Tag: Alzheimer’s Research

Broken brain cells repaired in dementia mouse model: If translated to humans, results suggest new directions for combating cognitive decline in elderly

Dysfunctional neurons in the hippocampus of adult female mice modeling dementia can be repaired and reconnected to distant parts of the brain, reports a new study published in JNeurosci. The similarity between the mouse model and the human condition underscores the therapeutic potential of targeting these cells in dementia patients. The hippocampus generates new brain

Artificial intelligence tool vastly scales up Alzheimer’s research: Machine learning tool automates pathologists’ work to identify disease markers

Researchers at UC Davis and UC San Francisco have found a way to teach a computer to precisely detect one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in human brain tissue, delivering a proof of concept for a machine-learning approach to distinguishing critical markers of the disease. Amyloid plaques are clumps of protein fragments in the

Researchers define Alzheimer’s-like brain disorder: LATE symptoms resembles Alzheimer’s disease but has different cause

A brain disorder that mimics symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease has been defined with recommended diagnostic criteria and guidelines for advancing future research on the condition. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center and scientists from several National Institutes of Health-funded institutions, in collaboration with international peers, described the newly-named pathway to dementia, Limbic-predominant Age-related TDP-43 Encephalopathy,

Scientists propose new theory on Alzheimer’s, amyloid connection

Worldwide, 50 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, every 65 seconds someone in the United States develops this disease, which causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. It has been more than 100 years since Alois Alzheimer, M.D., a German psychiatrist and neuropathologist, first reported the

Potential treatment for NEC in preemies: Scientists discover how to prevent disease in an animal model, offer a new direction toward treatment strategy

Cutting-edge discovery in the lab of Catherine Hunter, MD, from Stanley Manne Children’s Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago offers a new direction toward treatment of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) — a devastating intestinal emergency that occurs in up to 10 percent of premature infants. NEC is a leading cause

Earlier emergence of malaria in Africa

Malaria, which claims hundreds of thousands of lives each year — mainly children and especially in Africa -, is one of the leading causes of death by an infectious agent, the Plasmodium falciparum parasite. In research on malaria, the genetic mutation that causes sickle cell anemia (also known as drepanocytosis), a chronic disease that is

Sun Protection to patients with rare genetic disease

Skin cells taken from patients with a rare genetic disorder are up to ten times more sensitive to damage from ultraviolet A (AVA) radiation in laboratory tests, than those from a healthy population, according to new research from the University of Bath. It is hoped that the work, which has involved designing a brand new

Balanced reporting of sports head injuries

A group of more than 60 leading international neuroscientists, including Mark Herceg, PhD, a neuropsychologist at Northwell Health’s Phelps Hospital in Sleepy Hollow, NY, and a member of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, published a correspondence today in The Lancet Neurology, asking for balance when reporting on sports-related injury chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). CTE

Gold-complexed ferrocenyl phosphines as potent antimalarials

A team of researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed novel ferrocene-based molecules that impair the malaria parasite’s metabolic function leading to parasite death. Despite concerted efforts for malaria elimination, this deadly disease remains a major health threat to the developing world. The causative agent

Traditional glaucoma test can miss severity of disease: Study finds variation of exam better assesses central vision damage

The most common tests for glaucoma can underestimate the severity of the condition by not detecting the presence of central vision loss, according to a new Columbia University study. The study, published Nov. 8 in JAMA Ophthalmology, found that administering a variation of the visual field test that better assesses macular damage can improve diagnosis

New insights into the neural risks and benefits of marijuana use: Compounds in cannabis can impair or improve memory depending on age, disease

Research released today underscores both the dangers and the therapeutic promise of marijuana, revealing different effects across the lifespan. Marijuana exposure in the womb or during adolescence may disrupt learning and memory, damage communication between brain regions, and disturb levels of key neurotransmitters and metabolites in the brain. In Alzheimer’s disease, however, compounds found in

A new study indicates the possibility to monitor the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by monitoring major brain antioxidant levels using noninvasive techniques

In a breakthrough human study, anti-oxidant, glutathione (GSH), which protects the brain from stress, has been found to be significantly depleted in Alzheimer’s patients compared to normal subjects. As GSH is a very important anti-oxidant that protects the brain from free radicals, the findings give us another measure to use when diagnosing potential for the

Discovery could explain failed clinical trials for Alzheimer’s, and provide a solution

Researchers at King’s College London have discovered a vicious feedback loop underlying brain degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease which may explain why so many drug trials have failed. The study also identifies a clinically approved drug which breaks the vicious cycle and protects against memory-loss in animal models of Alzheimer’s. Overproduction of the protein beta-amyloid is

Guidance for preventing C. difficile in neonatal intensive care: Infectious diseases experts synthesize research, best practices to protect vulnerable newborns

Newborns require special diagnosis and treatment considerations for an infectious diarrhea known as Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection, according to a new evidence-based white paper published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The publication is in conjunction with the release of a companion review

Autobiographical memory tested for early Alzheimer’s detection

Testing how well people remember past events in their lives could help medical professionals make early predictions about who is at risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study from the University of Arizona. Researchers administered an “autobiographical memory” test to a group of 35 healthy adults, about half of whom carry the

New model of a peripheral nervous system disease

Studying transthyretin amyloidoses-a group of progressive nerve and cardiac degenerative diseases caused by the buildup of misfolded transthyretin (TTR) proteins in the body-has long been hampered by the lack of animal models of the disease. Mice, for instance, don’t show the same symptoms as humans, even when misfolded TTR accumulates in their organs. Now, scientists