dementia

FDA Warns About Antipsychotic Drugs and Elderly

...reat behavioral disorders in elderly patients with dementia have shown a higher death rate associated with the... treatment of behavioral disorders associated with dementia should have their treatment reviewed by their health care providers. In analyses of seventeen placeb...

U of MN researchers reverse memory loss in mice

...s predicted that when the transgene expressing the dementia was turned off, memory loss would stop. The result...rpassed their expectations. The mice's symptoms of dementia were reversed--in other words, they regained memory. "Most Alzheimer's disease treatments focus on ...

Targeting a key enzyme with gene therapy reversed course of Alzheimer's disease in mouse models

...tein clumps in the brain, can precede the onset of dementia by many years. These plaques are formed when enzym...degenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia among the elderly in the United States, affecting 4.5-5 million adults - 10 times more than those af...

Scavenger cells could be key to treating HIV-related dementia

...hages could lead to ways to prevent HIV-associated dementia Bacteria-eating cells that generally fight infection may cause dementia in HIV patients, University of Florida and University of California at San Francisco researchers hav...

New research examines genetics of successful aging

..., of Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia in late life. The study also identified novel genetic regions associated with successful aging, including DYS389 and DYS390, some of which affected men or women, but not both. "Historically women have lived longer than men on average, the prevalen...

Scientists show how thinking can harm brain cells

...ogic functions in diseases such as Alzheimer's and dementia associated with HIV. In an article in the Nov. 1 ...and reduction in size ?is seen in HIV-1-associated dementia and Alzheimer's. In laboratory studies, brain cells and slices were exposed to platelet-activating ...

Immune response to HIV in the brain

...ion." While previous studies had linked end-stage dementia due to HIV to the presence of infected and activated immune cells, the nature of neurological changes in earlier stages of the disease, the so-called "chronic phase," were unknown-until now. Using simian immunodeficiency virus-infected models in the...

Experimental vaccine protects nonhuman primates when given after exposure to Marburg virus

...ion." While previous studies had linked end-stage dementia due to HIV to the presence of infected and activated immune cells, the nature of neurological changes in earlier stages of the disease, the so-called "chronic phase," were unknown-until now. Using simian immunodeficiency virus-infected models in the...

Gene therapy 'turns off' mutation linked to Parkinson's disease

...be useful for other diseases of the brain, such as dementia with Lewy bodies, a disease also characterized by Lewy bodies in the brain," Sapru said. The Bohn lab will subsequently test this gene therapy in mouse models of the disease. If the RNA interference approach works in the mouse, a gene therapy based ...

Researchers discover a new genetic cause of Alzheimer's disease

...y of the protein that is produced, the younger the dementia patient is. Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's di...is a memory disorder that affects up to 70% of all dementia patients. In Belgium, about 100,000 people suffer from this disease. The disease gradually destroys...

The urban evolution lab

...y of the protein that is produced, the younger the dementia patient is. Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's di...is a memory disorder that affects up to 70% of all dementia patients. In Belgium, about 100,000 people suffer from this disease. The disease gradually destroys...

Hopkins study suggests commercially available antibiotic may help fight dementia in HIV patients

...ariety of serious infections may also help prevent dementia in HIV patients, according to a test-tube study of...g to Rumbaugh, Tat and gp120 are believed to cause dementia by reducing the expression of a brain chemical called EAAT-2 (excitatory amino acid transporter-2). ...

Tramiprosate (Alzhemed? preclinical results published in Neurobiology of Aging

... Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive form of dementia associated with specific brain pathologies. It imp...estroys the brain. AD is the most common cause of dementia in our aging population. Almost 5 million individuals in the United States alone currently suffer fr...

In-home sensors spot dementia signs in elderly

...ker that can be used to predict the later onset of dementia in a single individual." They have already begun a larger study to test that theory. Much of the hardware used in the study is simple, widely available and inexpensive. Plus, it's getting smaller and smaller, so it can be deployed in elders' homes ...

Viral genetic differences are possible key to HIV dementia

...ical damage." Pillai notes that the issue of HIV dementia is particularly important in regions outside North America and Europe where state-of-the-art antiretroviral medications are not widely available and HIV infection frequently leads to dementia. SFVAMC staff physician Joseph K. Wong, MD, associate ...

High estrogen levels associated with dementia in older men

...nal/ana ). As our population ages, the impact of dementia will grow. By the year 2050, some 13 million Ameri...-Asia Aging Study. Participants showed no signs of dementia at baseline in 1991-1993, at which time fasting blood samples were drawn. The researchers measured t...

Researchers find cause of frontotemporal dementia

...disease and Parkinson's disease. Frontotemporal dementia After Alzheimer's, frontotemporal dementia is the most prevalent form of dementia in patients younger than 65. FTD affects the frontal lobe, ca...

Ultra low-dose estrogen shown safe for post-menopausal women

... estrogen was associated with an increased risk of dementia among women 65 and older, as well as with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke. "Those results raised a lot of doubts about whether women should be taking estrogen at all," Yaffe notes. The current study, published in the July 2006 issue...

Smoking changes brain chemistry

...atric and mood disorders, including schizophrenia, dementia and bipolar disorder, as well as in cases of substance abuse, particularly alcohol dependence. Choline concentrations in the ACC were slightly lower in the smokers compared with the nonsmokers, and lower still in the female smokers compared with ...

Study offers window into human behavior, brain disease

...mon as Alzheimer's disease in patients who develop dementia before age 65. Because the cells arose only rece...nding provides new insight into how frontotemporal dementia erodes the brain at the cellular level," says the first author of the study, William Seeley, MD, UCS...

Computer-based 'games' enhance mental function in patients with Alzheimer's

...exercises of mental stimulation commonly used with dementia patients. The findings, from the Fundació ACE, Ins...eferral clinic for community-dwelling persons with dementia in Barcelona, enrolled 46 people who were diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. All were being treated...

Insulin receptor stops progression of Alzheimer's disease

...nd preserve learning and memory. "The trigger for dementia is the loss of insulin and IGF producing cells. The cells that need those growth factors subsequently die. This study shows you can block the second phase, which is responsible for dementia. This is great news for patients since you treat early stage...

Stem cell activity deciphered in the aging brain

...nerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, dementia and depression, by stimulating the brain's ability to produce new nerve cells, said senior study investigator Ashok K. Shetty, Ph.D., professor of neurosurgery at Duke University Medical Center and medical research scientist at Durham VA Medical Cent...

A natural chemical found in strawberries boosts memory in healthy mice

... ravaged by Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia continues to rise. "Since the development of a basic understanding of the biochemical pathways involved in memory formation, the holy grail of CNS research in the pharmaceutical industry is the identification of a safe, orally active drug that acti...

Protein 'fingerprint' in spinal fluid could spot Alzheimer's disease

...ol cohort that included people with other forms of dementia as well as healthy individuals, looking for key di...er symptoms are reflective of Alzheimer's, another dementia or normal aging," Relkin said. "And in this study, we're offering a much more sophisticated and bett...

Researchers seek to design first treatment for neuroAIDS

...tating effect on the brain known as HIV-associated dementia (HAD) or neuroAIDs. The current, standard combination of treatments has extended the lives of most U.S. AIDS patients, but has not cured neuroAIDS, despite early reports to the contrary. Antiviral combinations only slow the onset of HIV-related nerve...

Molecular motors and brakes work together in cells

...port can go awry, with such diseases as cancer and dementia possibly resulting. "For the first time we have shown how MAPs and motors work together in a mechanistic way," says Tran. "This is important and it will make other people who study microtubules rethink how they study the cell." ...

HIV dementia alarmingly high in Africa

...s Hopkins suggests that the rate of HIV-associated dementia is so high in sub-Saharan Africa that HIV dementia along with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia from strokes may be among the most common forms of demen...

Boosting brain power -- with chocolate

...being used to treat vascular impairment, including dementia and strokes, and thus for maintaining cardiovascular health. The study also suggests that the cocoa flavanols found in chocolate could be useful in enhancing brain function for people fighting fatigue, sleep deprivation, and even the effects of ag...

Canadian study shows bilingualism has protective effect in delaying onset of dementia by four years

...g use of two languages can help delay the onset of dementia symptoms by four years compared to people who are ...a general protective function against the onset of dementia symptoms. Now scientists with the Rotman Research Institute at the Baycrest Research Centre for ...

Vasectomy may put men at risk for type of dementia

...rchers have discovered men with an unusual form of dementia have a higher rate of vasectomy than men the same age who are cognitively normal. The dementia is Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), a neurological disease in which people have trouble recalling ...

Gene tests and brain imaging reveal early dementia

...ioration of mental function caused by some kind of dementia disease of the brain, of which Alzheimer's is the ...ry can be used to identify people who will develop dementia even before any clinical symptoms appear. "This is a crucial step towards the better diagnosis o...

Vaccine prevents prion disease in mice

...imals contaminated with prions. The disease causes dementia and abnormal limb movements. Prion is a protein that is also an infectious agent. The proteins are so similar to proteins found normally that the immune system does not fight them off. To develop a vaccine that would stimulate the mice's immune s...

Experimental gene therapy 'abolishes' arthritis pain and lessens joint damage

...neurological conditions (e.g. Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and multiple sclerosis). While the just published study involved a technique that delivers gene therapy by injection at the joint, other promising approaches may involve interrupting crosstalk in the brain instead. Based on that promise, the Med...

Study finds mix of disease processes at work in brains of most people with dementia

...ndividual’s likelihood of having clinical signs of dementia increases with the number of different disease pro...howed that only 30 percent of people with signs of dementia had Alzheimer’s disease alone. By contrast, 42 percent of the people with dementia had Alzheimer’s d...

Newly discovered antibody may be body's natural defense against Alzheimer's

...blood that may help to defend against this form of dementia as well as other neurodegenerative diseases. The...ariety of diseases, such as Parkinson's, Lewy body dementia and Prion disease (the human form of ‘Mad Cow' disease), to name a few," says Dr. Relkin. Since ...