Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Latest Alzheimer's & Dementia News and Research

Medivation commences patient treatment in clinical trial of MDV3100 in advanced prostate cancer

Medivation, Inc. (Nasdaq: MDVN) today announced treatment of the first patient in a Phase 3 clinical trial of the investigational drug MDV3100 in advanced prostate cancer. Known as AFFIRM, the trial will evaluate the novel androgen receptor antagonist MDV3100 in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer who were previously treated with docetaxel-based chemotherapy.

24 Sep 2009

Researching the causes of Alzheimer's disease

The standard explanation for what causes Alzheimer's is known as the amyloid hypothesis, which posits that the disease results from of an accumulation of the peptide amyloid beta, the toxic protein fragments that deposit in the brain and become the sticky plaques that have defined Alzheimer's for more than 100 years.

23 Sep 2009

CERE-110 trial to stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease

Researchers in the Memory Disorders Program at Georgetown University Medical Center are now recruiting volunteers for a national gene therapy trial - the first study of its kind for the treatment of patients with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease.

23 Sep 2009

UAB's researchers find early indicators for Alzheimer's disease

Inability to handle financial transactions or manage money may be an early indicator that a person with mild memory problems soon is likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Alzheimer's Disease Center, part of the Department of Neurology.

22 Sep 2009

Amorfix announces 100% specificity upon testing 10,000 blood donations for vCJD

Amorfix Life Sciences, a company focused on treatments and diagnostics for brain wasting diseases, today announced it has achieved 100% specificity (no reproducible false positive results) upon testing 10,000 blood donations for variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease ("vCJD"). with the EP-vCJD(TM) Blood Screening Assay at l'Etablissement Français du Sang de Pyrénées Méditerrannée ("EFS-PM") in Montpellier, France.

22 Sep 2009

35 million people around the world affected by Alzheimer's disease: Nancy Pelosi

"Alzheimer's disease is a scourge afflicting Americans in every state and community. According to a new report, it affects 35 million people around the world -- and that number is expected to nearly double in 20 years, to more than 65 million in 2030.

22 Sep 2009

Poor money management: A sign of developing Alzheimer's disease

New research finds poor money management skills may indicate that a person with mild memory problems will soon develop Alzheimer's disease. The study is published in the September 22, 2009, print issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

22 Sep 2009

Researcher can anticipate immune response in Alzheimer's patients

A researcher who is working on a vaccine for Alzheimer's disease (AD) has demonstrated that it is possible to test and measure specific immune responses in mice carrying human genes and to anticipate the immune response in Alzheimer's patients. This continuing research at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev could one day lead to specific Alzheimer's vaccines that reduce plaque, neuronal damage and inflammation associated with the disease.

22 Sep 2009

G proteins could help fight cardiovascular, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer

New data on signalling proteins, called G proteins, may prove important in fighting diseases such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer. For many decades scientists have puzzled on "How signalling proteins transport and organize in specific areas of the cell?" Researchers from Nano-Science Center and Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology at the University of Copenhagen provide yet unrecognized clues to solve this mystery.

21 Sep 2009

Neurodegenerative disorders are the second-leading cause of early-onset dementia, says report

Neurodegenerative disorders called frontotemporal dementias (FTD) are the second-leading cause of early-onset dementia in persons under age 65 and can emerge sometimes as early as age 20.

21 Sep 2009

Anavex completes manufacturing of Alzheimer's disease drug ANAVEX 2-73 for its clinical trials

Anavex Life Sciences Corp., ("ANAVEX") (OTCBB: AVXL) today announced the completion of scale-up manufacturing of ANAVEX 2-73, its lead compound for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

21 Sep 2009

Alzheimer Society of Canada stresses on early diagnosis of dementia

Startling new statistics on the worldwide prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias are being released today as countries across the globe join together in recognition of World Alzheimer's Day.

21 Sep 2009

Celebrities take part in competition to mark World Alzheimer's Day

Today, on World Alzheimer's Day, new data released estimates 35 million people worldwide -- a 10% increase over 2005 -- are living with Alzheimer's and dementia, highlighting the urgent need for action and response.

21 Sep 2009

ICTs play a major role in the health care sector

Today the GridTalk project launches its 8th GridBriefing at the Enabling Grids for E-sciencE (EGEE) conference in Barcelona. The report covers how information and communication technologies (ICTs), particularly computing grids, are used in the health and biomedical sectors of European research. EGEE has supported this research community since the project's birth and it is the second largest user group after physics research.

21 Sep 2009

Four single-letter variations in SNPs increse prostate cancer risk

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced that a team of its scientists and academic colleagues from Finland, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States have today published the discovery of four novel single-letter variations in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) conferring increased risk of prostate cancer.

21 Sep 2009

Researchers receive grants to study Alzheimer's disease

Five early-career scientists were awarded The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation/AFAR New Investigator Awards in Alzheimer's Disease. The $75,000 awards provide a broad array of funding in the biological, genetic, and environmental causes of AD.

21 Sep 2009

JANSSEN Alzheimer Immunotherapy acquires Elan

Johnson & Johnson and Elan Corporation plc today announced that JANSSEN Alzheimer Immunotherapy, a newly formed subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets and rights of Elan related to its Alzheimer's Immunotherapy Program (AIP).

18 Sep 2009

MemoryXL improves cognitive performance in Alzheimer's disease

Thomas Shea, Ph.D, and his team of scientists, tested the effects of MemoryXL previously shown to improve cognitive performance in Alzheimer's disease on adults without dementia.

18 Sep 2009

Healthcare staff find it hard to diagnose pain levels in nursing home residents accurately, says study

Relatives and healthcare staff find it hard to diagnose pain levels in nursing home residents accurately, especially if they are cognitively impaired with illnesses such as dementia or unable to speak, according to a study in September issue of the Journal of Clinical Nursing.

18 Sep 2009

Vitamin K prevents age-related conditions

An important analysis conducted by Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute scientists suggests the importance of ensuring optimal dietary intakes of vitamin K to prevent age-related conditions such as bone fragility, arterial and kidney calcification, cardiovascular disease, and possibly cancer. Vitamin K is concentrated in dark green plants such as spinach or Swiss chard, and is either not present or present in only small amounts in most multivitamin pills.

18 Sep 2009