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20 December 2022

Dementia Was Associated with COVID-19 Mortality, but the Association Was Weaker Than in Previously Published Studies

Since December 2019, more than 60 million people have been diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) worldwide, while approximately six million individuals have died as a result of the disease. Hospital treatment was required in about 10%–20% of COVID-19 patients, with this proportion decreasing over time. Several studies have shown the impact of dementia on mortality in COVID-19 patients, however, most studies were conducted during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 December 2022

Previous brain injury may be associated with higher risk of FTD

Patient with memory disorder. Photographer: Raija Törrönen

A recent study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that previous traumatic brain injury may potentially affect the risk of frontotemporal dementia (FTD), especially in patients who did not carry a causal genetic mutation. In addition, patients who had suffered a head injury appeared, on average, to develop FTD earlier than others. The researchers compared Finnish FTD patients with patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and with healthy controls.

29 November 2022

Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug Approval Sparks Surprising Impact

University of California, Irvine

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave controversial accelerated approval to the first Alzheimer’s drug in nearly 20 years, it had a surprising impact on attitudes about research into the disease. A survey by University of California, Irvine neuroscientists has found news coverage of the FDA’s decision made the public less willing to volunteer for Alzheimer’s pharmaceutical trials. The study was conducted by the UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, known as UCI MIND.

16 November 2022

Misleading Surrogate Evidence for FDA’s Aduhelm Approval

Journal of Alzheimer's Disease

In a Commentary published in JAD, authors Poul F. Høilund-Carlsen, Mona-Elisabeth Revheim, Abass Alavi , Nagichettiar Satyamurthy, and Jorge R. Barrio have detailed their views questioning the amyloid hypothesis that has dominated Alzheimer research and treatment trials for 30 years. In particular they question the use of amyloid-PET scanning, an imaging procedure that has been used to show whether new therapies are able to reduce cerebral amyloid deposits as this is assumed to inhibit the development of Alzheimer's disease. They contend that this very finding contributed to the FDA’s approval of Aduhelm contrary to its own independent expert panel which looked in vain for evidence of a favorable clinical effect.

2 November 2022

Quality of life in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease from the patients' perspective

Alberto Villarejo-Galende, Elena García-Arcelay, Jorge Maurino

Stigma, depressive symptoms and feelings of hopelessness are common problems in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A recent study conducted at 21 memory clinics in Spain, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, has found that different psychological problems negatively impact patients' quality of life even in a population with a short disease duration and minimal cognitive impairment.

20 October 2022

Tea Consumption Improves Cognitive Function

Grey and yellow tea set

New research from Qatar University College of Health Sciences (QU-CHS) and the School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania has found that higher tea intake is associated with reduced cognitive decline in adults. Dementia is known to affect the quality of life, while cognition-related disorders such as mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease are gradually increasing and becoming a global burden. This study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, may shed light on the potential role of tea consumption in preventing cognitive decline.

18 October 2022

UC study: Decreased proteins, not amyloid plaques, tied to Alzheimer’s disease

University of Cincinnati logo

New research from the University of Cincinnati bolsters a hypothesis that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by a decline in levels of a specific protein, contrary to a prevailing theory that has been recently called into question. UC researchers led by Alberto Espay, MD, and Andrea Sturchio, MD, in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, published the research on Oct. 4 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

18 October 2022

High blood pressure speeds up mental decline, but does not fully explain dementia disparities

Cartoon of person checking blood pressure

People with high blood pressure levels face a faster erosion of their ability to think, make decisions and remember information than those with normal blood pressure levels, a new study finds. The researchers traced high blood pressure’s association with declining brain function over years, in data from six large studies that they pooled and analyzed. They show that blood pressure-related cognitive decline happens at the same pace in people of Hispanic heritage as in non-Hispanic white people.

11 October 2022

Blood Levels of ‘Free Range’ DNA May Signal Early Detection of Dementia and Frailty

Johns Hopkins Medicine

In a long-term prospective study of more than 600 older participants, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have evidence that higher levels of cell-free DNA circulating in the blood may signal increased risk of chronic inflammation associated with early signs of frailty and dementia. The findings, published Oct. 11 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, could advance the search for relatively simple blood tests that detect risk of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of cognitive decline.

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