In a new study published today (10 November), researchers have found that consuming a probiotic drink improved the memory and thinking skills of people with Alzheimer’s disease. The study is published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience.
In results from a phase 1 clinical trial published today (Wednesday 2 November), a potential new drug called verubecestat has been shown to reduce levels of the Alzheimer’s protein amyloid in brain and spinal fluid in people with Alzheimer’s disease. The results are published in Science Translational Medicine.
A US study of people with mild memory and thinking problems suggests that monitoring the size of a brain structure called the hippocampus could indicate the specific cause of dementia in those who develop the condition later in life. The research, published today (November 2) in the journal Neurology, shows that the hippocampus is much less likely to shrink in those who later have dementia with Lewy bodies compared to those who go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease.
Researchers working with mice have found that long-term exposure to radiation can have an effect on specific molecular processes in the brain. The study – a collaboration between researchers in Germany, Denmark, Japan and Italy– suggests that some of these changes might be similar to those that take place in the brain in diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Researchers at the University of Manchester have shown that a common anti-inflammatory drug may be able to rescue memory problems in mice with features of Alzheimer’s disease. The drug, called mefenamic acid, was also shown to halt brain inflammation in the disease according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications.
A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge has studied data from healthy human brain tissue, revealing a signature of proteins in specific areas of the brain that could dictate vulnerability to damage in Alzheimer’s. The findings help to explain the characteristic spread of damage across the brain that is observed in the disease and the findings could help to inform future drug discovery efforts. The results are published on 10 August in the journal Science Advances.
Dementia researchers at the University of Exeter have been awarded £91,500 to purchase a new high-powered laser to create a state-of-the-art microscope, transforming their ability to image the brain in minute detail.
A review of existing evidence suggests that acupuncture may be linked to benefits for people with early memory and thinking problems, but that more evidence is required due to concerns about the methods used in the original studies. The analysis is published on Thursday 4 August in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine
At AAIC2016, researchers from TauRx Therapeutics Ltd presented results from a phase III clinical trial of the drug leuco-methylthioninium-bis(hydromethanesulfonate) or LMTM in people with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s disease
There is growing evidence that problems identifying odours may be associated with cognitive decline, and therefore, may be used to predict dementia. In two studies presented today at AAIC, researchers from Columbia University used the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT), a 40-item ‘scratch and sniff’ test to understand how changes in odour identification are associated with cognitive decline.