Magdalena Kegel,  —

Abnormal levels of unsaturated fatty acids may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease processes, as researchers found that six of these fats were linked to both brain abnormalities and cognitive symptoms. In people with amyloid-beta plaques but no cognitive problems, the abnormalities were less pronounced, suggesting that when levels of these fatty…

Canada’s 3D Signatures has developed a simple cheek swab to identify patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and even distinguish among those with mild, moderate or severe stages of the illness, according to results from a clinical trial. The analyses, based on the company’s TeloView software platform, will appear in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, though a 3D press…

With the help of an extremely powerful infrared spectroscopy method, researchers have found evidence challenging the widely held theory that Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented by clearing amyloid-beta from the brain. The research team at Lund University in Sweden discovered that amyloid-beta naturally exists as a four-unit complex and…

Drinking tea may lower the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other neurocognitive ailments, concludes a study that followed elderly adults in Singapore. Since objectively measurable markers of tea consumption are now available, researchers at the National University of Singapore urge more efforts to examine the individual compounds in tea responsible for this…

The Vanderbilt University Medical Center has passed a key hurdle in its quest to develop a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease with the announcement that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a Phase 1 clinical trial of the therapy. The development marks one of the few times that a university…

Yet another Alzheimer’s disease clinical trial (NCT01741194) has ended in disappointment. Accera, noting that its Phase 3 trial of AC-1204 showed the drug offered no benefits over placebo, blamed its failure on an inadequate uptake of AC-1204 into the bloodstream. “The trial result is disappointing for us and the millions…

Spanish researchers have developed an artificial-intelligence system to help doctors diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. The system, based on brain-scan analysis, can also detect when a person suffers from the mild cognitive impairment that can signal that a person has Alzheimer’s. Doctors can use the tool to make earlier diagnoses. Alzheimer’s-related processes…

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago will investigate risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease among Latinos, a study it hopes will shed light on how Hispanics age. The decision to do the research comes at time when scientists are predicting a nine-fold increase in Alzheimer’s cases among those of Latin American descent…

A report supported by the World Health Organization lists 59 research priorities the authors believe would reduce the burden of dementia in the coming decade. A commentary in the same issue of The Lancet Neurology ripped the report’s positions, however, touching off a back-and-forth between the sides. The report, “Research priorities…

New insights into how nerve cells communicate to control learning and memory are likely to affect how researchers view, and treat, neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. British researchers at universities in Bristol and Central Lancashire have discovered they can control a process known as long-term potentiation (LTP) — strengthening the…