Feature Channels: Alzheimer's and Dementia

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Expert shares insight on how to support this new generation of caregivers

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A gene therapy developed by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center for a rare disease called giant axonal neuropathy (GAN) was well tolerated in pediatric patients and showed clear benefits, a new study reports. Findings from the phase one clinical trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, could offer hope for patients with this rare condition and a host of other neurological diseases.

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Just as you can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs, scientists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine have found that you can’t make long-term memories without DNA damage and brain inflammation. Their surprising findings were published online today in the journal Nature.

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A new study found higher levels of neurodegeneration in rats that consumed reused deep fried cooking oils and their offspring compared to rats on a normal diet.

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A new study published in JAMA Neurology found human brains are getting bigger. The increased size may lead to a brain reserve, potentially reducing the risk of dementia.

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New research conducted in mice offers insights into what’s going on at the molecular level that could cause people with diabetes to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

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Using novel genetic and genomic tools, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have shed light on the role of immune cells called macrophages in lipid-rich tissues like the brain, advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s and other diseases.

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According to new research at Case Western Reserve University, connecting with friends is key to limiting social isolation—something researchers believe could also reduce Alzheimer’s, dementia

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Dementia stands as one of the most significant global health challenges of the 21st century, with over 50 million individuals worldwide currently affected, a number projected to triple by 2050, reaching 152 million, due to global population aging.

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A collaborative effort between Israeli and Italian researchers has led to the development of a new treatment strategy targeting the early-stage aggregation of A-beta before the formation of toxic oligomers.

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University of Delaware researchers are studying how the brain controls movement and how motor skills are learned in health and disease.

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For the first time, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities showed that non-invasive brain stimulation can change a specific brain mechanism that is directly related to human behavior.

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“While our research does not prove that veterans who experienced these injuries will develop Alzheimer’s disease, it raises the possibility that they may be on a pathway leading to dementia,” said Dr. Ge Li, the paper's first author and an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at UW Medicine.

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Chula Medicine has designed an anti-choke mug with calculated angle, amount, and time of water flow from the mug to the patient’s lips hoping to reduce choking that may lead to lung infection, bring peace of mind to caregivers, and make it safer for patients who will have a better quality of life.

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Middle-age veterans who experienced concussions due to blasts from explosive devices may have biomarkers in their spinal fluid similar to people who develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study published in the March 13, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Gait impairments often are prevalent in the early stages of cognitive decline. Researchers quantitatively compared straight walking and curved walking – a more natural yet complex activity – in healthy older adults and adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). A depth camera detected and tracked 25 joints of body movement and signals were processed to extract 50 gait markers. Intriguingly, curved walking illuminated notable disparities between the study groups.

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Monitoring daily activity patterns using a wrist-worn device may detect early warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

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Dementia may be three times more common among people with essential tremor, a movement disorder that causes involuntary shaking, than the general population, according to research released today, March 6, 2024. The study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s 76th Annual Meeting taking place April 13–18, 2024, in person in Denver and online.

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New Cleveland Clinic-led research points to sildenafil (Viagra) as a potential treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. The study provides evidence from computational models, insurance claims data and observations from brain cells in Alzheimer’s patients. Sildenafil is the main component of drugs used to treat erectile dysfunction (Viagra) and pulmonary arterial hypertension (Revatio).

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Four University of Michigan research teams have made the bracket of 64 teams for STAT Madness, a virtual tournament of science. They were picked for their groundbreaking work on brain cancer, heart transplant, dementia care and deadly fungal infections published in 2023.

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Alzheimer’s disease and Type 2 diabetes are part of a family of amyloid diseases that are characterized by having proteins that cluster together. University of Washington researchers have demonstrated more similarities between the two diseases.

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Continuous, unobtrusive sensors and related monitoring devices are installed in older drivers’ vehicles to detect changes in highly complex activities over time. A driver facing camera, forward facing camera, and telematics unit provide video in real-time to enable researchers to analyze abnormal driving such as getting lost, reaction time and braking patterns as well as travel patterns such as miles driven, miles during the night and daytime, and driving in severe weather. Detecting changes in behavior could generate early warning signs of possible changes in cognition.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that brain cell activity during sleep is responsible for propelling fluid into, through and out of the brain, cleaning it of debris.

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Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and others have harnessed the power of machine learning to identify key predictors of mortality in dementia patients. The study, published in the February 28 online issue of Communications Medicine, addresses critical challenges in dementia care by pinpointing patients at high risk of near-term death and uncovers the factors that drive this risk. Unlike previous studies that focused on diagnosing dementia, this research delves into predicting patient prognosis, shedding light on mortality risks and contributing factors in various kinds of dementia.

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Two new studies from the University of Chicago investigate the roles of the gut microbiome and estrogen in the differing rates of Alzheimer’s disease among women and men.

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Neuroscientist Emily Rogalski, PhD, is a principal investigator on a grant from the NIH to support a clinical trial of a telehealth intervention for primary progressive aphasia (PPA).

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A new UCLA Health study found Kundalini yoga provided several benefits to cognition and memory for older women at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease including restoring neural pathways, preventing brain matter decline and reversing aging and inflammation-associated biomarkers – improvements not seen in a group who received standard memory training exercises.

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People with higher exposure to traffic-related air pollution were more likely to have high amounts of amyloid plaques in their brains associated with Alzheimer’s disease after death, according to a study published in the February 21, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

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Stay informed! These are the latest research articles on "Long COVID" from the Coronavirus News Source on Newswise.

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Researchers at West Virginia University have identified a set of diagnostic metabolic biomarkers that can help them develop artificial intelligence tools to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages, as well as determine risk factors and treatment interventions.

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A team led by scientists at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine has identified a new therapeutic approach for combating neurodegenerative diseases.

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Neuroscientists at Macquarie University in Australia have developed a single-dose genetic medicine that has been proven to halt the progression of both ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in mice – and may even offer the potential to reverse some of the effects of the fatal diseases.

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Professor Eef Hogervorst, Professor of Biological Psychology at Loughborough University, sits down to discuss the factors influencing the menopause, what the best treatment options are, the relationship between oestrogen and dementia, and the controversies surrounding the andropause (the ‘male menopause’).

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A new study has laid the groundwork for a future intervention designed to help caregivers establish a safe and workable mealtime routine for people with dementia living at home.

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Irvine, Calif., Feb. 14, 2024 — A research team led by the University of California, Irvine has created 20 new recombinant rabies viral vectors for neural circuit mapping that offer a range of significant advantages over existing tools, including the ability to detect microstructural changes in models of aging and Alzheimer’s disease brain neurons.

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A team of scientists from Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the University of Southern California (USC) have demonstrated the first successful use of a neural prosthetic device to recall specific memories.

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Below are some of the latest research and features on this growing population of older adults in the Seniors channel on Newswise.

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Improving the way scientists can see the microscopic structures of the brain can improve our understanding of a host of brain diseases, like Alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis. Studying these diseases is challenging and has been limited by accuracy of available models.To see the smallest parts of cells, scientists often use a technique called electron microscopy.

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In an effort five years in the making, UNC School of Medicine cell biologist Sarah Cohen, PhD, and Rockefeller University’s Ian Windham, PhD, describe the interplay between fats and proteins in brain cells and how their dysfunction contributes to the development of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

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University Hospitals Brain Health & Memory Center is now treating patients with LEQEMBI® (lecanemab), a Food and Drug Administration-approved medication for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.