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.

Research projects receive BTCA awards to develop new drugs

Five research projects with exceptional promise to deliver new life-changing and health-altering therapies have received the inaugural Blavatnik Therapeutics Challenge Awards (BTCA) at Harvard Medical School.

From Harvard Medical School 30 Oct 2020

Study links gut hormone to Parkinson’s dementia

A team of researchers have discovered that a gut hormone, called ghrelin, is a crucial regulator of new nerve cells that form in the adult brain.

26 Oct 2020

Metabolite of dietary soy may decrease key risk factor for dementia

A metabolite produced following consumption of dietary soy may decrease a key risk factor for dementia--with the help of the right bacteria, according to a new discovery led by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

23 Oct 2020

Gene variations that regulate dopamine levels may influence the mobility of elders

Variations in a gene that regulates dopamine levels in the brain may influence the mobility of elderly and frail adults, according to new research from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

13 Oct 2020

Vacuolar Tauopathy: New, rare genetic form of dementia discovered

A new, rare genetic form of dementia has been discovered by a team of Penn Medicine researchers. This discovery also sheds light on a new pathway that leads to protein build up in the brain -- which causes this newly discovered disease, as well as related neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's Disease -- that could be targeted for new therapies. The study was published today in Science.

5 Oct 2020

Understanding beta-cell growth mechanisms may help treat metabolic diseases

New treatments for metabolic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, could emerge from a study of how a single enzyme controls the growth of the pancreatic cells that produce insulin.

5 Oct 2020

Study reveals over 20% of Americans suffer from food shortage

More than 18 percent of U.S. adults do not know whether they will have enough to eat from day to day, and the numbers are worse for Hispanics, Blacks, people with obesity, and women, a new report shows.

24 Sep 2020

Protein aggregation reduces elasticity of blood vessels during aging

Deposits of a protein called "Medin", which manifest in virtually all older adults, reduce the elasticity of blood vessels during aging and hence may be a risk factor for vascular dementia.

10 Sep 2020

Rare disorder of fat metabolism can cause chronic hyperreaction of the immune system

A congenital disorder of the fat metabolism can apparently cause chronic hyperreaction of the immune system. This is the conclusion reached by researchers from the University of Bonn in a recent study.

25 Aug 2020

Study sheds light on inner workings of the human heart

Researchers have investigated the function of a complex mesh of muscle fibers that line the inner surface of the heart.

20 Aug 2020

Aspirin may increase risk of disease progression in older adults with advanced cancer

Results from a recent clinical trial indicate that for older adults with advanced cancer, initiating aspirin may increase their risk of disease progression and early death.

11 Aug 2020

West Virginia University performs revolutionary Alzheimer's treatment

A hospital nurse for 33 years, Nanette Miller would call her husband Frank at the end of each shift to let him know she was coming home.

10 Aug 2020

Gut dysbiosis in people with Huntington's disease may offer a potential target for future treatment

A world first clinical study of the gut microbiome in people with Huntington's disease (HD) has found that it is not just a disease of the brain, but also of the body.

7 Aug 2020

Specific protein found at high levels in the blood of people with early signs of Alzheimer's

Two decades or more before symptoms arise, plaques of a sticky protein called amyloid begin forming in the brains of people later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

29 Jul 2020

Discovering the Critical Role of Astrocytes in Neurodegenerative Diseases

AZoLifeSciences talks to Dr. Shane Liddelow about their research into discovering the critical role of astrocytes in neurodegenerative diseases like glaucoma.

From New York University (NYU) 29 Jul 2020

Study validates new pharmacological target for Alzheimer’s disease

A UB study published in the journal Neurotherapeutics has validated a new pharmacological target for Alzheimer's disease.

28 Jul 2020

Genes and cardiovascular health contribute to a person's dementia risk

Genes and cardiovascular health each contribute in an additive way to a person's risk of dementia, U.S. researchers including Sudha Seshadri, MD, and Claudia Satizabal, PhD, of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) reported July 20 in the journal Neurology.

21 Jul 2020

Study: High levels of iron in the blood can prevent age-related damage

Genes linked to ageing that could help explain why some people age at different rates to others has been identified by scientists.

17 Jul 2020

New link found between impaired brain energy metabolism and delirium

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a new link between impaired brain energy metabolism and delirium - a disorienting and distressing disorder particularly common in the elderly and one that is currently occurring in a large proportion of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

15 Jul 2020

TMEM106B gene reveals the causes of neurodegenerative diseases

Across the globe, approximately 50 million people are living with dementia. The two most common forms are Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), which develop when neurons in specific parts of the brain stop functioning - triggering memory loss and other behavioral or personality changes.

10 Jul 2020