We cannot rely on medical advances to solve the problem of dementia. The few drugs that help stave off the disease have limited effectiveness and new drugs will take decades to develop.
If there was a way to know if you were predisposed to developing Alzheimer’s disease, would you want to know? As tests to evaluate an individual’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease advance, this is a question plaguing the minds of more and more Americans, especially those who have parents or other relatives with the disease. […]
“I know they say there is no cure for Alzheimer’s… But I was wondering if there’s any development in a cure you know about?” I was asked after my lecture on PET imaging of dementia this past summer. A number of technologists gathered around me, far more eager to hear my response to this question […]
Researchers are reporting that Gammagard, made by Baxter International Inc., might help stabilize Alzheimer’s disease for as much as three years. The findings from the small study were presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. The evidence is weak and in only four patients, making the study was far too small […]
Researchers have found that it’s possible to improve memory, even reverse memory loss, using a drug typically prescribed to treat epilepsy. Although it’s still too early to recommend the drug, levetiracetam, to prevent or treat Alzheimer’s disease, research results are promising.
A blood test is in the offing to detect Alzheimer’s disease, researchers at Emory University say. “Reliability and failure to replicate initial results have been the biggest challenge in this field. We demonstrate here that it is possible to show consistent findings,” says William Hu, assistant professor of neurology at Emory University School of Medicine, […]
Researchers are attempting to treat Alzheimer’s disease with antibodies, hormones and gene therapy. But will any lead to a cure? Ronald Petersen, director of the Mayo Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, talks about the latest research, and whether there might someday be a vaccine to protect the aging brain.
The second of two studies on latrepirdine, recently published in Molecular Psychiatry, demonstrates new potential for the compound in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, sleep disorders, and other neurodegenerative conditions. An international team led by Mount Sinai School of Medicine scientists found that latrepiridine, known commercially as Dimebon, reduced the level of at […]
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — They used to call themselves I Forget, they joked. Until a few forgot the name, and they quickly scrapped it for the Wild Bunch. The group of Alzheimer’s patients and their caregivers love to carry on like teenagers at their monthly potlucks, chuckling at the ironies of memory loss, losing track […]
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) causes certain changes in the brain that affect memory and thinking. But as we learned from July’s blog (Alzheimer’s & Falling: What’s the Connection?), AD can also increase the likelihood of falling.