February Alzheimer's News

Cancer-Related Protein May Play Key Role in Alzheimer's Disease
February 29, 2008 - The cancer-related protein Akt may profoundly influence the fate of the tau protein, which forms bundles of tangled nerve cell fibers in the brain associated with Alzheimer's disease, reports a new study led by researchers at the University of South Florida and the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.
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International Brain Awareness Week 2008
February 28, 2008 - In the early 1900s, Sigmund Freud, Alois Alzheimer and Harvey Cushing were building their careers in neuroscience. Freud published his groundbreaking work The Interpretation of Dreams, Alzheimer identified Alzheimer’s disease, and Cushing was establishing neurosurgery as a specialty. A century later, the Society for Neuroscience has more then 38,000 members and a Google search on neuroscience brings up more than nine million hits. Neuroscience has become one of the leading fields of scientific endeavor and almost daily scientific papers are published detailing new findings about the brain and its functions.
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Antibiotics frequently given to patients with advanced dementia
February 26, 2008 - A new study by researchers in the US found that people with advanced dementia are frequently given antibiotics toward the end of life, and has thrown into question whether this practice should be curtailed in view of the increased risk of developing drug resistant superbugs.
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Computers Could Be Used To Diagnose Alzheimer's
February 25, 2008 - Computers are able to diagnose Alzheimer's disease faster and more accurately than experts, according to research published in the journal Brain. The findings may help ensure that patients are diagnosed earlier, increasing treatment options.
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Memory Loss And Other Cognitive Impairment Becoming Less Common In Older Americans
February 23, 2008 - Although it's too soon to sound the death knell for the "senior moment," it appears that memory loss and thinking problems are becoming less common among older Americans. A new nationally representative study shows a downward trend in the rate of "cognitive impairment" -- the umbrella term for everything from significant memory loss to dementia and Alzheimer's disease -- among people aged 70 and older.
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Ring Thief Gets 4 Years For Stealing From Alzheimer Patient
February 15, 2008 - GOLDEN, Colo. -- A former caregiver at a Wheat Ridge nursing home tearfully apologized Thursday for stealing a diamond ring from an Alzheimer's patient. A judge then sentenced her to four years behind bars. Ebony Michelle Butler, 23, told the victim's family, "I feel great shame in what I've done." Butler was working at the Spring Ridge Park Assisted Living Center in September 2006 when 80-year-old Jean Mayer's diamond ring disappeared.
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Once A Day Treatment Has Hope For Alzheimer's Patients
February 15, 2008 - A new patch shows great promise for a terrible ailment. More than 450,000 Canadians suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and many more know the difficulty of caring for someone with the illness. The progressive, degenerative condition causes memory loss, making it difficult for patients to remember if they've taken their medication. Other complications include difficulty swallowing pills and the fact that current treatment must be administered twice a day.
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Moss Protein Plays Role In Alzheimer's Disease
February 13, 2008 - Preventing Alzheimer's disease is a goal of Raphael Kopan, Ph.D., professor of molecular biology and pharmacology at the Washington University School of Medicine. The moss plant Physcomitrella patens studied in the laboratory of Ralph S. Quatrano, Ph.D., the Spencer T. Olin Professor and chair of the biology department on WUSTL's Danforth Campus, might inch Kopan toward that goal.
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New Alzheimer's research shows promise
February 13, 2008 - WASHINGTON - Researchers are making progress toward finding novel therapies to combat Alzheimer's, including a hay fever drug from Russia that is said to improve memory in people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's.
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Alzheimer's plaques form 'within a day'
February 12, 2008 - Deposits of plaque that clog up the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease may form much faster than expected. Brains imaging experiments involving live mice have shown that plaques can form within a single day, and seem to be the cause of brain damage, rather than the result of earlier brain injury.
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Tracking Alzheimer's Patients
February 09, 2008 - A GPS type device is giving peace of mind to many families of Alzheimer's patients.
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Alzheimer's-associated Plaques Can Form In A Day, And Alzheimer's Symptoms Soon Follow
February 08, 2008 - The amyloid plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients may form much more rapidly than previously expected. Using an advanced microscopic imaging technique to examine brain tissue in mouse models of the devastating neurological disorder, researchers from the MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease (MGH-MIND), working with colleagues from Washington University School of Medicine, find that plaques can develop in as little as a day and that Alzheimer's-associated neuronal changes appear soon afterwards.
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Forest Laboratories, Inc. Announces Positive Results Of Memantine Study Of Once-Daily Formulation
February 05, 2008 - Forest Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: FRX) announced preliminary results of a Phase III study of memantine HCl (currently marketed as Namenda(R), a twice-daily immediate- release formulation) in a novel once-daily formulation. The study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of an innovative, proprietary, 28 mg memantine extended-release, once-daily formulation compared to placebo in outpatients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease currently treated with a cholinesterase inhibitor.
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An Apple A Day Keeps Dementia Away
February 01, 2008 - It would seem that the old wives' tale "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" has borne fruit again in that a new study suggests that apples, bananas and oranges protect against neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's.
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