News

Two research teams have independently discovered that a cognition-related gene behaves like a virus in the nervous system — passing on its genetic material between neurons. While scientists are still working to understand the “why” of their discovery, they are in agreement that the mechanism has widespread implications, as it appears…

Proteins in nerve cell synapses, which transmit signals between neurons, are abnormal in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, Swedish researchers concluded after performing a large-scale analysis of synaptic proteins in patients’ brains. By studying these flaws, researchers could distinguish between Alzheimer’s patients and those with…

New York researchers report that daily consumption of food with high levels of salt reduces blood flow to the brain and causes cognitive impairment in mice. The Weill Cornell Medicine study was the first to show a link between diet and cognitive impairment arising from a gut-initiated immune response. It has…

Increased amounts of beta-amyloid proteins often lead to worse anxiety symptoms in cognitive healthy, older individuals, according to a study published in The American Journal of Psychiatry. The study, “Longitudinal Association of Amyloid Beta and Anxious-Depressive Symptoms in Cognitively Normal Older Adults” supports the hypothesis that…

Hong Kong Baptist University researchers have developed a tool for spotting biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease that can detect them in a number of kinds of body fluids simultaneously. The tool is made up of antibodies that bind only to beta-amyloid and tau proteins, well-known markers of Alzheimer’s. It uses a…

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) will soon launch its 2018 “Educating America” tour to bring educational conferences on Alzheimer’s disease to patients, caregivers and the general public nationwide. The tour will visit 14 states — nine of which already have confirmed dates — to raise awareness, promote…

A group of U.S. researchers hoping to identify already approved medications to repurpose as Alzheimer’s disease treatments has won a $2.8 million, five-year grant from the National Institute on Aging, a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study will be led by scientists at Ohio’s Case Western…

Another treatment has joined the long list of compounds that have failed to show effectiveness against Alzheimer’s disease. Three Phase 3 clinical trials showed that idalopirdine was unable to improve more than 2,500 patients’ cognition. A Phase 2 trial suggesting that the treatment was effective has led to researchers speculating…

ProMIS Neurosciences’ Alzheimer’s therapy PMN310 attacks toxic forms of a protein linked to the disease but not normal forms, a preclinical-trial study indicates. Other therapies go after both forms of amyloid beta, giving PMN310 an important safety edge, ProMIS said. The study involved both human brain cells in a lab…

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company and Denali Therapeutics are teaming up to develop three treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. They will use Denali’s Antibody Transport Vehicle technology to get the therapies past the blood-brain barrier so they are able to work where they are needed — in the…