Scientists from the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease (GIND), UCSF, and Stanford have discovered that a certain type of collagen, collagen VI, protects brain cells against amyloid-beta (Aβ ) proteins, which are widely thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease (AD). While the functions of collagens in cartilage and muscle are well established, before this study it was unknown that collagen VI is made by neurons in the brain and that it can fulfill important neuroprotective functions.
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In work that could lead to new drugs to target Alzheimer’s disease, MIT researchers and colleagues have shed light on one of the molecular mysteries surrounding this common form of dementia. The work, to be reported in the Dec. 11 issue of Neuron, helps explain the perplexing behavior of some cells in the hippocampus, thought to be the center of learning and memory in the brain.
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Deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are underreported on death certificates, according to a study conducted by Hebrew SeniorLife’s Institute for Aging Research (IFAR), raising concerns about the accuracy of mortality statistics based on these documents.
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Cholinesterase inhibitors, used to treat cognitive symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, are also a safe and effective alternative therapy for the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, according to a study that appears in the December 2008 edition of Clinical Interventions in Aging.
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A drug commonly used to treat epilepsy could help clear the plaques in the brain associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according to researchers at the University of Leeds. The plaques are known to lead to the progressive death of nerve cells in the brain linked to many forms of dementia.
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Last week, at the Society for Neuroscience Conference in Washington DC, Neuronetrix announced preliminary results from a clinical study of their COGNISION(TM) System to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. The study was performed with Alzheimer’s patients at the University of Kentucky’s Sanders-Brown Center for Aging. The COGNISION(TM) System uses event-related potentials (ERP) to record brain activity while the patient listens to a sequence of sounds.
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CSIRO scientists have developed a new system to screen for compounds that can inhibit one of the processes that takes place during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. In a paper published in the latest edition of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, folate is shown to be beneficial in the screening system.
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Many of the service members who experience traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk for long-term health problems such as depression and dementia, but it is unknown how high those risks are, according to an Institute of Medicine report released Thursday, the
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Stop and think for a moment. What do you remember about your breakfast this morning? One part of your brain will recall the smell of coffee brewing, while another will remember your partner’s smile while walking out the door. How does the brain weave together these fragments, and how does it bring them back to conscious life? Researchers led by Prof.
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Leading researchers and clinicians from the field of neuromodulation assembled today at the 12th annual meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society (NANS), continuing until December 7 in Las Vegas, NV.
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