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4 March 2022

Damage Early in Alzheimer’s Disease Identified via Novel MRI Approach

MRI scan of the hippocampus

Alzheimer’s disease usually is diagnosed based on symptoms, such as when a person shows signs of memory loss and difficulty thinking. Up until now, MRI brain scans haven’t proven useful for early diagnosis in clinical practice. Such scans can reveal signs of brain shrinkage due to Alzheimer’s, but the signs only become unmistakable late in the course of the disease, long after the brain is significantly damaged and most people have been diagnosed via other means.

14 February 2022

Lower Acculturation Linked with Poorer Cognitive Function in Older Hispanics

A new study on culture and cognition found that long-term Hispanic immigrants who were less acculturated to the US performed significantly worse on cognitive function tests than their highly acculturated peers. A team of researchers led by scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign assessed the acculturation levels and cognitive function of more than 600 Hispanics age 60 or older who were born in or had immigrated to the US.

27 January 2022

Preliminary Effect of Transcranial Electrical Stimulation on Protein Clearance in Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease

Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) incidence is constantly increasing worldwide and patients have limited therapeutic options, that ultimately are not able to stop the cognitive decline. A recent study, published in JAD, has found preliminary results of clearance of the toxic proteins that accumulates in the brain of patients with AD after 1 month of noninvasive electrical treatment. Results were paralleled by an increase in fast oscillatory brain activity in the so-called Gamma frequency band, usually decreased in patients with AD.

24 January 2022

Less Psychosocial Problems in Patients with Dementia During Second COVID-19 Lockdown

POLAR project

Patients with dementia and their loved ones are now better able to adapt to the challenges of a lockdown. They reported less psychosocial problems, such as anxiety, during the second lockdown. They also experienced more social support compared to the first lockdown. This is the conclusion of a study into the psychosocial consequences of the pandemic for patients with dementia and their loved ones. The results were recently published in JAD.

10 January 2022

rTMS as a Treatment for Veterans with Cognitive Impairment and Multiple Comorbidities

Current treatments for Alzheimer’s disease are of limited effectiveness and do not halt the progression of the disease and associated cognitive decline. A study, published in JAD, shows that a novel treatment, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), may have the potential of improving the memory function in veterans with cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease.

23 December 2021

Serious Cognitive Impairment Declines 23% Among Older American Women Over a Decade

Esme Fuller-Thomson-photo by Harry Choi

A new nationally representative study published online in JAD found an abrupt decline in the prevalence of cognitive impairment among American adults aged 65 and older compared to the same age group a decade earlier. In 2008, 12.2% of older Americans reported serious cognitive problems. In 2017, the percentage had declined to 10.0%. To put this into perspective, if the prevalence of cognitive impairment had remained at the 2008 levels, an additional 1.13 million older Americans would have experienced cognitive impairment in 2017.

6 December 2021

Having at Least a High School Degree and a Complex Job Linked to Dementia Prevention

An international research collaboration has found that high occupational complexity is associated with dementia-free survival time, highlighting the importance of maintaining cognitive stimulation throughout life for lowering the risk of dementia. The collaboration, led by UNSW Sydney’s Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), analysed 10,195 older adults across seven international studies from the Cohort Studies of Memory in an International Consortium (COSMIC).

16 November 2021

2021 JAD Editorial Board Update

JAD

To keep our JAD editors, authors, and readers informed of JAD's progress and development, the journal hereby shares the 2021 editorial update and invites you to view the recording of the recent board meeting. Plus, discover the Call for Papers from our Ethics Editor Allyson Rosen: "Communicating and Using Dementia Risk Information in Light of Novel Diagnostics and Therapies."

15 November 2021

Ironing Out the Cause of Alzheimer’s Disease

University of Adelaide

University of Adelaide researchers have found important evidence supporting their theory that a deficiency of active iron in the brain is an important factor in Alzheimer’s disease. Mutations in a small number of genes can cause an inherited form of Alzheimer’s disease that afflicts people when they are relatively young. Currently, the dominant theory of what causes Alzheimer’s disease is that these mutated genes change the way a small protein fragment, Amyloid beta, is produced. Many researchers believe that Amyloid beta can build up, become toxic, and eventually destroy brain function.

14 November 2021

On Repeat: Listening to Favorite Music Improves Brain Plasticity, Cognitive Performance of Alzheimer’s Patients, Toronto Researchers Find

Corinne Fischer and Michael Thaut

Researchers at the University of Toronto and Unity Health Toronto have demonstrated that repeated listening to personally meaningful music induces beneficial brain plasticity in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer’s disease. Changes in the brain’s neural pathways correlated with increased memory performance on neuropsychological tests, supporting the clinical potential of personalized, music-based interventions for people with dementia.

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