Magdalena Kegel,  —

Using slices of mouse brain tissue kept alive in a lab dish, scientists have identified the earliest molecular changes leading to Alzheimer’s disease. The findings, showing how early alterations in brain amyloid-β balance causes nerve connections called synapses to die, might allow scientist to target the mechanisms and develop therapies to…

Two studies from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, reveal new insights into amyloid-β — the plaque-forming protein scientists believe is at the root of Alzheimer’s disease. Both studies homed in on the removal of amyloid-β from the brain, a process thought to be defective in Alzheimer’s…

Scientists at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging recently demonstrated that memory loss for patients with early Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed — a feat the research team managed through a 36-point approach called metabolic enhancement for neurodegeneration. The multidisciplinary program is the first to show that cognitive decline and…

Alzheimer’s Therapeutic Research Institute (ATRI) at the University of Southern California, and Janssen Research & Development will collaborate for a  Phase 2/3 clinical trial of Jansen’s BACE blocker intended to delay or even prevent Alzheimer’s symptoms. The BACE blocker is a drug that prevents the action of an enzyme involved in…

Recent research published in The Lancet Neurology demonstrates that blood vessel changes such as arteriosclerosis and atherosclerosis in the brain are linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The findings suggest that investigating the mechanisms behind how blood vessel disease might contribute to the development of dementia might enable the…

Recent hopeful statements that blood levels of progranulin might be a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia came to an abrupt stop when a recent study demonstrated that there is no link between the blood and cerebrospinal fluid levels of the substance, disrupting the idea of a progranulin…

Alzheimer’s disease research and drug development has for the last several decades focused feircly on the elimination of amyloid-β — the protein that aggregates forming plaques in brain neurons of patients. Now, a new study suggests that the protein is part of the immune system, having an evolutionary important antimicrobial role…

A somewhat hectic schedule might protect a person from cognitive decline, a study from the University of Texas at Dallas reported. Busy people had better processing speed, working memory, episodic memory, and reasoning and language skills independent of age and education, indicating that a busy lifestyle might boost neuronal connections. Busy lifestyles — a…

Brazilian researchers have developed a nanoscale biosensor that can detect molecules linked to Alzheimer’s, as well as other neurodegenerative diseases, and certain cancers. The system marks a new era where highly sensitive, inexpensive, and portable devices might become accessible by healthcare professionals, and in settings without access to traditional resources. The sensor,…

Loss of the Y chromosome in blood cells puts men at the same risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease as individuals carrying familial high-risk mutations, offering a new marker for assessing disease risk, also including other age-related diseases, such as cancer. Partial loss of the Y chromosome over time, present in…