Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Emeritus Senior Living and Parentgiving.com launch annual awards to honor caregivers

Emeritus Senior Living (http://www.emeritus.com), a national provider of assisted living and Alzheimer's and related dementia care services to seniors, announced today that it has partnered with online resource center Parentgiving.com to launch the First Annual Parentgivers of the Year Awards.

22 Jan 2010

HIV infection causes premature aging of the brain

HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-San Diego have found.

22 Jan 2010

US FDA grants tentative approval for LPI's Memantine HCl tablets

Lupin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (LPI) announced today that it has received tentative approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for its Memantine Hydrochloride tablets, 5mg and 10mg.

21 Jan 2010

Study indicates size of brain structures may predict performance and learning rates

Researchers can predict your performance on a video game simply by measuring the volume of specific structures in your brain, a multi-institutional team reports this week.

21 Jan 2010

MedPage Today publishes the Most Read Stories for the Past Week

Which medical news stories are physicians reading to stay informed about key developments? MedPage Today publishes the Most Read Stories for the Past Week.

20 Jan 2010

Light sedation decreases postoperative delirium in elderly patients by 50%

A recent study, published in the January issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, demonstrates that in elderly patients undergoing hip fracture repair under spinal anesthesia with propofol sedation, the prevalence of delirium can be decreased by 50 percent with light sedation, compared to deep sedation.

20 Jan 2010

Lighter sedation during spinal anesthesia reduces postoperative delirium in elderly patients

19 Jan 2010

Cognitive fluctuations more likely to occur in older persons with Alzheimer's disease

Cognitive fluctuations, or episodes when train of thought temporarily is lost, are more likely to occur in older persons who are developing Alzheimer's disease than in their healthy peers, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

19 Jan 2010

People with "mental lapses" more likely to have Alzheimer's disease

Older people who have "mental lapses," or times when their thinking seems disorganized or illogical or when they stare into space, may be more likely to have Alzheimer's disease than people who do not have these lapses, according to a study published in the January 19, 2010, print issue of Neurology-, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

19 Jan 2010

Repeal of Texas helmet law results in increased motorcycle fatalities

In Texas, the repeal of a motorcycle helmet law has been followed by a sharp increase in fatal motorcycle crashes, according to a study in the January Southern Medical Journal, official journal of the Southern Medical Association.

18 Jan 2010

Dopamine replacement therapy causes brain dysfunction in patients with Parkinson disease, study says

People with Parkinson's Disease are more likely to display abnormal social behaviour and make poor decisions in ambiguous circumstances if they are pathological gamblers, according to research in the January issue of the European Journal of Neurology.

18 Jan 2010

Molecules capable of reversing brain abnormalities in PD identified

Scientists identified several molecules capable of reversing the brain abnormalities of Parkinson's disease (PD), while also uncovering new clues for its origin in a study just published in the journal Disease Models and Mechanisms. PD is characterised by abnormal deposits of a brain protein called alpha-synuclein throughout the damaged brain regions, but exactly what they do there is not clear. The fact that their numbers and spreading are associated disease progression has made them, however, a major point of interest in PD research.

18 Jan 2010

Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease are the same

Nearly 20 years ago Huntington Potter kicked up a storm of controversy with the idea that Down syndrome and Alzheimer's were the same disease. Now the evidence is in: He was right.

18 Jan 2010

Older adults with subjective memory loss are more likely to develop dementia

A new study published in the January 11, 2010 issue of the journal Alzheimer's and Dementia, finds that symptoms of cognitive decline can be experienced some 20 years before an Alzheimer's diagnosis.

13 Jan 2010

GIND scientists identify major role of TDP-43 in two neurodegenerative diseases

Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND) have identified the reason a key protein plays a major role in two neurodegenerative diseases.

13 Jan 2010

Research suggests variation of CETP gene is linked to lowered risk of dementia and AD

Preliminary research suggests that variation of a gene for a plasma protein is associated with slower age-related memory decline and a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer disease (AD), according to a study in the January 13 issue of JAMA.

13 Jan 2010

Women with high BP face greater risk for dementia later in life

High blood pressure may put women at greater risk for dementia later in life by increasing white matter abnormalities in the brain, report researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health in a study published online in the Journal of Clinical Hypertension.

12 Jan 2010

Prescribing culture of antipsychotic medications in nursing homes examined

Older adults newly admitted to nursing homes with high rates of antipsychotic prescribing in the previous year are more likely to receive antipsychotic agents, according to a report in the January 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Of these treated patients, some had no identified clinical indication for this therapy.

12 Jan 2010

Atypical antipsychotic use for treating elderly patients with dementia decreases

The use of atypical antipsychotics to treat elderly patients with dementia appears to have decreased following a 2005 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory regarding the risks of these medications in this population, according to a report in the January 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Jan 2010

Cognitively stimulating activities are beneficial, but mental exercises help some more than others

If you don't have a college degree, you're at greater risk of developing memory problems or even Alzheimer's. Education plays a key role in lifelong memory performance and risk for dementia, and it's well documented that those with a college degree possess a cognitive advantage over their less educated counterparts in middle and old age.

12 Jan 2010