Alzheimer's Disease News and Research

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. In most people with AD, symptoms first appear after age 60. AD is the most common cause of dementia among older people, but it is not a normal part of aging. Dementia refers to a decline in cognitive function that interferes with daily life and activities. AD starts in a region of the brain that affects recent memory, then gradually spreads to other parts of the brain. Although treatment can slow the progression of AD and help manage its symptoms in some people, currently there is no cure for this devastating disease.

Abnormal Immune Activity in Astrocytes Causes Dementia-Related Cognitive Deficits

People with dementia have protein build-up in astrocytes that may trigger abnormal antiviral activity and memory loss, according to a preclinical study by a team of Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

21 Apr 2023

MIT Researchers Identify Brain Cells Most Susceptible to Neurodegeneration

Neurodegeneration, or the gradual loss of neuron function, is one of the key features of Alzheimer's disease.

20 Apr 2023

Brain Health Improved by Chemical Signals Released Through Exercise

Physical activity is often quoted as a method of increasing mental and physical health. Scientists at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology have proved that it might also enhance brain health more directly.

19 Apr 2023

New Peptide Blocks a Hyperactive Brain Enzyme Involved in Neurodegeneration

MIT neuroscientists have found a way to reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer's disease by interfering with an enzyme that is typically overactive in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

17 Apr 2023

Astrocytes Pull the Handbrake to Drive the Brain to a More Relaxed State

A brimming inbox on Monday morning sets your head spinning. You take a moment to breathe and your mind clears enough to survey the emails one by one.

5 Apr 2023

Using better probiotics to maintain a healthy gut microbiome

Bacteria have thousands of genes and functions that we, the human host, do not have. For instance, bacteria can help us digest fiber, provide support to our immune systems, and absorb important nutrients. But reaping the benefits of "good bacteria" is easier said than done.

29 Mar 2023

Study identifies 238 amyloid toxicity protective or activator genes

An international study led by the Molecular Physiology Laboratory at the UPF Department of Medicine and Life Sciences (MELIS) identifies new genes that modulate the toxicity of the protein β-amyloid, responsible for causing Alzheimer's disease.

22 Mar 2023

Delaying paralysis in ALS by using designer DNA drug

In virtually all persons with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and in up to half of all cases of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia, a protein called TDP-43 is lost from its normal location in the nucleus of the cell.

20 Mar 2023

Scientists shed new light on aging processes in the brain

Scientists from the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute (TBSI) have shed new light on aging processes in the brain.

9 Mar 2023

Study findings reveal drug development possibilities for brain diseases

Nearly two dozen experimental therapies targeting the immune system are in clinical trials for Alzheimer's disease, a reflection of the growing recognition that immune processes play a key role in driving the brain damage that leads to confusion, memory loss and other debilitating symptoms.

9 Mar 2023

New signals of natural selection in humans identified

A team of global experts has discovered new signals of natural selection in humans.

2 Mar 2023

New technique may offer a pathway to treat undruggable diseases

Certain diseases, including Alzheimer's, are currently considered "undruggable" because traditional small molecule drugs can't interfere with the proteins responsible for the illnesses.

2 Mar 2023

Lieber Institute awarded $1 million grant to foster racial diversity across neuroscience

The Lieber Institute for Brain Development has received a $1 million, two-year grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to support the work of the African Ancestry Neuroscience Research Initiative (AANRI) to promote racial equity throughout the field of neuroscience.

28 Feb 2023

Artificial BBB model can help determine how well antibody-based therapies can enter the brain

A research group at Uppsala University has developed a simple and effective artificial blood-brain barrier model that can be used to determine how well antibody-based therapies can enter the brain.

27 Feb 2023

Scientists discover two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons in ALS

Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered two ways to preserve diseased upper motor neurons that would normally be destroyed in ALS, based on a study in mice. Upper motor neurons initiate movement, and they degenerate in ALS.

24 Feb 2023

Mount Sinai researchers illuminate the role of DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease

Mount Sinai researchers have published a study in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association that sheds new light on the role of DNA methylation in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

23 Feb 2023

ApoE4 from neurons plays a critical role in Alzheimer's disease

Of all the known genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease, the strongest is a gene for the protein called ApoE4.

22 Feb 2023

"Poisoned" form of a protein could set off events that encourage cancer growth

Scientists at Scripps Research, with collaborators in Japan, have discovered how a "poisoned" form of a protein could set off a cascade of events that encourage the growth of some cancers.

17 Feb 2023

Study: Platelets likely to perform a protective function in AD

A new research paper was published on the cover of Aging entitled, "Immune-mediated platelet depletion augments Alzheimer's disease neuropathological hallmarks in APP-PS1 mice."

16 Feb 2023

U.S. people show interest in using genetic technologies to improve offspring education

An article published today in the journal Science indicates that a substantial proportion of Americans are willing to use an essentially unregulated reproductive genetic technology to increase the chances of having a baby who is someday admitted to a top-100 ranked college.

10 Feb 2023