12 June 2020
Three Stages to COVID-19 Brain Damage Identified by Top Neurologists in Journal of Alzheimer Disease Paper
The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease has just published a paper with a comprehensive review of the COVID-19’s effect on the nervous system which classifies brain damage caused by COVID-19 into three stages. One of the authors, nationally-recognized neurologist Dr. Majid Fotuhi, MD, PhD, who is the medical director of NeuroGrow Brain Fitness Center in Northern Virginia and an affiliate staff at Johns Hopkins Medicine, encourages the adoption of this three-stage classification, calls for more research on COVID's long-term effects on the brain, and stresses the need for patients to receive a brain MRI before leaving the hospital.
27 May 2020
Study Results Offer New Hope for Treatment of Patients with Dementia
TauRx reported that the drug it is developing for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (hydromethylthionine) also has significant pharmacological activity in behavioural variant Fronto-Temporal Dementia (bvFTD). The study reports a pharmacokinetic analysis of the relationship between treatment dose, blood levels and pharmacological activity of the drug hydromethylthionine on the brain in 176 patients with bvFTD. The results showed that, even at the lowest dose of hydromethylthionine tested (8 mg/day), the drug (taken as a tablet) produced statistically significant concentration-dependent effects on clinical decline and brain atrophy with results similar to those reported recently in Alzheimer’s disease.
26 May 2020
Uncovering Alzheimer’s Disease
Characterized by a buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain, Alzheimer’s is an irreversible disease that leads to memory loss and a decrease in cognitive function. More than 5 million Americans suffer with the brain condition, which is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. While the causes of Alzheimer’s are not fully understood, scientists believe genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors are involved in the disease’s development.
20 May 2020
Exercise Improves Memory, Boosts Blood Flow to Brain
Scientists have collected plenty of evidence linking exercise to brain health, with some research suggesting fitness may even improve memory. But what happens during exercise to trigger these benefits? New UT Southwestern research that mapped brain changes after one year of aerobic workouts has uncovered a potentially critical process: Exercise boosts blood flow into two key regions of the brain associated with memory. Notably, the study showed this blood flow can help even older people with memory issues improve cognition, a finding that scientists say could guide future Alzheimer’s disease research.
6 May 2020
Cortexyme Publishes Data on P. gingivalis' Ability to Infect Neurons, drive Alzheimer’s-Like Pathology
Cortexyme, Inc., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering a novel, disease-modifying therapeutic approach to treat what it believes to be a key underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease and other degenerative diseases, today announced the publication of research further documenting the ability of the pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis to invade neurons and trigger Alzheimer’s-like neuropathology.
7 April 2020
Exercise Reduces Caregiver’s Burden in Dementia Care
Exercise in older adults, even at an advanced stage of dementia, is an important strategy to maintain independence in everyday living and to promote quality of life. The research group "geriatric psychiatry in motion" of the German Sport University Cologne and the LVR-Hospital Cologne develop and evaluate exercise programs for geriatric mental health care. Latest results from a study in acute dementia care indicate a special exercise program is not only effective for the patients themselves, but also reduces the professional caregiver’s burden caused by neuropsychiatric symptoms.
14 February 2020
Can Lithium Halt Progression of Alzheimer's Disease?
A study published in JAD from researchers at McGill University led by Dr. Claudio Cuello of the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, has shown that, when given in a formulation that facilitates passage to the brain, lithium in doses up to 400 times lower than what is currently being prescribed for mood disorders is capable of both halting signs of advanced Alzheimer's pathology such as amyloid plaques and of recovering lost cognitive abilities.
23 January 2020
Mild Cognitive Impairment: ISS Produces the First Epidemiological Estimation of the Phenomenon Among Migrants in Europe
In a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, ISS researchers estimated about 680,000 cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a total of 12,730,960 migrants, aged between 60 and 89 years, living in the European Union (EU) in 2018.
20 January 2020
Human Exposure to Aluminum Linked to Familial Alzheimer’s Disease
A new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease (JAD) supports a growing body of research that links human exposure to aluminum with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Researchers found significant amounts of aluminum content in brain tissue from donors with familial AD. The study also found a high degree of co-location with the amyloid-beta protein, which leads to early onset of the disease.
22 December 2019
Is There a Link Between Lifetime Lead Exposure and Dementia?
To the medical community’s surprise, several studies from the US, Canada, and Europe suggest a promising downward trend in the incidence and prevalence of dementia. Important risk factors for dementia, such as mid-life obesity and mid-life diabetes, have been increasing rapidly, so the decline in dementia incidence is particularly perplexing.