Alice Melão,  —

Treatment with low-dose aspirin was found to reduce the amount of brain amyloid aggregates that researchers believe are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a mouse study. These findings may open new therapeutic doors to prevent memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients. The study, “Aspirin induces…

A tailored lighting intervention in nursing homes can improve sleep, mood, and behavior in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a study’s preliminary results. The study, “Tailored Lighting Intervention For Alzheimer’s Patients And Its Effects On Sleep, Mood And Agitation,” was presented at SLEEP 2018, the 32nd joint…

Long-term use of BIIB037 (aducanumab) can prevent progression of Alzheimer’s in patients at early stages of the disease, according to results from the PRIME study. Biogen, maker of aducanumab, will present those results at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN), April 21-27…

Betanin, the compound that gives beets their distinctive red color, can help slow the accumulation of misfolded proteins in the brain, a process that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The study, “Beeting” Alzheimer’s: Inhibition of Cu2+-β-amyloid mediated oxidation and peroxidation by betanin from sugar beets,” was a…

Cognition Therapeutics’ lead investigative therapy Elayta (CT1812) shows promise in improving the activity of brain cells in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to the results of a Phase 1b/2a trial. Elayta is a small molecule that displaces amyloid-beta oligomers formed in Alzheimer’s disease from their binding sites, or…

AbbVie and Voyager Therapeutics are teaming up to develop antibody-based gene therapies for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders. The collaboration includes gene therapies against the harmful tau protein in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. An antibody is a protein the immune system generates to fight harmful substances. Companies can…

New York researchers report that daily consumption of food with high levels of salt reduces blood flow to the brain and causes cognitive impairment in mice. The Weill Cornell Medicine study was the first to show a link between diet and cognitive impairment arising from a gut-initiated immune response. It has…

Increased amounts of beta-amyloid proteins often lead to worse anxiety symptoms in cognitive healthy, older individuals, according to a study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. The study, “Longitudinal Association of Amyloid Beta and Anxious-Depressive Symptoms in Cognitively Normal Older Adults” supports the hypothesis that…

Hong Kong Baptist University researchers have developed a tool for spotting biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease that can detect them in a number of kinds of body fluids simultaneously. The tool is made up of antibodies that bind only to beta-amyloid and tau proteins, well-known markers of Alzheimer’s. It uses a…

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have found that Alzheimer’s disease causes microglia — the immune cells that normally protect brain cells from damage — to change their behavior and instead promote a pro-inflammatory immune response. Their study, “Temporal Tracking of Microglia Activation in Neurodegeneration at Single-Cell Resolution,” appeared in…