Alzheimer's
Active compounds against Alzheimer's disease: New insights thanks to simulations
Various molecules have been synthesized that inhibit self-assembly of the amyloid beta peptide in vitro. This peptide is strongly linked to Alzheimer's disease. Based on computer simulations, biochemists have recently shown how the active compounds and fragments of this disease-causing peptide interact with each other: it is the disordered structure of the peptide that determines the interactions with active compounds.
Treatment with light benefits Alzheimer's patients, study suggests
Exposure to light appears to have therapeutic effects on Alzheimer's disease patients, a researcher has found.
Advance toward an imaging agent for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease
Scientists are reporting development and initial laboratory tests of an imaging agent that shows promise for detecting the tell-tale signs of Alzheimer's disease in the brain -- signs that now can't confirm a diagnosis until after patients have died.
Proteomic Changes in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Presymptomatic and Affected Persons Carrying Familial Alzheimer Disease Mutations [Original Contribution]
Objective To identify cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein changes in persons who will develop familial Alzheimer disease (FAD) due to PSEN1 and APP mutations, using unbiased proteomics.
Autosomal Recessive Causes Likely in Early-Onset Alzheimer Disease [Original Contribution]
Objectives To determine the genetic contribution to non–autosomal dominant early-onset Alzheimer disease (EOAD) (onset age ≤60 years) cases and identify the likely mechanism of inheritance in those cases.
Design A liability threshold model of disease was used to estimate heritability of EOAD and late-onset Alzheimer disease (AD) using concordance for AD among parent-offspring pairs.
Setting The Uniform Data Set, whose participants were collected from 32 US Alzheimer's Disease Centers, maintained by the National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center.
Intranasal Insulin Therapy for Alzheimer Disease and Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Pilot Clinical Trial [Clinical Trials]
Objective To examine the effects of intranasal insulin administration on cognition, function, cerebral glucose metabolism, and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer disease (AD).
Design Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.
Setting Clinical research unit of a Veterans Affairs medical center.
Participants The intent-to-treat sample consisted of 104 adults with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (n = 64) or mild to moderate AD (n = 40).
New hope for diseases of protein folding such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s diseases, ALS, cancer and diabetes
Two related studies offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, ALS, cystic fibrosis, cancer and type 2 diabetes. The research identifies new genes and pathways that prevent protein misfolding and toxic aggregation, keeping cells healthy, and also identifies small molecules with therapeutic potential that restore health to damaged cells, providing new targets for drug development.
Alzheimer's damage occurs early
The first changes in the brain of a person with Alzheimer's disease can be observed as much as ten years in advance – ten years before the person in question has become so ill that he or she can be diagnosed with the disease.
Changes seen in cerebrospinal fluid levels before onset of Alzheimer's disease
Cerebrospinal fluid levels of A-beta42 appear to be decreased at least five to 10 years before some patients with mild cognitive impairment develop Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia whereas other spinal fluid levels seem to be later markers of disease, according to a new report.
Another potential risk factor for developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease in women
A hormone derived from visceral fat called adiponectin may play a role as a risk factor for development of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease in women, according to a new study.