Wednesday, November 30, 2016

Alzheimer's brain plaques may harm the heart, too: VIDEO

GETTY IMAGES/ISTOCKPHOTO

Protein fragments that form plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients might also stiffen their heart muscle and increase their risk of heart failure, a new study reports.

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Probiotics Trial in Alzheimer’s Patients Shows Promise in Improving Brain Function

Researchers from Iran show in the first human trial that probiotics appear to improve brain cognition in humans.
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Monday, November 28, 2016

Solving the dementia puzzle: Drop in Alzheimer’s credited to ongoing education, active brains

Gail Beasley and Johnnie Skinner put a puzzle together Saturday at the Ashton Senior Living facility in Gainesville. According to new research released Monday, the rate of dementia in adults age 65 and up dropped to about 9 percent in 2012 from nearly 12 percent in 2000.

Area senior advocates offer support to seniors, caregivers facing disease

Education may be the missing piece  the puzzle of solving why rates of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have decreased lately.

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Sunday, November 27, 2016

It’s not a cure, but now there’s hope you can prevent Alzheimer’s: VIDEO

Ann Poehler’s strides  on the treadmill. Her feet pound. Her heart races from 150 to 160 beats per minute and more.

A plastic tube jutting from the Prairie Village woman’s mouth feeds carbon dioxide levels to a computer here  the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center. The computer records every respiration while an exercise physiologist coaches her to push harder.

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Labels: Video

Saturday, November 26, 2016

New imaging technique measures toxicity of proteins associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases

Image Source: LEICA-MICROSYSTEMS

Press release

A new super-resolution imaging technique allows researchers to track how surface changes in proteins are related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.
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Friday, November 25, 2016

People with Alzheimer's can have sharp memories

Image Source: MODALITIES-ISA

Some older people who have signs of Alzheimer's disease in their brains may actually have pretty good memories, a small new study suggests.
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Labels: study

Thursday, November 24, 2016

Group with Alzheimer's gene mutation exciting disease's researchers: VIDEO

60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl with members of the Colombian family CBS NEWS

Extended family in Colombia with a genetic mutation causing Alzheimer's may help scientists prevent the disease someday

Scientists are hoping volunteers from the world’s largest concentration of people with a rare genetic mutation causing  Alzheimer’s may help prevent the disease in others someday. Lesley Stahl goes to Medellin, Colombia,  to meet with members of a large extended family, many of whom carry the gene mutation that amounts to an early death sentence, for a 60 Minutes report to be broadcast Sunday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT. 

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Labels: Video

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Can Occupational Therapy Slow Alzheimer's Decline?

Home-based occupational therapy may not slow down the physical decline that comes with Alzheimer's disease, a new clinical trial suggests.

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Labels: study

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Could loneliness be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease?

Subtle feelings of loneliness might warn of impending Alzheimer's disease in older folks, a new study suggests.

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Monday, November 21, 2016

These simple lifestyle changes can prevent or slow Alzheimer’s

The movie ‘The Notebook’, depicts a couple grappling with Alzheimer’s.

An estimated 5.4 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease in 2016, 5.2 million of them are age 65 or older. The disease will escalate as baby boomers get older, with a projected 13.8 million afflicted by 2050.
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Sunday, November 20, 2016

Alzheimer's, dementia caregivers face a daily struggle to support loved ones

After Kathleen Ivey’s husband started asking her “where are we going” every half of a block for multiple miles, she decided to take a new approach.

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Labels: perseverance

Saturday, November 19, 2016

Free mobile game that tests someone's ability to navigate could help doctors detect Alzheimer's in minutes: VIDEO

British scientists have developed a mobile game which could help doctors detect Alzheimer's in minutes, years before serious symptoms arise.
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Labels: Video

Friday, November 18, 2016

Stopping brain protein from turning rogue prevents Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented by stopping a crucial brain protein from turning rogue, a study in mice suggests.

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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Elderly discovered with superior memory and Alzheimer’s pathology

Full-blown Alzheimer pathology also can exist in brains of elderly who show superior cognitive performance, according to new research.

Credit: © Africa Studio / Fotolia

Well-established research suggests extensive plaques and tangles in the brain result in the death of neurons and  an indicator of Alzheimer's dementia.

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Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Sense of smell may predict Alzheimer's risk

New research published in the journal Annals of Neurology suggests an individual's sense of smell could be useful in determining whether they are likely to develop Alzheimer's disease.

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Tuesday, November 15, 2016

'Minibrains' Could Help Drug Discovery For Zika And For Alzheimer's

This image is from lab-grown brain tissue — a  — infected by Zika virus (white) with neural stem cells in red and neuronal nuclei in green.

Courtesy of Xuyu Qian and Guo-li Ming

Some tiny clusters of brain cells grown in a lab dish are making big news at this week's Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego.

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Monday, November 14, 2016

Driving with Alzheimer’s: When does it become unsafe?

A story about an 81-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s who went missing sparked a lot of questions about how she was able to drive and get lost three hours away in West Virginia.

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Sunday, November 13, 2016

Enzyme treatment of gene may reverse Alzheimer’s effects

An image of the human brain. (photo credit:REUTERS)

“Is there really a magic bullet, one treatment that covers all aspects of Alzheimer’s? Not likely.”

Amyloid beta peptides and the plaque they sprout in diseased brains have been blamed for the last two decades on Alzheimer’s disease. However, progress in treating – not to mention curing – the debilitating, neurodegenerative disease has been extremely slow.
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Saturday, November 12, 2016

Power outage in the brain may be source of Alzheimer's

Alzheimer's graphic (stock image).

Credit: © Feng Yu / Fotolia

Restoring damaged genes linked to mitochondrial function may offer strategy for halting disease advance

On Nov. 25, 1901, a 51-year-old woman is admitted to a hospital in Frankfurt, Germany, displaying a bizarre constellation of symptoms. Her behavior is erratic. She shows signs of paranoia as well as auditory hallucinations,  and severe memory impairment. Asked to write her own name, she manages "Mrs.," then lingers over the page, unable to remember the rest. "I have lost myself," she tells the attending physician.

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Labels: study

Friday, November 11, 2016

Probiotics can help thinking and memory

Probiotics found in yoghurt and supplements could help improve the thinking and memory for people with Alzheimer’s disease, research has found.
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Labels: study

Thursday, November 10, 2016

Study finds a complex series of molecular, cellular, circuit and network-level changes contribute to the progression of Alzheimer's

Age-related dementia will affect 10 percent of people in the U.S. within their lifetime.

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Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Structure of toxic tau aggregates determines type of dementia, rate of progression

A new study demonstrates that toxic tau aggregates can be used to determine which type of dementia will occur, which regions of  will be affected, and how quickly the disease will spread. Top: Dr. Marc Diamond's lab replicated distinctly patterned tau strains, shown in green, in cultured cells. Bottom: These tau strains were inoculated into the brains of mice and formed unique patterns of pathology that can be linked to specific dementias.

Credit: Image courtesy of UT Southwestern Medical Center

The distinct structures of toxic protein aggregates that form in degenerating brains determine which type of dementia will occur, which regions of  will be affected, and how quickly the disease will spread, according to a study from the Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute.

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Tuesday, November 8, 2016

Human Trials on New Alzheimer’s Drug Just Showed Positive Results

A NEW HOPE

Alzheimer’s remains the world’s most common form of dementia and is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. But a viable and safe drug remains elusive. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, roughly 5.4 million Americans suffer from the disease.

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Monday, November 7, 2016

Dance therapy healing for dementia, Alzheimer's disease: VIDEO

Lee Wright couldn't wait to drop his cane.

The 75-year-old shimmied and shuffled his way to dance therapy on Thursday as saxophones, trumpets and trombones from Glenn Miller's big band classic "In The Mood" reverberated through the NewCourtland's LIFE Allegheny Center in Philadelphia. The Brooklyn native joined about 15 other seniors to tap their feet and shake their shoulders in a circle for the dance and movement session.

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Labels: Video

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Alzheimer's patients test deep brain stimulation to help boost memory

Norma-Jean McLaren has been living with two electrodes implanted into her brain for almost a year.

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Saturday, November 5, 2016

On Path To Alzheimer's Cure, Australian Team Analyzes Petabytes Of Data: VIDEO

Image Source: AUSTRALIANCANCERRESEARCHFOUNDATION

A research team from the Queensland Brain Institute in Australia is about a year away from moving to clinical trials on a breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, a form of dementia that takes the lives of more than 40 million people worldwide each year, with an estimated cost of $600 billion.

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Labels: Video

Friday, November 4, 2016

New brain program may fight Alzheimer's: VIDEO

A new protocol to fight Alzheimer's disease is getting striking results for some patients.

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Thursday, November 3, 2016

Why You Might Not Want to Be Tested for the Alzheimer's Gene: VIDEO

Neurologist Richard Caselli has an interesting take on genetic testing.

More than 5 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s Disease, the sixth largest cause of death in this country. Given that, should you be tested for a gene that would show you to have a predisposition to Alzheimer’s?
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Labels: Video

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

For David Hyde Pierce, finding an Alzheimer’s cure is personal

David Hyde Pierce Photo: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

In off-Broadway’s “A Life,” David Hyde Pierce’s 54-year-old character realizes he’s forgotten what he was talking about.

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Tuesday, November 1, 2016

'Medical Food' May Slow Brain Atrophy in Patients With Alzheimer's and Related Disorders

Image Source: WOMENSVOICESFORCHANGE

Taking a "medical food" product (CerefolinNAC, Nestlé Health Science–Pamlab, Inc) to treat hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) may delay the rate of brain atrophy in patients with Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD), new research suggests.

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