Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Feds announce effort to slash inappropriate use of antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes

An estimated 40 percent of nursing home residents with dementia receive the drugs, which are approved to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

1 Jun 2012

Innovative model of dementia is now been used to treat over 1,000 patients

An innovative model of dementia care that significantly reduces emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and encourages use of medications that are not harmful to older brains, has now been used to treat over 1,000 patients. The Aging Brain Care model was developed by researcher-clinicians from the Regenstrief Institute and the Indiana University School of Medicine.

1 Jun 2012

Personalized medicine and the Human Genome Project

It’s nearly a decade since the completion of the Human Genome Project, (1) which aimed to sequence the complete human genome.

1 Jun 2012

New method can solve 3-D structures of integral membrane proteins

A new method for rapidly solving the three-dimensional structures of a special group of proteins, known as integral membrane proteins, may speed drug discovery by providing scientists with precise targets for new therapies, according to a paper published May 20 in Nature Methods.

31 May 2012

NYU Langone establishes unique neuromodulation center

The Department of Neurosurgery at NYU Langone Medical Center has established a unique, multidisciplinary neuromodulation center for the treatment of complex neurological conditions including movement disorders like Parkinson's disease, chronic pain and psychiatric condition such as obsessive compulsive disorder and severe depression.

31 May 2012

TSRI receives $2 million donation from Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation

The Esther B. O'Keeffe Charitable Foundation has made a $2 million donation to The Scripps Research Institute to fund biomedical research and education on the Florida campus. In recognition of the gift, the Founders Room and the adjoining board room at Scripps Florida have been named the Esther B. O'Keeffe Founders Suite.

31 May 2012

No evidence of chronic low-grade inflammation linked with diseases of aging

American parents may want to think again about how much they want to protect their children from everyday germs. A new Northwestern University study done in lowland Ecuador remarkably finds no evidence of chronic low-grade inflammation -- associated with diseases of aging like cardiovascular disease, diabetes and dementia.

31 May 2012

Study shows how tafamidis drug works against amyloid disease

Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute and Pfizer Inc. have published a new study showing how a new drug called tafamidis (Vyndaqel) works.

31 May 2012

Delirium has protracted course in elderly care home residents

Episodes of delirium in elderly care home residents tend to be protracted, typically being preceded and/or followed by subacute symptomatology, a prospective cohort study indicates.

30 May 2012

Studies outline dilemmas on new generic heart drugs, hormone replacement therapy

One heart drug's move to generic status has complicated treatment options for some patients and doctors, the Wall Street Journal reports. Also, another study raises concerns about hormone replacement therapy in women.

30 May 2012

Exendin-4 significantly minimizes damage in TBI animal models

Although the death toll is relatively low for people who suffer from traumatic brain injury (TBI), it can have severe, life-long consequences for brain function. TBI can impair a patient's mental abilities, impact memory and behavior, and lead to dramatic personality changes. And long-term medical treatment carries a high economic cost.

30 May 2012

Glia seem to play two opposing roles in protecting nerve cells from damage

A protein produced by the central nervous system's support cells seems to play two opposing roles in protecting nerve cells from damage, an animal study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests: Decreasing its activity seems to trigger support cells to gear up their protective powers, but increasing its activity appears to be key to actually use those powers to defend cells from harm.

30 May 2012

Neural protein plays two opposing roles

A protein produced by the central nervous system’s support cells seems to play two opposing roles in protecting nerve cells from damage, an animal study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests: Decreasing its activity seems to trigger support cells to gear up their protective powers, but increasing its activity appears to be key to actually use those powers to defend cells from harm.

29 May 2012

Better education early in life may help protect cognitive abilities

Exposure to solvents at work may be associated with reduced thinking skills later in life for those who have less than a high school education, according to a study published in the May 29, 2012, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 May 2012

EMA CHMP issues positive opinion to Eisai’s Fycompa for treatment of partial-onset seizures

Eisai announced today that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion for the use of Fycompa (perampanel) as an adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalised seizures, in patients with epilepsy aged 12 years and older.

29 May 2012

UCSD scientists receive new CIRM grants to conduct stem cell-based research

Five scientists from the University of California, San Diego and its School of Medicine have been awarded almost $12 million in new grants from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to conduct stem cell-based research into regenerating spinal cord injuries, repairing gene mutations that cause amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and finding new drugs to treat heart failure and Alzheimer's disease.

28 May 2012