Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.Sep 3 2020 In a first of its kind study, a University of Houston researcher is examining two common drugs used for dementia in patients with Alzheimer’s disease to determine the extent to which they don’t mix well together and cause a cascading event of side effects, prompting the need for...
Tag: <span>Dementia</span>
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Brain cell death in ALS, dementia tied to loss of key biochemical transport structure in nucleus
by Vanessa McMains, Johns Hopkins University (Top) The nuclear pore protein Pom121 in healthy brain cells. (Bottom) Brain cells with an ALS/dementia genetic mutation have less of the nuclear pore protein Pom121 than healthy brain cells, which leads to disrupted transport routes and ultimately cell death. Credit: Alyssa Coyne Researchers have long sought to explain...
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Dementia kills nearly three times more people than previously thought: BU study
Dementia may be an underlying cause of nearly three times more deaths in the U.S. than official records show, according to a new Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) study. Published in the journal JAMA Neurology, the study estimates that 13.6% of deaths are attributable to dementia, 2.7 times more than the 5.0% of...
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Gene therapy could potentially reverse memory loss from Alzheimer’s in humans
Researchers from Macquarie University have discovered a world-first new treatment that reverses the effects of memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease in a study of mice with advanced dementia. The research, co-led by two brothers, Dr Arne Ittner and Professor Lars Ittner, from Macquarie University Dementia Research Centre, builds on their work begun in 2016...
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These Drugs Carry Risks and May Not Help, But Many Dementia Patients Get Them Anyway
Nearly three-quarters of older adults with dementia have filled prescriptions for medicines that act on their brain and nervous system, but aren’t designed for dementia, a new study shows. That’s despite the special risks that such drugs carry for older adults – and the lack of evidence that they actually ease dementia-related behavior problems that...
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New diagnostic criteria shine light on early dementia mimics
by University of Bristol UK academics and clinicians have collaborated to develop a diagnostic definition of the widely recognised but poorly understood condition, Functional Cognitive Disorder (FCD). Credit: University of Bristol Experts estimate up to one third of people attending specialist memory clinics could have a condition that is commonly mistaken for early dementia. In...
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Autoimmune diseases in ALS patients linked to genetic mutation
by Sarah Lichtman, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center A study published today in the journal Nature could help explain why certain people who develop amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a deadly neurological disorder also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, are prone to autoimmune diseases. ALS, which has no known cure, causes progressive degeneration of nerve cells in the...
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Diabetes medication could help reducing one of the worst effects of aging
Aging is just not fun. At the later stages of your life you are more likely to encounter some serious health problems, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Once you hear this diagnosis, you know you’re in for a bad ending, because it is incurable. However, now scientists at the University of Toronto and the Sunnybrook Research...
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Are Your Gums Saying Something About Your Dementia Risk?
Gum disease, especially the kind that is irreversible and causes tooth loss, may be associated with mild cognitive impairment and dementia 20 years later, according to a study published in the July 29, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. “We looked at people’s dental health over a...
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Rise of TB
‘The Biggest Monster’ Is Spreading. And It’s Not the Coronavirus. Tuberculosis kills 1.5 million people each year. Lockdowns and supply-chain disruptions threaten progress against the disease as well as H.I.V. and malaria. It begins with a mild fever and malaise, followed by a painful cough and shortness of breath. The infection prospers in crowds, spreading...