News

Alzheimer’s disease starts with neurodegenerative changes in basal brain structures, and spreads to more superficial layers as the disease progresses, new research reports — a finding that challenges the widely held view that the disease originates in the brain’s cortex. The findings, reported in the study, “Basal forebrain degeneration…

Dr. David Satcher, the former U.S. Surgeon General, was named to the Board of Directors of UsAgainstAlzheimers (UsA2), where he will contribute his voice and influence to the non-profit organization as it advocates for greater urgency and action against Alzheimer’s disease. Satcher, who was a four-star admiral in the United States Public Health…

Abnormalities in the brain’s cellular power plants, known as mitochondria, may drive early Alzheimer’s processes — even before the telltale amyloid plaque that marks the disease starts forming in the brain. The finding suggests that treatments that target the abnormal energy-making processes may be a new way of approaching Alzheimer’s…

BrightStar Care, a national at-home senior care franchise, has launched an Alzheimer’s awareness campaign — Memories and Connections — for Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. The campaign is designed to equip family or care partners with information, educational tips, and activities to create meaningful connections with loved ones living with Alzheimer’s…

Scientists identified two new genes associated with the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in African-Americans. According to the researcher, this new discovery could lead to the development of new drugs that target these genes for the treatment of AD.

Antibodies extracted from llamas can visualize amyloid-beta plaque and tau deposits in the brains of live animals — a finding that may lead to a way to track Alzheimer’s disease-related brain changes in people before symptoms appear. The antibodies were shown to work in mice, but researchers have been unable to visualize their…

Scientists have reported the discovery of a factor capable of lowering levels of tau in the brain. Tau is a protein high on the list of potential villains in Alzheimer’s disease. The study, “Reduction of Nuak1 Decreases Tau and Reverses Phenotypes in a Tauopathy Mouse Model,” was published in the journal Neuron. The…

The mutated gene, as well as the position of the mutation within a gene, impact the kind of symptoms patients with dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease develop, according to new research. These findings also underscored the notion that familial Alzheimer’s is a highly variable condition, making genetic testing a crucial component…

Patients with inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease have neurological symptoms other than memory loss, suggesting that physicians need watch for less typical symptoms when suspecting familial Alzheimer’s in a patient. While the study also found atypical symptoms can differ among patient groups, a comment suggested that such differences partly reflect the large…

Researchers working in a mice reported that an experimental drug, NTRX-07, may treat Alzheimer’s by targeting a potential cause — it was seen to ease brain inflammation in the animals by restoring the brain’s ability to remove clumps of the beta-amyloid protein that is a hallmark of the disease. The excessive…