Alzheimer Desease
French EU Presidency Makes Fight Against Alzheimer’s Disease A Priority - At a joint press conference with Commission President Barroso on 2 July 2008 highlighting the priorities of the French Presidency, French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the commitment of the French Presidency to the development of a European Alzheimer’s Plan. He stressed that the French Presidency would be working with all its partners to find concrete solutions for this scourge which affects millions of Europeans.
Computer Games Help People With Dementia - Computer games offer an exciting and engaging way of helping older people with dementia keep their brain active and learn new skills.
Applied NeuroSolutions Achieves Q2 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Serum Diagnostic Development Program Milestone - Applied NeuroSolutions, Inc. (OTC BB:APNS), a biotechnology Company focused on the development of products for the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (”AD”), today announced the achievement of a key milestone directed to a multi-product program to develop serum-based diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s disease.
Women Over 90 More Likely To Have Dementia Than Men - Women over 90 are significantly more likely to have dementia than men of the same age, according UC Irvine researchers involved with the 90+ Study, one of the nation’s largest studies of dementia and other health factors in the fastest-growing age demographic. The researchers reviewed an analysis of 911 people enrolled in the 90+ Study. Of those, 45 percent of the women had dementia, as opposed to 28 percent of the men.
Care Home Staff At Risk Of Prosecution Over Dementia Patients’ Sex Lives, UK - Care home practitioners and old age psychiatrists have been warned that they could face long jail sentences if they allow a patient with dementia to have sex even with a long-term partner.
Low “Good” HDL Cholesterol Linked To Memory Decline - A new study from the UK suggests that low levels of the “good” HDL cholesterol is linked to poor memory, and decline in memory, in middle aged adults. The study is the work of researchers at University College, London, and is published in the 30th June issue of the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology journal of the American Heart Association.
Brain ‘trick’ Offers Treatment Hope For Alzheimer’s - Scientists in the UK and Canada have made a significant step forward in the search for new drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease. An ageing population means that neurodegeneration, such as Alzheimer’s disease, is one of the major health problems in the developed world. But researchers at the University of York and Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, have designed an enzyme inhibitor which could ‘trick’ the brain and so help to halt neurodegeneration.
Are Men Or Women More Likely To Have Memory Problems In Very Old Age? - Women over age 90 are significantly more likely to have dementia compared to men in their 90s, according to a study published in the July 2, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Research shows that dementia risk for both men and women increases from age 65 to 85, but this most recent study is one of few that looks at people over age 90.
News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation July 1, 2008 - Calpain inhibitors never forget: improving memory in Alzheimer disease mice Overactivation of proteins known as calpains, which are involved in memory formation, has been linked to Alzheimer disease.
New ‘Everyday Cognition’ Scale Tracks How Older Adults Function In Daily Life - As more adults age into the high-risk period for cognitive impairment, clinicians need simple and reliable methods to identify where they may have problems in everyday life that reveal underlying changes in the brain.
Memory Loss, Dementia Risk And Low Levels Of Good Cholesterol Linked - Low levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) - the “good” cholesterol - in middle age may increase the risk of memory loss and lead to dementia later in life, researchers reported in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association. Observing 3,673 participants (26.8 percent women) from the Whitehall II study, researchers found that falling levels of HDL cholesterol were predictors of declining memory by age 60.
Alzheimer’s Society Comment On The Link Between High Density Lipoprotein And Dementia - One of the functions of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL) is to transport cholesterol from the arteries back to the liver to be degraded. It is clearly important to have enough of this transporter available. This study shows that if there is not enough High Density Lipoprotein to transport cholesterol and other lipids around the body, it can not only increase your risk of heart disease but also affect your memory and may increase your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s Society On Lord Darzi’s Next Stage Review Of The NHS, UK - Lord Darzi’s ambitious vision could have enormous benefits for people with dementia. Creating ‘polyclinics’ could potentially give people greater access to memory services and the specialist support they require, perhaps removing the need for hospital visits and ensuring that people get access to an earlier and accurate diagnosis. Speeding up evaluations of NHS treatments and giving people the universal right to approved treatments can only be positive.
Facebook Concepts Indicate Brains Of Alzheimer’s Patients Aren’t As Networked, Stanford Study Shows - This is your brain on Facebook. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine used concepts borrowed from the popular social networking site to analyze the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. They found that patients’ brains were less well-connected than the brains of people without the disorder.
Potential Alzheimer’s Target - Research in fruit flies has shown that enhancing the production of a protein called neprilysin can reduce the formation of plaques and neuron death associated with Alzheimer’s, at the expense of reducing the flies’ lifespan. The buildup of amyloid-beta protein plaques within the brain is a major hallmark of Alzheimer’s, and one that is believed to contribute to disease progression.
Study Reveals That 10 Percent Of Healthy People Had Injury From ‘Silent Strokes’ - A recent study found that about 10 percent of apparently healthy middle-aged participants with no symptoms of stroke were injured from “silent strokes,” researchers report in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. Silent cerebral infarction (SCI), or “silent stroke,” is a brain injury likely caused by a blood clot interrupting blood flow in the brain.
Anavex Life Sciences Corp. Will Present New Findings At The International Conference On Alzheimer’s Disease 2008 (July 26-31, 2008, Chicago, USA) - Anavex Life Sciences Corp. (”ANAVEX”) (OTCBB: AVXL) announces its participation at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease 2008 (July 26-31, 2008, Chicago, USA), where it will present results obtained with ANAVEX 1-41 demonstrating a protective effect against the neurotoxicity of amyloid (beta)25-35 peptide (A(beta)25-35) in mice.
Study Identifies Toxic Key To Alzheimer’s Disease Memory Loss - Using new scientific techniques, scientists have unlocked the cascade of molecular events that lead to Alzheimer’s disease. The scientific findings published in the latest edition of Nature Medicine suggest a potential new target for the development of drug therapies to fight the irreversible and degenerative disease which affects some 29.8 million people worldwide. The total worldwide societal cost of dementia was estimated at somewhere in the region of US$315.4 billion in 2005.
Discovery Of Second Genetic Risk Factor For Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease - Researchers have discovered the second, strong genetic risk factor for developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new report in the June 27th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication. The newly discovered gene, which previously had no known function, is predominantly active in a region of the brain that is hit early in the disease, where it acts as a channel for calcium, they show.
Mechanism Explains Calcium Abnormalities In Alzheimer’s Brain - A new study uncovers a mechanism that directly links mutations that cause early onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with aberrant calcium signaling. The research, published by Cell Press in the June 26th issue of the journal Neuron, provides exciting molecular insights into the pathology of AD and may lead to new treatment strategies. AD is a devastating neurodegenerative disease that affects early 18 million people in the world.
Alzheimer’s Society Calls For End To Dementia Tax, UK - Thousands of people with dementia are being forced to pay large amounts for vital care, which is often poor quality, according to a new report published by Alzheimer’s Society. The Dementia Tax shows that over two thirds of people with dementia are paying for basic care such as help with washing, dressing and going to the toilet that they require as a result of their medical condition. The majority of people are paying at least £100 a week towards the costs of care.
British Researchers Identify Link Between Childhood IQ And Vascular Dementia - Scottish researchers funded by the UK’s leading dementia research charity, the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, have found a link between childhood IQ and vascular dementia later in life. Their research, published in the journal Neurology, found that lower childhood intelligence increases the risk of vascular dementia, a disease which currently affects 112,000 people in the UK.
Low Childhood IQ Linked To Type Of Dementia - Children with lower IQs are more likely decades later to develop vascular dementia than children with high IQs, according to research published in the June 25, 2008, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia occurs when blood flow to the brain is impaired.
Scientists Find New Gene Link To Alzheimer’s Disease - An international group of scientists found that a new gene called calcium homeostasis modulator 1 (CALHM1), with a previously unknown function, is linked to late-onset Alzheimer’s Disease making this the second discovery of a strong genetic risk factor for the disease.
New York Times Examines Overuse Of Antipsychotics Among Nursing Home Residents With Dementia - The New York Times on Tuesday examined the growing use of antipsychotic drugs to lessen “the agitation, combative behavior and outbursts” of dementia patients. Sales of newer antipsychotics -- including Risperdal, Seroquel and Zyprexa -- increased from $4 billion in 2000 to $13.1 billion in 2007.
