Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Diets high in vitamins or omega 3 fatty acids reduce brain shrinkage

People with diets high in several vitamins or in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer's disease than people whose diets are not high in those nutrients, according to a new study published in the December 28, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

29 Dec 2011

Researchers decode and characterize DNA repair mechanism

Oxidative stress is the cause of many serious diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, arteriosclerosis and diabetes. It occurs when the body is exposed to excessive amounts of electrically charged, aggressive oxygen compounds. These are normally produced during breathing and other metabolic processes, but also in the case of ongoing stress, exposure to UV light or X-rays. If the oxidative stress is too high, it overwhelms the body's natural defences. The aggressive oxygen compounds destroy genetic material, resulting in what are referred to as harmful 8-oxo-guanine base mutations in the DNA.

28 Dec 2011

Transparency needed in clinical trial recruitment performance

Despite the importance of site investigators to the success of multicentre clinical trials, inadequate public information is available about their recruitment performance. In this week's PLoS Medicine, Rafael Dal-R- and colleagues argue that that sponsors should disclose the recruitment targets of all site investigators on ClinicalTrials.gov before a trial starts, as well as their final recruitment.

28 Dec 2011

Early Alzheimer’s detection - cost effective and easy

Boston researchers have reported a new method for detecting subtle brain changes in people who have no memory problems but who may already be in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

27 Dec 2011

President Obama to provide federal funding for Alzheimer's programs

As the world's leading voluntary health organization advocating for Alzheimer's care, support and research, the Alzheimer's Association is pleased that Congress and President Obama have responded to calls by the Alzheimer's Association on behalf of people with Alzheimer's disease, caregivers, health professionals and researchers, to provide federal funding for several programs critical to the Alzheimer's community.

26 Dec 2011

UVA outreach librarian receives national award

Whether helping cancer patients find accurate information or caregivers for Alzheimer's patients overcome a sense of isolation, Ann Duesing has spent 16 years connecting Southwest Virginia residents with information to help them live healthier lives.

26 Dec 2011

Cleveland Clinic scientists named AAAS Fellows

Cleveland Clinic researchers Bruce Lamb, Ph.D., and Xiaoxia Li, Ph.D., were recently named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

26 Dec 2011

Neuroscientists discover gene responsible for HDLS

A global team of neuroscientists, led by researchers at Mayo Clinic in Florida, have found the gene responsible for a brain disorder that may be much more common than once believed. In the Dec. 25 online issue of Nature Genetics, the researchers say they identified 14 different mutations in the gene CSF1R that lead to development of hereditary diffuse leukoencephalopathy with spheroids.

26 Dec 2011

Researchers discover key interaction at heart of promising new treatment for Fabry disease

A research team led by biochemist Scott Garman at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered a key interaction at the heart of a promising new treatment for a rare childhood metabolic disorder known as Fabry disease.

23 Dec 2011

Radiology researchers discover that MS affects thalamus of the brain

Radiology researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have found evidence that multiple sclerosis affects an area of the brain that controls cognitive, sensory and motor functioning apart from the disabling damage caused by the disease's visible lesions.

23 Dec 2011

UCF scientists pioneer new source of stem cell generation

A process that prompts a single gene to generate millions of supercharged stem cells, which can then turn into any kind of cell a body needs to repair itself, has been patented at the University of Central Florida.

23 Dec 2011

Gladstone, Bristol-Myers Squibb to identify and validate novel targets in Alzheimer's

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and the Gladstone Institutes today announced the formation of a discovery-based research collaboration to identify and validate novel targets in Alzheimer's disease.

23 Dec 2011

People with smaller regions of brain's cortex more likely to develop early Alzheimer's

New research suggests that, in people who don't currently have memory problems, those with smaller regions of the brain's cortex may be more likely to develop symptoms consistent with very early Alzheimer's disease.

22 Dec 2011

CSF biomarkers can help detect early stage of Alzheimer's

Analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid can detect whether a person has Alzheimer's disease before symptoms appear. Researchers at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have studied biomarkers that offer more reliable diagnosis and, in the longer term, the possibility of effective new treatments.

21 Dec 2011

GSK, ProteoTech enter R&D agreement to develop new Parkinson's therapeutics

ProteoTech, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company, has entered into a drug development agreement with GlaxoSmithKline (China) R&D Company Limited (GSK) to collaborate on ProteoTech's small molecule technology platform against misfolded proteins to specifically advance work on its alpha-synuclein therapeutic program for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies.

21 Dec 2011

Dieting and the youth of the brain may be linked: Study

Italian scientists have found that the mind can be kept young by eating less. They have discovered the molecular process by which a strict diet may save the brain from the ravages of age.

20 Dec 2011

CREB1 molecule activates genes linked to brain longevity

Overeating may cause brain aging while eating less turns on a molecule that helps the brain stay young.

20 Dec 2011

Cognitive function may be a better indicator of impact of aging on an economy

Cognitive function may be a better indicator of the impact of aging on an economy than age-distribution, with chronological age imposing less of a social and economic burden if the population is "functionally" younger, according to a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

20 Dec 2011

Viewpoints: Is Wyden-Ryan Medicare plan a game changer?; The GOP and the individual mandate

In the maelstrom of dysfunction and partisanship better known as the 112th Congress, it is always surprising and gratifying when lawmakers from opposing parties manage to work together. That is particularly true when their collaboration involves an issue as politically charged and substantively complex as Medicare. So we begin by congratulating Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) for having the tenacity to try again, with a revamped version of Medicare reform unveiled last week.

20 Dec 2011

UCL awarded 20M grant to establish The Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre

A new centre dedicated to the understanding and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases will be established at UCL following the award of a -20million grant from the Wolfson Foundation, it was announced today.

19 Dec 2011