News

Aducanumab reduced deposits of the amyloid plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of early-stage patients who took part in a three-year extension trial, Biogen reports. After the study ended, deposits of the protein were lower in many patients’ brains than the level that a scan would identify as…

The link between brain inflammation, cell growth and division, and neuronal death could provide a target to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disease, research suggests. The study, “LPS-induced inflammatory response triggers cell cycle reactivation in murine neuronal cells through retinoblastoma proteins induction,” appeared in the journal Cell Cycle. The…

Increasing the intake of trace amounts of lithium over a long period may prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia, recent findings suggest. But the link between lithium and dementia is nonlinear, and the wrong amount appeared to increase dementia risk, according to…

Caprion Biosciences Inc. is partnering with a public-private organization known as the Biomarkers Consortium to study whether biomarkers can be used to track changes in early Alzheimer’s disease progression. Researchers in the Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteomics Project will measure changes in protein concentration of certain biomarkers over time in Alzheimer’s…

The naturally occurring hormone klotho improved cognition in mouse models of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, according to a University of California medical center study. Researchers said the findings could lead to new therapies for the neurological disorders. The study that the team published in Cell Reports was titled “Peripheral Elevation of a Klotho…

Johns Hopkins researchers looked at brain scans and discovered that lower levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin underlie the mild loss of cognitive functions that usually precede the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. These findings suggest that preventing the loss of serotonin could halt or even prevent the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and…

In the future, doctors may diagnose Alzheimer’s disease by scanning a patient’s eyes — thanks to new evidence that telltale plaques of amyloid-beta are present not only in the brain, but also in the retina. Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles has developed a method to noninvasively detect amyloid deposits in…

Odor identification tests may help track Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in persons at risk even before the onset of symptoms, a new study shows. The study, “Odor identification as a biomarker of preclinical AD in older adults at risk,” appeared in the journal Neurology. Gradual memory loss is observed…

Vanderbilt University researchers have developed a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that has shown promising results in brain health. The investigative treatment, a molecule called VU319, is expected to fill a long-needed gap for Alzheimer’s patients by improving memory, attention, and brain functioning. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration…

A lack of energy in brain cells called microglia might explain why people with mutations in the TREM2 gene are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a mouse study that showed exhausted microglia lacked the capacity to confine amyloid plaques. By restoring the energy levels in these cells,…