Dementia News and Research

Latest Dementia News and Research

Ageing and Health publication by the Medical Research Council highlights groundbreaking work on the ageing process

With life expectancy increasing worldwide, a new 'Ageing and Health' (PDF) publication by the Medical Research Council (MRC) highlights groundbreaking work on the ageing process, which could help elderly people not only live longer, but also lead healthier and happier lives.

2 Jun 2005

Lafora disease can be caused by mutations in a gene that regulates the concentration of the protein laforin

Researchers at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have found that Lafora disease, an inherited form of epilepsy that results in death by the age of 30, can be caused by mutations in a gene that regulates the concentration of the protein laforin. These findings are reported in the current issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

1 Jun 2005

Cancer treatments linked to decline in mental abilities later on in life

A study in the U.S. has found that cancer survivors who have undergone cancer treatment are twice as likely to develop cognitive problems than people who had never been treated for cancer, and they may be at risk of problems with mental abilities such as memory and learning.

1 Jun 2005

Cancer patients have increased risk of cognitive dysfunction

Cancer patients may have an increased risk of cognitive dysfunction compared with individuals who have never had cancer, according to a new study in the June 1 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

31 May 2005

Those old crooners were right, love really can make you crazy

According to scientists brain images show that falling in love can look for all the world like mental illness with a mixture of mania, dementia and obsession that cuts people off from friends and family prompting uncharacteristic behavior which could almost be mistaken for psychosis.

31 May 2005

The brain damage wrought by a minor stroke can alter the way artists paint

The study reports on two professional painters, both of whom had a stroke, located in the left occipital lobe of the brain and limbic thalamus, respectively.

17 May 2005

Latinos develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease earlier

U.S. Latinos develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease earlier, on average, than white non-Latino people, according to a study in the May issue of Archives of Neurology.

9 May 2005

Obese people - add yet another worry to the list

Dementia is now the latest scare factor to be added to an ever growing list of threats which so far includes diabetes, heart disease and stroke, which obese people are apparently more prone to.

1 May 2005

Obesity in middle age increases risk of dementia in later life

The population based, 27 year longitudinal study, led by Dr Rachel Whitmer, Gerontological Epidemiologist at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research, Oakland California, involved 10,276 members of Kaiser Permanente medical care programme in California who underwent detailed health checks from 1964 to 1973 when they were aged 40-45 and who were still members of the health plan in 1994.

1 May 2005

Clues about the causes of dementia in Huntington's disease

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have uncovered a clue about the causes of dementia in Huntington's disease, one of the disease's symptoms, by showing that mice susceptible to Huntington's disease have problems with learning and memory before the diseases' typical movement problems appear.

27 Apr 2005

New training course launched to help improve dementia care

The Alzheimer’s Society has launched the first nationally accredited training course aimed at improving the quality of care given to people with dementia.

23 Apr 2005

Some Alzheimer’s patients can benefit from drug Memantine

The drug memantine can reduce cognitive deterioration and loss of everyday functions in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new review of studies.

19 Apr 2005

Protein studies may lead to new Alzheimer's test

A study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, published by IOS Press, entitled "Quantitative proteomics of cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Alzheimer disease," may lead to a new test for diagnosing the devastating illness. About 4 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer's disease, the most common form of dementia, characterized by memory loss and an inability to use language.

19 Apr 2005

Exercise variety - not intensity - appears to reduce some Alzheimer's disease risk

The variety of leisure and physical activity one engages in -- and not its intensity in terms of calories expended - may reduce dementia risk in older people, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins.

19 Apr 2005

People with essential tremor are more likely to develop dementia

People with essential tremor, a movement disorder that causes shaking of the hands, head, voice, or body, are more likely to develop dementia, according to research that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology 57th Annual Meeting in Miami Beach, Fla., April 9 – 16, 2005.

13 Apr 2005

Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's may be delayed

In a study of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), those who took the drug donepezil were at reduced risk of progressing to a diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) during the first year of the trial, but by the end of the 3-year study there was no benefit from the drug. Vitamin E was also tested in the study and was found to have no effect at any time point in the study when compared with placebo.

13 Apr 2005

FDA issues public health advisory for antipsychotic drugs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public health advisory to alert health care providers, patients, and patient caregivers to new safety information concerning an unapproved (i.e., “off-label”) use of certain drugs called “atypical antipsychotic drugs.”

12 Apr 2005

Commons committee blasts dementia discrimination

On 10 April 2005 the House of Commons Health Select Committee published a damning report about the government’s policy on fully funded NHS continuing care.

12 Apr 2005

FDA wants warnings put on antipsychotic drugs

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a public health advisory to health care providers, patients, and caregivers to alert them to new safety information about the use of certain unapproved or off label drugs which come under the category of “atypical antipsychotic drugs.”

11 Apr 2005

Animi-3 may offer hope for rheumatoid arthritis

Animi-3, a prescription medication from PBM Pharmaceuticals, Inc., contains ingredients that may have a beneficial, protective effect in inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

7 Apr 2005