein, a central player in Parkinson´s disease (PD) brain destruction, could not only pass from one neuron to another but also exist outside neuronal cells has led to major rethink on the disease.

23 Aug 2012

Simple eye tracking test could hold key to early Alzheimer's diagnosis

A simple eye tracking test could hold the key to earlier Alzheimer's diagnosis, according to new research published today in the Journal of the American Aging Association.

23 Aug 2012

Researchers report how Alzheimer's protein deposits disrupt signalling between nerve cells

How abnormal protein deposits in the brains of Alzheimer's patients disrupt the signalling between nerve cells has now been reported by researchers in Bochum and Munich, led by Dr. Thorsten M-ller from the Medizinisches Proteom-Center of the Ruhr-Universit-t, in the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics. They varied the amount of APP protein and related proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease in cell cultures, and then analysed how this manipulation affected other proteins in the cell.

22 Aug 2012

Working memory capacity in patients with Parkinson's can be improved with sleep

People with Parkinson's disease performed markedly better on a test of working memory after a night's sleep, and sleep disorders can interfere with that benefit, researchers have shown.

22 Aug 2012

Berry wines may help people with diabetes decrease their blood sugar

In evaluating the bioactive compounds of Illinois blueberry and blackberry wines, University of Illinois scientists have found compounds that inhibit enzymes responsible for carbohydrate absorption and assimilation. And that could mean a tasty way to help people with diabetes decrease their blood sugar.

21 Aug 2012

MitoTarget Project and neurodegenerative diseases: an interview with Rebecca Pruss, Ph.D., CSO of Trophos

The MitoTarget Project was a project funded by the European Commission, under their FP7 programme. It was funding for a call published in 2007.

21 Aug 2012

People with metabolic abnormalities may experience rapid decline in their cognitive skills

People who are obese and also have high blood pressure and other risk factors called metabolic abnormalities may experience a faster decline in their cognitive skills over time than others, according to a study published in the August 21, 2012, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

21 Aug 2012

Parkinson’s disease with dementia falls into two pathologic subgroups

Patients with Parkinson’s disease who also have dementia fall into two main pathologic categories, characterized by neocortical synucleinopathy in isolation and neocortical synucleinopathy with amyloid beta deposition.

20 Aug 2012

Protein toxic to nerve cells in AD also contributes to memory loss

The underlying causes of Alzheimer's disease are not fully understood, but a good deal of evidence points to the accumulation of β-amyloid, a protein that's toxic to nerve cells. β-amyloid is formed by the activity of several enzymes, including one called BACE1. Most Alzheimer's disease patients have elevated levels of BACE1, which in turn leads to more brain-damaging β-amyloid protein.

20 Aug 2012

People with no dementia symptoms and high protein levels more likely to avoid the disease

People who are free of dementia and have high levels of a protein that indicates the presence of inflammation have relatives who are more likely to avoid the disease as well, according to a new study published in the August 15, 2012, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

16 Aug 2012

Book provides up-to-date knowledge about mild cognitive impairment

At least one in ten adults over the age of 65 suffers from Mild Cognitive Impairment, or MCI. This condition, a state between the normal decline in cognition associated with aging and the more precipitous drop caused by a deadly dementia like Alzheimer's disease, has only recently begun to be studied; first identified by the Mayo Clinic in 1999, it was only given an official diagnostic code in late 2006.

16 Aug 2012