Alzheimer's News

Latest Alzheimer's / Dementia News From Medical News Today.

Total news: 40
Last news: August 30, 2007 14:00:00

Learn about Alzheimer's Disease symptoms such as memory loss and senile dementia. Find out about the treatments and causes, as well as the stages of Alzheimer's Disease and dementia.

Total news: 54
Last news: August 30, 2007 04:00:00

People who take statin drugs may be less likely to develop the brain changes that signal Alzheimers disease, according to a study published in the August 28, 2007, issue of Neurology(r), the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.Previous research had suggested that people who received statins might be less likely to develop Alzheimers disease. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

In this weeks BMJ, a senior doctor describes his disappointment with the Alzheimers Societys recent alliance with drug makers in bringing the first legal challenge to judgements reached by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), the body that recommends which drugs are available on the NHS in England and Wales.On 10 August, the High Court ruled against the alliance and upheld NICEs decision to limit treatments for Alzheimers disease. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. (Nasdaq: MEMY) announced the dosing of the first subject in the single ascending dose (SAD) study of its Phase 1 clinical program of R4996/MEM 63908, a partial agonist of the nicotinic alpha-7 receptor. Compounds acting on this receptor could be beneficial in the treatment of Alzheimers disease and schizophrenia, as well as other psychiatric and neurological disorders. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

Genetically engineered cells implanted in mice have cleared away toxic plaques associated with Alzheimers disease. The animals were sickened with a human gene that caused them to develop, at an accelerated rate, the disease that robs millions of elderly people of their memories. After receiving the doctored cells, the brain-muddling plaques melted away. If this works in humans, old age could be a much happier time of life. - [Read more]

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) and The Alzheimers Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) group today announced the decision to pursue a multi-center U.S. Phase III study evaluating the role of Gammagard Liquid [Immune Globulin Intravenous (Human)] (IGIV), an intravenous immunoglobulin preparation, for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate alzheimers disease. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

People who take statin drugs may be less likely to develop the brain changes that signal Alzheimers disease, according to a new study. This is the first direct evidence that widely used heart drugs may protect the brain. - [Read more]

Exelon (rivastigmine transdermal patch), which delivers rivastigmine to patients through the skin into the bloodstream, has been shown to be well tolerated by Alzheimers disease (AD) patients for up to one year of treatment with sustained benefits. The findings come from the 28-week, open-label extension phase of the IDEAL ( I nvestigation of trans D ermal E xelon in Alz heimers disease) trial. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

A new gene therapy technique has been shown to reduce the amount of amyloid-beta protein (which forms the plaques found in the brains of people with Alzheimers disease) in the brains of mice. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

By comparing brain tissue of people who had taken statins with those who had not, US scientists have established for the first time that taking statins may help to stave off the telltale signs of Alzheimers. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

While people with multiple sclerosis have many choices for anti-inflammatory drugs to help prevent flare-ups of their physical symptoms, no medication exists to stop MS from causing degeneration of the brain and spinal cord. Now a study finds that a new form of estrogen protects the brain without increasing the risk of hormone-induced cancers of the breast and uterus. - [Read more]

High stress levels may contribute to memory loss among people at risk for developing Alzheimers disease. The Ă¥4 variant of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene contributes to the risk for memory loss related to Alzheimers disease. Similarly, high circulating levels of cortisol, associated with high stress levels, also impairs memory. - [Read more]

Actress Sally Lindsay and broadcaster Tania Bryer proved you dont always need boots for walking as they launched the countdown to the Alzheimers Societys annual fundraiser, Memory Walk. The pair, both Alzheimers Society ambassadors, were joined on Londons South Bank by MP Boris Johnson who discovered the charitys walking fundraiser could just be the perfect antidote to life without a bicycle. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

Elderly patients who carry a gene associated with an increased risk of Alzheimers disease and dementia have higher rates of postoperative delirium after major surgery. Postoperative delirium is a relatively common side effect in elderly patients undergoing major surgery. A potentially prolonged and disabling problem, postoperative delirium has been linked to increased rates of nursing home placement and in-hospital death. The new study suggests that APOE e4 may be a genetic risk factor for postoperative delirium. - [Read more]

Chemists are developing ways to bind up iron in the brain to combat the neurological devastation of Parkinsons and Alzheimers diseases. The key is to weed out potentially destructive forms of iron that generate harmful free radicals while leaving benign forms of iron alone to carry out vital functions in the body. - [Read more]

Columbia University Medical Center researchers have identified a brain network within the frontal lobe that is associated with cognitive reserve, the process that allows individuals to maintain function despite brain function decline due to aging or Alzheimers disease. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

A new study by NYU Medical Center researchers shows for the first time that the immune system can combat the pathological form of tau protein, a key protein implicated in Alzheimers disease. The researchers, led by Einar Sigurdsson Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pathology at New York University School of Medicine, created a vaccine in mice that suppresses aggregates of tau. The protein accumulates into harmful tangles in the memory center of the brains of Alzheimers patients. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

Research suggests that we could soon be able to diagnose the onset of many brain diseases by analysing the tiny magnetic fields produced by neuron activity in the brain. This is a significant breakthrough for neurologists and psychiatrists as it could present a fast and simple screening test for brain diseases, while also helping differentiate between different brain diseases that have similar symptoms. - [Read more]

Scientists working on a cure for Alzheimers disease find it hard to develop drugs that will pass through the highly selective blood-brain barrier. That may be why a Tel Aviv University researcher decided to take an alternate route -- through the nose.Scientists widely agree that plaque formation is what causes the onslaught of neurological diseases like Alzheimers and other neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). [click link for full article] - [Read more]

Women who have dementia start losing weight at least 10 years before the disease is diagnosed, according to a study published in the August 21, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.The researchers examined the records of 481 people with dementia and compared them to 481 people of the same age and gender who did not have dementia. [click link for full article] - [Read more]

Intellect Neurosciences, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ILNS) a biopharmaceutical company focused on development of disease-modifying therapeutic agents for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimers disease and related disorders, announced that Dr. [click link for full article] - [Read more]