Category Archives: Alzheimer’s Daily News

Keep abreast of the latest developments in Alzheimer’s treatment, clinical drug trials, research, caregiving strategies, local/national conferences and much more.

Hospitalization Risks of Seniors with Dementia


(Source: Illinois Nursing Home Abuse Blog) – A new study compared long-term hospitalization risks of seniors with dementia and those without dementia. Results of the investigation indicated that, over an 8-year period, persons with dementia had a much higher risk of requiring hospitalization. Among the explanations was that the underlying conditions which give rise to dementia risk might also lead to a range of other consequences which ultimately require medical care in the hospital. The researchers also mentioned that dementia [...]

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‘Bad’ Fat May Hurt Brain Function Over Time


(Source: HealthDay) – Women who eat a lot of “bad” saturated fat may hurt their overall brain function and memory over time, Harvard University researchers report. In contrast, eating more “good” mono-unsaturated fat improved brain function and memory, suggesting that fats may have the same effect on the brain as they do on the heart, the researchers added. “Making changes and substitutions in one’s diet to eat fewer saturated fats and consume more mono-unsaturated fats might be a way to [...]

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Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Isn’t Always Accurate


(Source: Detroit Free Press) – Martin Rosenfeld called too many times – confused and frustrated – from a parking lot outside his synagogue, after driving there in the middle of the night for services that wouldn’t begin for hours. His loved ones dreaded a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. Rosenfeld now nodded off mid-conversation, spilled things and mumbled. “We’d be getting calls all night long. He’d say, ‘What time is it? Can I get up now?’ ” said his daughter, Shelley Rosenberg. [...]

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Alzheimer’s Gene Causes Brain’s Blood Vessels to Leak Toxins and Die


(Source: ScienceDaily) – A well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease triggers a cascade of signaling that ultimately results in leaky blood vessels in the brain, allowing toxic substances to pour into brain tissue in large amounts, scientists report. The scientists investigated why the ApoE4 gene makes people more prone to developing Alzheimer’s. People who carry two copies of the gene have roughly eight to 10 times the risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease than people who do not. Scientists from [...]

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Promising Alzheimer’s Research Delayed by Shortage of Volunteer Patients


(Source: CBS News) – In Bethesda, MD, Monday, the National Institutes of Health began hosting a two-day summit on the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Yet the researchers trying to defeat the disease are facing an unexpected hurdle. In the largest clinical study ever done on Alzheimer’s disease, almost 500 patients have submitted to MRI scans, PET scans and even spinal taps. The researchers hope to invent the first test to find Alzheimer’s before a patient loses any memory – or [...]

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Critics Call Government’s Alzheimer’s Plan Unrealistic


(Source: ABC News) – The Obama administration and the National Institutes of Health have homed in on Alzheimer’s disease, setting an ambitious goal to have an effective treatment for the brain-wasting disease by 2025. The plan is intended to give a “clear, national focus and attention on Alzheimer’s that we’ve given to other diseases,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. But Alzheimer’s disease experts’ reactions to the pledge are less optimistic: Some say giving more attention to the disease can only [...]

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Soldiers May Suffer Same Brain Injuries as Football Players


(Source: Statesman.com) – A small study raises more concern about the long-term consequences of brain injuries suffered by thousands of soldiers suggesting they may be at risk of developing the same degenerative brain disease as some retired football players. Autopsies of four young veterans found early signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in the brain tissue, Boston researchers reported. They compared the brain tissue of some of the youngest athletes ever found with signs of early CTE, in their [...]

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New Drug Trial Seeks to Stop Alzheimer’s Before It Starts


(Source: New York Times) – In a clinical trial that could lead to treatments that prevent Alzheimer’s, people who are genetically guaranteed to develop the disease – but who do not yet have any symptoms – will, for the first time, be given a drug intended to stop it, federal officials announced Tuesday. Experts say the study will be one of the few ever conducted to test prevention treatments for any genetically predestined disease. For Alzheimer’s, the trial is unprecedented, [...]

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Intimacy and Sexuality … Why Do People Change; Alzheimer’s Disease


(Source: Cambridge Health) – Intimacy is the special bond we share with a person we love and respect. It involves the way we talk and act toward one another. This bond can exist between spouses or partners, family members, and friends. Alzheimer’s disease often changes the intimacy between people. Alzheimer’s disease can cause changes in intimacy and sexuality in both the person with Alzheimer’s disease and the caregiver. The person with Alzheimer’s disease may be stressed by the changes in [...]

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Inside the Mind of Frontotemporal Degeneration


(Source: Forbes) – A patient with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) talks about what it’s like to live with the disease that stole her career. Diana, a single woman, is not exactly a wallflower. She never has been, but being affected by frontotemporal degeneration has only brought her no-nonsense tendencies out more. And, as a single woman, Diana worries about the growing number of women in similar boats: Aging baby-boomers who never married or partnered, now finding themselves battling any type of [...]

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