News

Factors known to increase risk for heart disease during middle age – diabetes, high blood pressure and smoking – also raise the risk of dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease later in life. So concludes a study presented at the American Stroke Association’s International Stroke Conference 2017, held Feb. 22-24, in Houston,…

Increased blood sugar levels may lead to Alzheimer’s disease by damaging a protein that is essential in fighting the disease’s early stages, a new study indicates. The report, “Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor is subjected to glucose modification and oxidation in Alzheimer’s Disease,” appeared in the journal Scientific Reports. Diabetes is a…

Sleeping for more than nine hours each night may predict the risk of developing dementia, and people who sleep a lot tend to have smaller brains. Those are among the findings in a new study, “Prolonged sleep duration as a marker of early neurodegeneration predicting incident dementia,” that appeared recently in the…

Spanish researchers have developed an artificial-intelligence system to help doctors diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. The system, based on brain-scan analysis, can also detect when a person suffers from the mild cognitive impairment that can signal that a person has Alzheimer’s. Doctors can use the tool to make earlier diagnoses. Alzheimer’s-related processes…

Rush University Medical Center in Chicago will investigate risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease among Latinos, a study it hopes will shed light on how Hispanics age. The decision to do the research comes at time when scientists are predicting a nine-fold increase in Alzheimer’s cases among those of Latin American descent…

A report supported by the World Health Organization lists 59 research priorities the authors believe would reduce the burden of dementia in the coming decade. A commentary in the same issue of The Lancet Neurology ripped the report’s positions, however, touching off a back-and-forth between the sides. The report, “Research priorities…

Merck is calling off its Phase 2 and 3 EPOCH trial of verubecestat as a treatment for mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease because preliminary results indicate it is not effective. The decision was made after an external review board known as the Data Monitoring Committee (eDMC) reported there was “virtually no chance of finding…

A brain imaging technique called single photon emission computed tomography, or SPECT, can help clinicians differentiate between depression and a cognitive disorder such as Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. The study, “ Classification of Depression, Cognitive Disorders, and Co-Morbid Depression and Cognitive Disorders with Perfusion SPECT Neuroimaging,” was published in…

Researchers have linked a specific set of neurons with short-term memory, in a finding that may help develop novel treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other illnesses characterized by memory decline. Their study, “Persistently Active Neurons in Human Medial Frontal and Medial Temporal Lobe Support Working Memory,” appeared in the journal…

Concussions can accelerate brain deterioration and cognitive decline in people genetically predisposed to Alzheimer’s, leading to earlier onset of the disease, according to a study. The findings could shed light on concussions’ impact on neurodegeneration and on Alzheimer’s incidence and development, researchers said. The study, “Mild traumatic brain injury…