Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Study finds expression of toxic RNA that leads to Fragile X Tremor Ataxia Syndrome modifiable

Expression of a toxic RNA that leads to Fragile X Tremor Ataxia Syndrome is modifiable by genetic or pharmacologic means, according to new research from U-M Medical School scientists.

14 Dec 2010

Alzheimer’s research update

Alzheimer’s disease researchers have been working for a while with a small, sticky protein fragment, beta amyloid, that clumps into balls in the brains of patients with this degenerative neurological disease. It is a normal protein that is present in every normal brain but in Alzheimer’s it starts to accumulate into these balls or plaques. On buildup of amyloid symptoms of the disease appear.

13 Dec 2010

Research programs embody the promise of anti-aging medicine.

Sometimes the value of research lies as much in exposing false remedies as in discovering true breakthroughs. Scientists at the country's first school of gerontology and in laboratories around the University of Southern California do both, mindful of their responsibility to a society focused on healthful aging.

13 Dec 2010

New study says boxers are at substantial risk for acute injuries to head, heart, and skeleton

Boxers are at substantial risk for acute injuries to the head, heart, and skeleton. Subacute consequences after being knocked out include persistent symptoms such as headaches, impaired hearing, nausea, unstable gait, and forgetfulness.

13 Dec 2010

Repeated cerebral trauma in boxing career may result in boxer's dementia

Up to 20% of professional boxers develop neuropsychiatric sequelae. But which acute complications and which late sequelae can boxers expect throughout the course of their career? These are the questions studied by Hans Förstl from the Technical University Munich and his co-authors in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2010; 107[47]: 835-9).

10 Dec 2010

First genetic test on developing risk of Alzheimer's disease and heart attacks

Alzheimer and heart attacks have been found to share common genetic basis. The research leads the way to the first genetic test on developing the risk of the diseases even at a young age. According to Federico Licastro, an immunologist at the University of Bologna who coordinated the study published in the scientific journal, Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, a test is now ready. "They are already selling it in America", he says, citing the case of a private firm in New Mexico (USA) that collaborated on the study. "But the tests could easily be also conducted wherever, using a simple blood test".

10 Dec 2010

New 5-minute Memory Orientation Screening Test to identify elderly patients with dementia

A new 5-minute test to identify elderly patients with dementia promises to give doctors a more sensitive tool to use in the Annual Wellness Examination. The Memory Orientation Screening Test (MOST™) developed by Mitchell Clionsky, Ph.D., a neuropsychologist, and Emilymarie Clionsky, MD, an internist/psychiatrist, is based on their clinical experience with thousands of patients who suffer from Alzheimer's Disease and other dementias, which now afflicts more than 5 million Americans.

10 Dec 2010

Clearance of plaque-forming substance is impaired in Alzheimer's disease

"Clearance is impaired in Alzheimer's disease," says Randall Bateman, MD, assistant professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

10 Dec 2010

Results of proteomics study performed utilizing plasma samples from ADNI now available

The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health's Biomarkers Consortium announced today that the results of a proteomics study performed utilizing plasma samples from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative are ready to be shared with scientists worldwide for further analysis.

9 Dec 2010

Sunovion reports results of Latuda third phase 3 worldwide clinical trial for schizophrenia

Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced the results of the PEARL 3 study, the third phase 3 worldwide clinical trial of Latuda® (lurasidone HCl) tablets, a once-daily atypical antipsychotic agent recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia. In this six-week, placebo-controlled trial, both fixed doses of LATUDA 80 and 160 mg once-daily, demonstrated statistically significant improvement in symptoms of schizophrenia versus placebo across both primary and secondary efficacy measures.

9 Dec 2010

Study finds wide variability in ethics board practices

Practices for protecting human research subjects with Alzheimer's disease and other conditions that make them incapable of giving informed consent are widely variable and in need of more concrete ethical and legal guidance, according to a study in IRB: Ethics & Human Research.

8 Dec 2010

Ginseng may improve thinking ability, but more research is needed

Many people believe that the popular herb ginseng can improve thinking ability and prevent or even treat dementia. However, a comprehensive review of research failed to find convincing evidence of these benefits.

8 Dec 2010

Research to improve prognosis for patients with dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Research on preventing the devastating onset of dementia is about to break new ground as McGill University, in partnership with Pfizer Canada, has announced today the creation of a professorship for the prevention of dementia and Alzheimer's-related diseases.

8 Dec 2010

Cognitively-impaired human research subjects need better protection

Practices for protecting human research subjects with Alzheimer’s disease and other conditions that make them incapable of giving informed consent are widely variable and in need of more concrete ethical and legal guidance, according to a study in IRB: Ethics & Human Research.

7 Dec 2010

New analysis shows that common diseases are not lined to genetic factors

The case for a substantial role of genes in susceptibility to the major human diseases is now scientifically refuted argues a groundbreaking new analysis published by the public interest science organization, The Bioscience Resource Project.

7 Dec 2010

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals announces US patent for cognition enhancement

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE Amex: RNN), a clinical stage pharmaceutical company developing and commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, today announced that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent 7,842,683 entitled, "Neurotherapeutic Compositions and Methods."

7 Dec 2010

FDA accepts IND application to initiate human clinical trial to evaluate BNC

QR Pharma, Inc., a developer of novel drugs to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD), announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Investigational New Drug application (IND) to begin human clinical trials and evaluate the safety and efficacy of the company's second product, bisnorcymserine (BNC).

3 Dec 2010

Soy bean derived compound could treat Sanfilippo genetic disease in children

Scientists from The University of Manchester say a naturally occurring chemical found in soy could prove to be an effective new treatment for a fatal genetic disease that affects children.

2 Dec 2010

Dec. 1 news from RSNA 2010

The risk of developing radiation-induced cancer from computed tomography (CT) may be lower than previously thought, according to a Stanford University study. Using more than 10 million Medicare claims from 1998 through 2005, the researchers analyzed the distribution of CT scans, determined the ionizing radiation exposure associated with the exams and estimated the associated cancer risk in a population of older adults.

1 Dec 2010

MRS imaging technique may help diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy

In a study of ex-pro athletes, researchers found that a specialized imaging technique called magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) may help diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a disorder caused by repetitive head trauma that currently can only be definitively diagnosed at autopsy. Results of the study were presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

1 Dec 2010