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Alzheimers

Definition of Alzheimers

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, a neurologic disease characterized by loss of mental ability severe enough to interfere with normal activities of daily living, lasting at least six months, and not present from birth. AD usually occurs in old age, and is marked by a decline in cognitive functions such as remembering, reasoning, and planning.

Alzheimer's Drug Won't Ease Patients' Agitation Aricept, a drug commonly used to treat the cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer's disease, is no better than a placebo when it comes to treating the agitation associated with the illness, a new study finds. Read the Article
Parkinson's Linked to Risk of Alzheimer's Relatives of people with Parkinson's disease face up to a 73 percent increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease, suggests a new study that says genetics could be to blame. Parkinson's disease causes declines in functions of the central nervous system, such as impaired motor skills and speech. Read the Article
Health Tip: Symptoms of Depression in Alzheimer's Patients People with Alzheimer's disease sometimes suffer from depression, often when they begin to understand their loss of memory. The symptoms of depression may make it even more difficult for Alzheimer's patients to function. The American Academy of Physicians lists these common warning signs: Read the Article
Blood Test Might Spot Alzheimer's Early An international team of scientists has developed a blood test that could reveal which patients with mild cognitive impairment will go on to develop Alzheimer's disease. If replicated and validated -- and assuming the development of effective treatments against Alzheimer's in the future -- such a test could open the door to medicating at-risk patients earlier and slowing or limiting neurological damage, explained Dr. Allan Levey, chair of neurology at Emory University, Atlanta. Read the Article
Tooth Troubles Could Raise Dementia Risk Tooth loss and mouth illnesses may boost the risk of dementia later in life, U.S. research shows. A team at the University of Kentucky analyzed the dental records and annual cognitive test results of 144 participants, ages 75 to 98, in the Nun Study, an examination of aging and Alzheimer's disease among sisters of the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Read the Article
Dementia in More Educated Hits Later But Harder Having a higher level of education seems to delay the onset of dementia, but once cognitive decline begins, the descent is more precipitous, a new study finds. The findings confirm the so-called "cognitive reserve hypothesis," which posits that people with more education have some kind of brain "reserve" that allows them to withstand the ravages of dementia longer. Eventually, however, the disease overwhelms this reserve, and the mental decline that follows is accelerated. Read the Article
Blood Pressure Drug Might Work Against Alzheimer's THURSDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- The blood pressure drug valsartan shows the ability to reduce Alzheimer's disease-like symptoms in mice, researchers report. The potential value of valsartan, marketed as Diovan, emerged from a screening program that started with 55 high blood pressure drugs, said study author Dr. Giulio Maria Pasinetti, a professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City. Read the Article
Stem Cells Restore Memory in Mice A new U.S. study involving mice suggests the brain's own stem cells may have the ability to restore memory after an injury. These neural stem cells work by protecting existing cells and promoting neuronal connections. In their experiments, a team at the University of California, Irvine, were able to bring the rodents' memory back to healthy levels up to three months after treatment. Read the Article
Blood Pressure, Heartbeat Problems Aggravate Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease may progress faster in patients with high blood pressure or a type of irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation, a new study found. "The main point of these findings is that vascular factors do affect the rate of progression in Alzheimer's, so treatment of these factors could reduce the rate of decline," said study author Dr. Michelle Mielke, an assistant professor of psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Read the Article
Long-Term Beta Carotene Use May Protect Against Dementia Taking supplements of the antioxidant beta carotene for a long time -- 15 years or more -- appears to lessen the decline in thinking ability that comes with Alzheimer's disease, a study finds. "My hypothesis is that it's how long you take it," said study lead author Francine Grodstein, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. Read the Article
Blacks, Hispanics Live Longer With Alzheimer's Blacks and Hispanics appear to live longer following an Alzheimer's diagnosis than white patients, a new study suggests. While men and women of Asian and American Indian descent diagnosed with the disease were found to have survival expectancies equivalent to that of white Alzheimer's patients, patients of Hispanic or black ethnicity were found to live 40 percent and 15 percent longer, respectively. Read the Article
Fish, Fruits, Veggies May Cut Dementia Risk A diet that includes plenty of fish, omega-3 rich oils, fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, while high intake of omega-6 rich oils may boost the risk of developing memory problems, say French researchers. They looked at the diets of 8,085 people older than 65 who did not have dementia at the start of the study. Over the following four years, 183 of the participants developed Alzheimer's disease, and 98 developed another form of dementia. Read the Article
Progesterone Won't Shield Women Against Alzheimer's There's no evidence that progesterone -- which is often given with estrogen in hormone replacement therapy -- offers women any protection against Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers say. They conducted tests on female mice genetically engineered to develop an Alzheimer's-like disease to come to this conclusion. Read the Article
High Blood Pressure Could Exacerbate Alzheimer's A team at the University of Pittsburgh used MRI to measure brain blood flow in older adults, including 20 Alzheimer's patients (10 with hypertension and 10 without); 48 normal adults (38 with hypertension and 10 without); and 20 people with mild cognitive impairment (10 with hypertension and 10 without). Read the Article
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