Dementia in Biological News

Early identification of dementia increasingly difficult

If grandma seems to forget things, will she end up demented? These days, memory loss is one of the very few symptoms that may signal which 70-year-olds risk developing dementia. This is shown in a doctoral thesis at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. Several of the...

£2 million study to reveal workings of dementia genes

University of Manchester scientists are to investigate the biological causes of the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's, thanks to a prestigious 1.9 million senior fellowship award from the Medical Research Council. Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is a group of dement...

1/3 of risk for dementia attributable to small vessel disease, autopsy study shows

Alzheimer's disease may be what most people fear as they grow older, but autopsy data from a long-range study of 3,400 men and women in the Seattle region found that the brains of a third of those who had become demented before death showed evidence of small vessel damage: the type of small, cumul...

Blood test predicts chance of dementia

Frontal lobe dementia Frontal lobe dementia (Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD) strikes people at an earlier age. After Alzheimer's disease, FTD is the form of dementia that occurs most frequently in patients younger than 65. In FTD, the disease process starts in the frontal lobe where large number...

70 years old and going strong with Down syndrome and no dementia

Washington, DC (August 18, 2008) In the world of Down syndrome, 'Mr. C' is a rarity. A real person whose progress has been tracked for the past 16 years, at seventy, 'Mr. C' has well surpassed the average life expectancy of a person with Down syndrome, currently in the late fifties, but in the te...

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

Canadian scientists have found astonishing evidence that the lifelong use of two languages can help delay the onset of dementia symptoms by four years compared to people who are monolingual. There has been much interest and growing scientific literature examining how lifestyle factors such as phy...

HIV dementia alarmingly high in Africa

An international study led by Johns 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 dementia in the world. In the first study of HIV dementia...

High estrogen levels associated with dementia in older men

A prospective population-based study has found that higher estrogen levels in older men are associated with an increased risk of dementia. By contrast, levels of testosterone were not associated with cognitive decline. The study is in the August issue of Annals of Neurology, a journal published by ...

In-home sensors spot dementia signs in elderly

An Oregon Health & Science University study shows motion and door sensors placed in elders' homes can help track activity patterns thought to relate to memory changes that are early signs of dementia. The study results, presented last week at the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's ...

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

An antibiotic commonly used to treat a variety of serious infections may also help prevent dementia in HIV patients, according to a test-tube study of human brain cells by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine neurologist Jeffrey Rumbaugh, M.D., Ph.D. Results of the lab study with ceftriaxo...

Fruit fly reveals a potential connection between dementia and cancer

By expressing a protein associated with Alzheimer's disease in the brain of the fruit fly, researchers have demonstrated an intriguing link between neuronal death and proteins previously associated with cancer. The findings are reported by Vik Khurana, Mel Feany, and colleagues from Brigham and W...

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

Few older people die with brains untouched by a pathological process, however, an individual’s likelihood of having clinical signs of dementia increases with the number of different disease processes present in the brain, according to a new study. The research was funded by the National Institute ...

A 'heart healthy' diet and ongoing, moderate physical activity may protect against cognitive decline

...w closely people adhered to the DASH diet and risk of cognitive decline and dementia among older participants in the Cache County Study on Memory, Health and Ag...menopause, with no history of breast cancer, HRT use, psychiatric disorder, dementia or other neurological condition. Participants gave details on the amount of...

Results from trials of DHA in Alzheimer's disease and age-related cognitive decline

...isease assessment scale-cognitive (ADAS-cog) and rate of change on Clinical dementia Scale-sum of the boxes (CDR-SOB). These two measures are the current standa... not slow the rate of change on tests of mental function (ADAS-cog), global dementia severity status (CDR-SOB), activities of daily living (ADL), or behavioral ...

22nd Congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, Sept. 12-16, 2009, Turkey

...tal illness and neurological disorders, especially dementia and Parkinsons disease. By 2040, Alzheimers diseas...er from depression, and over 5 million people have dementia (about 1.1𔂿.3% of the population). The prev...such as anxiety, mania, depression, schizophrenia, dementia or neurological and addictive disorders in the mos...

Is vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia?

...ll of which are either considered risk factors for dementia or have preceded incidence of dementia. In 2008, a...e, Dr. Grant suggests that studies of incidence of dementia with respect to prediagnostic serum 25(OH)D or vit...tamin D in reducing the risk of diseases linked to dementia such as vascular and metabolic diseases, as well a...

Cell's split personality is a major discovery into neurological diseases

...stem (CNS). Diseases that occur as a result of high glutamate levels include hypoxicischemic brain injury (stroke), trauma, seizures, various forms of dementia and neurodegeneration. For years, the main explanation for the toxic effects of glutamate is that it overexcites neuronal cells via activation of glu...

Alzheimer's, asthma, cancer, malaria and TB focus of new Singapore grants

...nt protein interaction that suppresses neural cell formation in the brains of mice, and that might be relevant to Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia among older people. "In this project, we will investigate whether this protein interaction also occurs in human stem cells and in the adult mouse...

Alzheimer cell death in Zebrafish: Demise of neurons observed live for the first time

... Extensive death of nerve cells leads to severe dementia in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Until now, it has only been possible ...d search for drugs that can stop the extensive cell death, and thereby stop dementia in patients," says Haass. "The first findings have already shown that we ca...

Tiny but toxic: MBL researchers discover a mechanism of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease

...t but with the loss of functional connections. It's when the neuron is no longer talking to its targets that you start to get the memory deficits and dementia associated with the disease," Brady says. The amyloid beta particles activate an enzyme, CK2, which in turn disrupts the "fast axonal transport" sy...

New target for medicine to combat Alzheimer's: VIB scientists confirm protein's key role

... Alzheimer's disease Two thirds of all patients with dementia suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Estimates indicate that by 2010 our country will have more than 150,000 Alzheimer's patients. Alzheimer's is a diseas...

New research findings may enable earlier diagnosis of uterine cancer

...oduced in the cell, but excess amounts, which can damage the cell and the body's DNA, are associated with over 200 diseases, from arteriosclerosis and dementia to rheumatism, cerebral haemorrhage and cancer. The studies carried out by Sandra Karlsson on human malignant tumours have confirmed that changes in t...

Mayo Clinic: Brain disorder suggests common mechanism may underlie many neurodegenerative diseases

...tive disorders, the researchers say. In Alzheimer's disease, frontotemporal dementia and progressive supranuclear palsy, for instance, the "spikes," comprised o...f a protein known as TDP-43 which is found in patients with frontotemporal dementia or with motor neuron disease. What these clumps represent is not known, say...

Scientists make strides toward defining genetic signature of Alzheimer's disease

... Scientists have new information about the complex genetic signature associated with Alzheimer's disease, the leading cause of cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly. The research, published by Cell Press in the January issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics , uses a powerful, high-resoluti...

Impaired energy metabolism linked with initiation of plaques in Alzheimer's brain

...eventative and disease-modifying therapies for AD, especially those aimed at interrupting pathological Aβ-production. AD, the leading cause of dementia in the elderly, is a devastating neurological disorder characterized by accumulation and deposition of sticky clumps of A? protein. A? protein is gene...

Epilepsy drug shows potential for Alzheimer's treatment

..."We hope colleagues will be able to progress this research with clinical trials in the near future." Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and has no cure. In the UK today there a half a million people living with Alzheimer's and this is likely to double within a generation unless new tr...

M.I.N.D. Institute researchers call for fragile X testing throughout the lifespan

...tions of the fragile X gene can cause, among other disorders, autism and ADHD in children, anxiety disorders at all ages, early menopause in women and dementia in the elderly. Because the potential impact is so great, M.I.N.D. Institute researchers have created an inexpensive spot blood test for newborn sc...

2 Alexander von Humboldt professorships go to LMU Munich

...e Gene Center in Munich intend to explain the principles of gene regulation in higher cells and organisms, which will give fresh impetus to cancer and dementia research as well as the development of stem cell therapies. The head of the Gene Center, Professor Patrick Cramer, is especially delighted that, with ...

Where optics meets medicine

... caused by venule occlusions, are often seen in autopsies of people who had dementia late in life, says Nguyen, and now researchers have a way to study this phe...ver. In the last decade, autopsies have revealed that people with the worst dementia often don't have the worst plaques, and clots and hemorrhages in small bloo...

Researchers link cocoa flavanols to improved brain blood flow

...that long-term improvements in brain blood flow could impact cognitive behavior, offering future potential for debilitating brain conditions including dementia and stroke. In a scientific study of healthy, older adults ages 59 to 83, Harvard medical scientists found that study participants who regularly dr...

NYU Langone Medical Center's tip sheet to the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease 2008

...Each of the ill spouses was in the early stages of dementia and could still participate in a counseling sessio...egivers were surprised by how much the person with dementia could communicate in the session. They also report... cognitive decline to mild cognitive impairment or dementia compared to adults without initial complaints. Thi...

Scientists learn how food affects the brain

.... Folate supplementation, either by itself or in conjunction with other B vitamins, has been shown to be effective in preventing cognitive decline and dementia during aging and enhancing the effects of antidepressants. The results of a recent randomized clinical trial indicate that a three-year folic acid sup...

Can tomatoes carry the cure for Alzheimer's?

... is a promising first step towards finding an edible vaccine against the neurodegenerative disease. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia and it progresses over a long period of time. It is thought to be caused by the accumulation of human beta-amyloid, a toxic insoluble fibrous protein ...

Known genetic risk for Alzheimer's in whites also places blacks at risk

...some studies have failed to detect the effect of the APOE epsilon 4 allele on cognitive decline among blacks. In addition, false-positive rates for dementia on standardized screening tests are higher for blacks than for whites when compared to neurologists' ratings of cognitive status, Sachs-Ericsson said,...

New technology may prevent vitamin B12 deficient seniors and vegetarians from needing injections

... may soon exist. According to the National Institutes of Health, vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to a wide spectrum of conditions, such as anemia, dementia and reduced cognitive functioning. Vitamin B12 deficiency is a significant health issue. Nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population is B12 deficient (Tu...

Researchers uncover mechanism of action of antibiotic able to reduce neuronal cell death in brain

...otrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntingtons disease, epilepsy, stroke/ischemia, dementia and malignant gliomas RICHMOND, Va. (May 9, 2008) Virginia Commonwealt...erapies to treat Alzheimers disease, Huntingtons disease, epilepsy, stroke, dementia and malignant gliomas. Neurodegenerative diseases are caused by the det...

High cholesterol in your 40s increases risk of Alzheimer's disease

...ys conclusions regarding high mid-life cholesterol and the risk of vascular dementia were difficult to formulate as there are several types of vascular dementia that may have slightly different risk factors. ...

First diagnostic test for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease on the horizon

...ed as being helpful in making a diagnosis. Susan Sorensen, head of research at the UK Alzheimers Society said: There are 700,000 people living with dementia in the UK, 62 per cent have Alzheimers disease and this will rise to more than a million in less than 20 years. An effective blood test would present ...

Selective restraints and reduced medication could reduce nursing home falls says 4-year study

...ffecting 743 males and 1,908 females ranging from 40 to 105 years of age, with an average age of 72. All had been diagnosed with a physical illness or dementia and some suffered from both. The researchers found that people using certain drugs were much more likely to experience a fall. Sleeping pills and...

New clinical data shows chromium picolinate improves cognitive function

...m and insulin resistance have been linked to age-related cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimers disease. These findings suggest that improving glucose metab...vel (15.7 versus 15 years), stage and extent of memory impairment (Clinical dementia Rating sum boxes score, 1.0 versus 0.85) or level of mood disturbance (Prof...