Margarida Azevedo, MSc,  —

A study by researchers at the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA) detailed, reportedly for a first time, the relationship between plasma levels of two types of amyloid beta peptides and cognitive function and brain volume, factors known to be diminished in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The findings suggested that blood…

Georgetown University researchers reported what is thought to be the first confirmed case of Alzheimer’s disease in a HIV-positive patient, a 71-year-old man with amyloid deposits in the brain detected by a scan. The case report highlights the importance of further study into HIV-related neurological decline, and raises the possibilty that Alzheimer’s…

Researchers at Université Laval in Canada demonstrated that aging mice in a model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) were less able to regulate their body temperatures, and when exposed to a cold environment showed increased AD manifestations. These results suggest correction of thermoregulation might be a therapeutic avenue for Alzheimer’s. The study, “Impaired thermoregulation and…

Researchers have identified a group of agricultural chemicals — pesticides and fungicides — that constitute environmental risk factors for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. A recent study found that a number of these chemicals produce gene expression changes in mouse neurons similar to those observed in people with autism, Alzheimer’s disease, and other conditions. The paper, “…

Researchers tested the effects of fingolimod, an approved treatment for multiple sclerosis shown to have anti-inflammatory properties, in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The drug reduced the density of pathological plaques and decreased the number of pro-inflammatory cells in in vivo disease models, suggesting a potential therapeutic role for Alzheimer’s.

Researchers at Austria’s MedUni Vienna have found that the protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), amyloid-β, is transmissible to other brains under very unusual circumstances. However, the clinical symptoms of the disease are not manifested in the affected brains, suggesting that amyloid-β transmission is not able to reproduce the full…

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center researchers in New Orleans have shown that TREM2, an innate immune receptor protein essential to the clearing of waste from the brain and retina, is diminished in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), identifying a key molecular pathway and possible therapeutic target. Loss of function of TREM2…

Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, were able to show for the first time the progressive stages of Alzheimer’s disease in healthy adults and patients with Alzheimer’s using PET scans. This shows positron emission tomography (PET) scans can be used as diagnostic and staging tools in patients suffering from…

Researchers in Germany have identified a potential brain inflammation biomarker in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with early and asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease. This biomarker may help clinicians identify Alzheimer’s at its transition stage from preclinical disease to cognitive impairment and dementia progression. The research, titled “sTREM2 cerebrospinal fluid levels are a potential biomarker…

Researchers have successfully reduced the levels of inflammatory cells in the central nervous system linked to inflammation using pharmacological drugs. This decrease translated into improved memory, cognition, and neuronal survival in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. The research paper, “Eliminating microglia in Alzheimer’s mice prevents neuronal loss without modulating amyloid-β pathology,” was…