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An immune molecule called IL-33 can reverse Alzheimer’s disease symptoms and cognitive decline in mice, researchers show in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The findings lend support to theories that humans have a natural defense against Alzheimer’s that decreases…

In the first long-term analysis of its kind, researchers report that depressive symptoms that progressively increase in older age might better predict the development of dementia than any other type of depression – and may, in fact, represent an early disease stage. Many studies have linked depressive symptoms with dementia, but…

Washington University researchers suggest that difficulties in establishing cognitive maps of new surroundings might indicate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease long before a clinical diagnosis. The findings suggest that navigational tasks can be a powerful new tool for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease-related changes. The research paper, “Spatial Navigation in…

The UC Cures for Alzheimer’s Disease Initiative was launched recently by the University of California (UC) to accelerate the most promising Alzheimer’s disease research. Projects could be studies or proof-of-concept clinical trials to confirm a new imaging modality or biomarker. Sponsored by the UC Office of the President with a foundational…

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…

All failed attempts to produce a viable vaccine against amyloid-beta in Alzheimer’s disease have one thing in common — they all used vaccine adjuvants that elicit the wrong kind of immune response, says Qantu Therapeutics’ president and CSO, Dante J. Marciani, in a sweeping retrospective analysis that covers errors in past and…

Results of a new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease by a team of researchers at the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario, and the Baycrest Centre in Toronto, Canada, reports the investigators’ assessment of the effect of stimulating…

Patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are more likely to develop diabetes due to an impairment in insulin signaling in the brain, according to a new study titled “Increased susceptibility to metabolic dysregulation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease is associated with impaired hypothalamic insulin signaling and elevated…

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 two Norwegian institutions found that deficits in the mitochondrial protein PITRM1 led to an accumulation of amyloid-beta, whose deposits in the brain are known to cause Alzheimer’s disease. The findings, drawn from a study of a family with a rare genetic defect, further suggest that mitochondria is a key player in neurodegenerative diseases.