All Alzheimer's Articles

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- While exercise is constantly touted as the best way to have a fit and healthy body, it may also be the single most important tool to combat everything from obesity to depression to ADD and Alzheimer's, according to research by one Harvard professor. Moderate exercise, even just five or 10 minutes at a time, can help supercharge the brain's mental circuits and help beat Read more...

Losing sleep could lead to losing brain cells, a new study suggests. Levels of a protein that forms the hallmark plaques of Alzheimer's disease rise in the brains of mice and in the spinal fluid of people during wakefulness and fall during sleep, researchers report online September 24 in Science. Mice that didn't get enough sleep for three weeks also had more plaques in their brains than Read more...

University of California-Irvine neuroscientists say they've discovered a person's eyes might provide faster Alzheimer's diagnosis and treatment. The researchers said they found retinas in mice genetically altered to have Alzheimer's undergo changes similar to those that occur in the brain -- most notably the accumulation of amyloid plaque lesions. In addition, the scientists said they found Read more...

U.S., Canadian and British researchers found a high-protein diet may shrink the brain, a phenomenon linked to Alzheimer's disease. Lead author Sam Gandy, a professor at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a neurologist at the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York, and colleagues tested four differing menus on mice bred to develop Alzheimer's disease. The mice were fed Read more...

A compound in olive oil targets and blocks toxic proteins that damage brain cells and cause memory loss in Alzheimer's disease victims, U.S. researchers said. The compound, oleocanthal, alters the structures of the proteins, ADDLs, said William L. Klein of Northwestern University and Paul A.S. Breslin of Monell Chemical Senses Center. "Binding of ADDLs is thought to be a crucial Read more...

U.S. scientists have found the harmful effects of the beta-amyloid protein associated with Alzheimer's disease might be mitigated with another brain protein. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center scientists said their findings from an animal study suggest a new therapy tactic against Alzheimer's. Beta-amyloid is found in the brain and, when functioning properly, suppresses nerve Read more...

The bad news is that every 70 seconds, someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer's disease. The good news is you can lower your odds of being one of them. "There are no guarantees in this game, but by addressing lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise, you can decrease your risk of getting Alzheimer's," said Dr. Richard Restak, Clinical Professor of Neurology at George Washington Read more...

An Israeli study finds the simple act of closing one's eyes might lead to new neurological treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Tel Aviv University Professor Talma Hendler, a neuroscientist and psychiatrist, says it's no surprise scary music is scarier with your eyes closed. And it's that phenomenon, Hendler says, that might open the door to a new way of treating people Read more...

WASHINGTON -- More than 35 million people around the world are living with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, says the most in-depth attempt yet to assess the brain-destroying illness -- and it's an ominous forecast as the population grays. The new count is about 10 percent higher than what scientists had predicted just a few years ago, because earlier research underestimated Read more...

SYDNEY -- Australian scientists have identified a molecule which controls inflammation in the brain, offering hope of a treatment that could reverse conditions like Alzheimer's. A groundbreaking study in mice has shown how the molecule, named Activin A, goes into damaged areas of the brain where it switches off inflammation which then triggers the "repair" process. Dr.  Bryce Read more...

Those with Alzheimer's disease or obsessive-compulsive disorder may be trapped in routines and kept from adapting to new environments, U.S. researchers say. Senior author Michael Platt Duke of University Medical Center in Durham, N.C., says brain scans in monkeys indicated nerve cells in the part of the brain known as the posterior cingulate cortex fire up more strongly when the monkeys Read more...

U.S. researchers suggest a cancer drug may help restore memory deficits in Alzheimer's patients. The Columbia University Medical Center study, published in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, finds a cancer drug from a family of compounds -- HDAC inhibitors -- improved memory performance in Alzheimer's mice to the level found in normal mice. Lead author Dr. Ottavio Arancio says the cancer Read more...

Vitamin D and turmeric spice might help stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of plaques linked to Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers said. The findings, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, may lead to preventing and treating Alzheimer's by utilizing the property of vitamin D3, a form of vitamin D, alone and together with natural or synthetic curcumin, a chemical Read more...

Sunscreen could be linked to brain diseases such as dementia, scientists fear. Two researchers are to launch a three-year study to determine whether engineered nanoparticles in sun cream pose a risk to the people who use it. The University of Ulster team are part of a worldwide project examining whether nanoparticles can induce diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Professor Read more...

Along with a risk of hypertension, heart disease and diabetes, scientists have come up with another reason to avoid obesity: Brain shrinkage. A UCLA study released last week shows the brains of obese older adults are on average 8 percent smaller than their more fit counterparts. "If you can do anything about obesity, know that you are not only saving your waistline, but saving the life Read more...

One challenge doctors have with diagnosing Alzheimer's disease is that memory loss can be caused by many medical conditions. Depression and anxiety can cause us to forget things. So can what's called vascular dementia, caused by blockages in the brain's blood supply, or a metabolic problem, a stroke, even a brain tumor. Yet people who age normally will continue to learn things -- their Read more...

SANTA ANA, Calif. -- She was 65 years old. "And I was a young 65, believe it or not," says Jeanne Folmer. Retired from real estate and sales, she kept busy playing golf, antiquing and dating. But things were going downhill. Fast. Sometimes she couldn't find the words she wanted to say. And she kept falling down. She didn't sound the alarms to her four grown kids, telling Read more...

It's a miracle drug, a medication that can slow or even stop the progression of Alzheimer's disease. It also doesn't exist. Humanetics Corp., though, thinks it's getting close. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based drug company, in collaboration with the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York, recently released a study that suggests a natural anti-diabetic compound, dubbed NIC5-15, can help Read more...

Everybody knows exercise is good for you. So the more you do it, the better you should feel, right?Not always.All that lifting, lunging and long-arm crunching can trigger some unusual side effects -- from a pounding headache to an unexpected orgasm to a runny nose."People put a lot of stress on their body they're not used to," said Steven Page, a sports medicine specialist at Brandon Read more...

U.S. scientists say a cellular protein that might prevent nerve cell death also helps improve insulin action and lowers blood glucose levels. Researchers at Yeshiva University's Albert Einstein College of Medicine and at the University of California-Los Angeles said their study, which focused on diabetic rodents, is the first to show a role in glucose metabolism for humanin, a small peptide Read more...