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Researchers of two independent studies have discovered how a specific mutation on the TREM2 gene contributes to the development and progression of Alzheimer’s disease, findings that shed light on the role of TREM2 in the brain, and can lead to new ways of treating this neurological disease. Their work was reported in studies titled…

Alzheimer’s disease leaves traces in the white blood cells of its patients that could be used to diagnose the disease. So says a study by researchers at Arizona State University (ASU) who used a blood test to correctly distinguish between patients with early Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and healthy people. More importantly, the…

New artificial intelligence (AI) research conducted at McGill University in Canada suggests that doctors may soon have the tools to predict an individual’s likelihood of developing dementia several years before the onset of symptoms. Such extended prognostic capability would give future dementia patients and their families more time to plan strategies…

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…