UK scientists have found that an immune response in the brain plays a key role in the development of Alzheimer’s, and that a vaccine designed to tackle the disease was able to suppress the response.
New research in the US has found the ability to recognise and name famous people could be used to pick up a rare form of dementia called primary progressive aphasia.
A research team led by scientists at the University of Central Lancashire has reported an association between Alzheimer’s disease and the presence of periodontal disease bacteria in the brain.
Researchers in Germany have made new steps towards a potential blood test for Alzheimer’s by studying molecules called miRNA circulating in the blood. The research is published on 29 July in the journal Genome Biology.
A study by researchers at University College Cork in Ireland and McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, has found that people with dementia taking a class of blood pressure drug called centrally acting ACE inhibitors (CACE-Is) have a slower rate of cognitive decline. The findings are reported in the journal BMJ Open.
Taiwanese researchers have published findings that suggest exposure to general anaesthesia could increase dementia risk in the elderly by almost two fold.
New UK-led research presented in the Journal of Psychopharmacology estimates that disorders of the brain, including dementia, cost the UK a conservatively estimated £112bn every year.
An international team of researchers co-funded by Alzheimer’s Research UK has found that over 90 percent of dementia cases in China go undetected, with a high level of undiagnosed dementia in rural areas.
New research presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2013 suggests that changes in levels of the protein amyloid, one of the key features of Alzheimer’s disease, are the earliest changes in the chain of events that occur as the disease develops. The findings, from three new studies, could be used to help improve the design of clinical trials in the future.
A study led by researchers at the University of Cambridge has suggested that current generations may have a lower risk of dementia than those born in earlier years. The results are part of the MRC Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (MRC CFAS), a large UK-based study of health and cognition in older people.