Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Many Aussies would take a test for dementia

According to a new report, by the year 2050 as many as 730,000 Australians will be suffering from some form of dementia and almost three quarters of Australians say if such a test existed to show if they were going to develop some form of dementia, they would take it.

18 Feb 2008

Living under a flight path can raise your blood pressure

An international study is suggesting that night-time noise from aircraft or traffic raises blood pressure even while people are asleep.

13 Feb 2008

Night-time noise from aircraft or traffic can increase a person's blood pressure

Scientists from Imperial College London and other European institutions monitored 140 sleeping volunteers in their homes near London Heathrow and three other major European airports.

13 Feb 2008

Factors associated with exceptionally long life

A healthy lifestyle during the early elderly years—including weight management, exercising regularly and not smoking—may be associated with a greater probability of living to age 90 in men, as well as good health and physical function, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Feb 2008

Prion infection of neurons increases the free cholesterol content in cell membranes

A new study published in the online open access journal BMC Biology suggests that disturbances in membrane cholesterol may be the mechanism by which prions cause neurodegeneration and could point to a role for cholesterol in other neurodegenerative diseases.

12 Feb 2008

Learning disabilities associated with language problems later in life

Individuals with a neurodegenerative condition affecting language appear more likely to have had a history of learning disabilities than those with other types of dementia or with no cognitive problems, according to a report in the February issue of Archives of Neurology.

12 Feb 2008

A great mind focuses on dementia

One of the world's leading researchers in dementia, Professor John Hodges, has taken up an appointment with the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute (POWMRI).

11 Feb 2008

Microscopic imaging technique reveals rapid formation of Alzheimer's-associated plaques

The amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients may form much more rapidly than previously expected.

7 Feb 2008

Breaking down Huntington's disease one protein at a time

Hoping to piece together the intricate series of interactions that lead to Huntington's disease, Indiana University Bloomington scientists have determined the shape and structure of a binding site that may prove useful in combating the neurodegenerative disease

4 Feb 2008

Mental and physical stimulation delays dementia in Huntington's disease

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have discovered that mental and physical stimulation delays the onset of dementia in the fatal genetic disease, Huntington's disease.

25 Jan 2008

Less education may lead to delayed awareness of Alzheimer's onset

A review of epidemiological data has found evidence that people who spend fewer years in school may experience a slight but statistically significant delay in the realization that they're having cognitive problems that could be Alzheimer's disease.

24 Jan 2008

Driving proves potentially hazardous for people with early Alzheimer's

A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University finds that people with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) experienced more accidents and performed more poorly on road tests compared to drivers without cognitive impairment.

24 Jan 2008

Cancer and end-of-life care research to receive boost from new Manchester Metropolitan University Professional Doctorate

Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) has successfully launched a new part-time programme for experienced health and social care professionals to develop research skills without needing to step out of practice.

22 Jan 2008

International congress on gait and mental function

There is a widespread misunderstanding that stance and gait are automatic processes, i.e. not controlled by the human brain. However, the fact that many patients with brain disorders are no longer able to walk and engage in simple conversation at the same time makes it abundantly clear that our consciousness and our thinking do indeed control such apparently simple actions.

17 Jan 2008

Statins may not prevent Alzheimer's disease

Contrary to some reports, taking statins, which are cholesterol-lowering drugs, offers no protection against Alzheimer's disease, according to research published in the January 16, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

17 Jan 2008

Selective restraints and reduced medication could reduce nursing home falls

Selectively restraining elderly residents and giving them fewer sleeping pills could significantly reduce falls, according to a survey of 21 nursing home units published in the January issue of Journal of Clinical Nursing.

15 Jan 2008

New guidelines to improve palliative care at the end of life

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has issued new guidelines to improve palliative care at the end of life (EOL).

15 Jan 2008

People with dementia survive on average four and a half years after diagnosis

People with dementia survive an average of four and a half years after diagnosis, with age, sex, and existing disability all having an influence on life expectancy, finds a study published on bmj.com.

15 Jan 2008

Etanercept drug reverses early symptoms of Alzheimer's in 10 minutes

Scientists in the U.S. say a drug which can reverse some of the early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease takes effect within 10 minutes.

14 Jan 2008

Memantine and Alzheimer's

In a study published this month in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, researchers from the University of Aberdeen report that the drug memantine, used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and praised as "the first and only representative of a new class of Alzheimer drugs" works in fact similar to other existing compounds, and is beneficial only in a narrow concentration range.

14 Jan 2008