Alzheimers

Body fat may secretly fuel Alzheimer's disease, finds new research

New research from Houston Methodist reveals how obesity may directly drive Alzheimer's disease.Scientists discovered that tiny messengers released by fat tissue, called extracellular vesicles, can carry harmful signals that accelerate the buildup of amyloid-b plaques in the brain.These vesicles even cross the blood-brain barrier, making them powerful but dangerous connectors between body fat and brain health.The study, "Decoding Adipose-Brain Crosstalk: Distinct Lipid Cargo in Human Adipose-Derived Extracellular Vesicles Modulates Amyloid Aggregation in Alzheimer's Disease," was published on October 2 in Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association.It explores the link between obesity, which affects about 40% of the U.S population, and the dreaded neurodegenerative disease affecting more than 7 million people in the U.S.The research was led by Stephen Wong, Ph.D., the John S. Dunn Presidential Distinguished Chair in Biomedical Engineering .Alongside Wong, ..

Rapid health reforms, new treatments required to tackle Alzheimer's: Study

A rapid reform to healthcare systems, public policy and attitude in society would be required to address burden of Alzheimer's disease in population, even as medications and blood tests present a potential in diagnosis and treatment, researchers say in a Lancet Series. Alzheimer's disease -- the most common form of dementia -- is an ageing-related neurological disorder which steadily impacts one's memory and thought processes, eventually interfering with daily activities. Describing new treatments and diagnostic methods for the condition in a series of three papers in The Lancet journal, the international team of researchers said that medications -- lecanemab and donanemab -- could slow down Alzheimer's disease from advancing. The drugs, which target specific proteins in a cell, have shown an efficacy comparable to that of drugs for cancer and autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis, the team said. They added that however, high costs of medicines, .

Study finds four symptom pathways that may lead to Alzheimer's disease

A study has identified four distinct clusters of symptoms, including psychiatric and cardiovascular, that can progressively lead to Alzheimer's disease -- an ageing-related condition in which memory and speech steadily declines, eventually disrupting daily activities. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, US, said the study offers new insights into how the disorder can develop over time rather than from isolated risk factors. "We found that multi-step trajectories can indicate greater risk factors for Alzheimer's disease than single conditions," first author Mingzhou Fu, a medical informatics pre-doctoral student at the University of California, said. "Understanding these pathways could fundamentally change how we approach early detection and prevention," Fu said. The study, published in the journal eBioMedicine Part of THE LANCET Discovery Science, analysed records from the 'University of California Health Data Warehouse'. From data of more than 5,700 patien

First blood test for Alzheimer's in US from June, starting at 50 hospitals

The test was cleared for use in people at least 55 years old and who exhibit signs of the disease. It is designed to detect amyloid, a protein that can build up in the brain

Gene Hackman died a week after wife Betsy Arakawa's death: Authorities

Forensic examiners have concluded that Gene Hackman died of heart disease with complications from Alzheimer's, a week after his wife, Betsy Arakawa's death

World Alzheimer's Day 2024: Everything you need to know about dementia

Every year on September 21, we celebrate World Alzheimer's Day to battle the stigma associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease and increase public awareness of these disorders

Certain diabetes medicines could help ward off dementia, suggests new study

Because the study was only observational, it cannot ascertain cause and effect between the drug and the impact on dementia risk. The scientists have called for clinical trials to now be carried out

Artificial Intelligence tool detects Alzheimer's with 90% accuracy: Study

US researchers have developed a novel Artificial Intelligence-based tool that has shown 90 per cent accuracy in detecting Alzheimer's disease from routinely collected clinical brain images

New blood test can detect Alzheimer's 3.5 yrs before diagnosis: Scientists

Scientists have developed a blood-based test that could be used to predict the risk of Alzheimer's disease up to 3.5 years before clinical diagnosis. The research, published in the journal Brain, supports the idea that components in the human blood can modulate the formation of new brain cells, a process termed neurogenesis. Neurogenesis occurs in an important part of the brain called the hippocampus that is involved in learning and memory. While Alzheimer's disease affects the formation of new brain cells in the hippocampus during the early stages of the disease, previous studies have only been able to study neurogenesis in its later stages through autopsies. To understand the early changes, researchers collected blood samples over several years from 56 individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a condition where someone will begin to experience a worsening of their memory or cognitive ability. While not everyone experiencing MCI goes on to develop Alzheimer's disease, tho

FDA clears genetic test to predict Alzheimer's, Parkinson's diseases

FDA cautioned that genetic health risk tests are intended to provide genetic risk information