Dementia News and Research

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Dementia is not a specific disease. It is a descriptive term for a collection of symptoms that can be caused by a number of disorders that affect the brain. People with dementia have significantly impaired intellectual functioning that interferes with normal activities and relationships. They also lose their ability to solve problems and maintain emotional control, and they may experience personality changes and behavioral problems, such as agitation, delusions, and hallucinations.

Misfolded Proteins: How They Damage Neurons and Cause Neurodegeneration

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the deposition of clumped proteins in the brain and progressive neuronal cell death.

5 Dec 2023

GOV UK Introduces New 'AI Life Sciences' Fund - IEEE Comments

Last week, the UK Government announced it will be launching the AI Life Sciences Accelerator Mission. Approximately £100 million will be allocated to help drive AI innovation and tackle the UK’s biggest healthcare challenges

9 Nov 2023

Philanthropic Partnership Unlocks £32 Million for the Future of Best-in-Class UK Biobank

Former CEO and Chairman of Google Eric Schmidt, and Ken Griffin, founder and CEO of Citadel and founder of Griffin Catalyst, are today (Monday 30 October) being announced as the first members of a new consortium that will shape the future of the best-in-class UK Biobank.

31 Oct 2023

New £100 Million Fund to Capitalise on AI’s Game-Changing Potential in Life Sciences and Healthcare

A new mission announced by the Prime Minister will accelerate the use of AI in life sciences to tackle the biggest health challenges of our generation.

30 Oct 2023

Study Uncovers Novel Genes Linked to Coronary Artery Calcification

An international team of scientists has identified nearly a dozen genes that contribute to calcium buildup in our coronary arteries that can lead to life-threatening coronary artery disease, a condition responsible for up to one in four deaths in the United States.

12 Oct 2023

Jellyfish are More Advanced Than Previously Thought

The enormous evolutionary success of jellyfish is clear after more than 500 million years on Earth. Nonetheless, they were always seen as primitive creatures with limited learning ability.

25 Sep 2023

Direct-to-Consumer Blood Test for Assessing User’s Alzheimer’s Disease Risk

In July, the first direct-to-consumer blood test designed to assess a user’s risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease hit the market. The test, which has not undergone Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, measures the level of a protein called beta amyloid, a key component of plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer’s disease patients, disrupting brain function.

23 Aug 2023

Viral Proteins Promote the Spread of Protein Aggregates in the Brain

Viral genetic remnants found naturally in the human genome may influence the development of neurodegenerative diseases.

22 Aug 2023

Linking Alzheimer's Genetic Marker and Higher Female Fertility

The Apolipoprotein-ε4 (APOE-ε4) allele has been linked to an increased risk for several types of diseases in aging populations, particularly Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular disease.

10 Aug 2023

Review: Role of Alternative Splicing Defects in Major Neurodegenerative Diseases

Alternative splicing, a clever way a cell generates many different variations of messenger RNAs -; single-stranded RNAs involved in protein synthesis -; and proteins from the same stretch of DNA, plays an important role in molecular biology.

21 Jun 2023

Game-Changing Research Shows Astrocytes as Key Regulators of Alzheimer's Disease Progression

Why do some people develop Alzheimer's disease while others don't? And, even more puzzlingly, why do many individuals whose brains are chock-full of toxic amyloid aggregates-;a telltale sign of Alzheimer's brain pathology-;never go on to develop Alzheimer's-associated dementias?

30 May 2023

Study Examines the Role of Neuronal Diversity in Cognitive Functions

Neurons in a key area of the brain have different functions based on their exact genetic identity, and understanding this diversity could lead to better understanding of the brain's computational flexibility and memory capacity, potentially informing disease treatment options, Cornell researchers report in a new study.

23 May 2023

Discovery of Shanghai APP Mutation Offers New Avenues for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting tens of millions of people worldwide, and it is the most common cause of dementia.

15 May 2023

AI Used to Create 3D Model of 'Postal Workers' in Human Cells

University of Queensland researchers have used artificial intelligence to build a 3D map of key cell components to better understand dementia and infectious diseases including COVID-19.

12 May 2023

Patients With Motor Neuron Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia Carry the Same Genetic Defects

New research has discovered that some patients with motor neuron disease (MND) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) carry the same rare genetic defects that cause other neurodegenerative diseases.

10 May 2023

Manipulating Brain Cells via Light Irradiation

An international research team, comprising scientists from DZNE, University Hospital Bonn, the Netherlands, and the US has been awarded a US$ 1.3 million grant by the "Human Frontier Science Program" to investigate brain immune cells and manipulate them via light irradiation.

8 May 2023

Inhibiting a Tiny RNA Could Help Improve Immune, Bone, and Muscle Health With Age

Inhibiting a tiny RNA whose levels significantly increase with age, along with problems like weaker bones and sagging muscles, may be a way to keep our bodies more youthful and healthy, scientists say.

3 May 2023

A Study on Gene Silencing Through a Recent Trial

Dr Catherine Mummery, a consultant neurologist at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology & the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, has led a trial. The trial signifies for the first time that a “gene silencing” method has been taken in Alzheimer’s and dementia disease.

From University College London 27 Apr 2023

Study Uncovers a Protein-Protein Interaction Related to Parkinson's Disease

In a study published in Nature Communications, a team led by Krembil Brain Institute Senior Scientists, Drs. Lorraine Kalia and Suneil Kalia, and University of Toronto (U of T) Professor, Dr. Philip M. Kim, identified a protein-protein interaction that contributes to Parkinson's disease.

24 Apr 2023

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