Alzheimer's Disease

An experimental drug has been shown to slow the progression and prolong survival of patients suffering from the neurodegenerative disease ALS. With Phase 2 human trials complete, the company developing the treatment is working to accelerate its approval.

A growing body of study is beginning to suggest severe apathy in older adults is an early sign of dementia. New research is now presenting one of the first longitudinal studies to show apathy could be an early symptom of cognitive decline.

Scientists have found fecal transplants from old mice to young mice result in the younger animals displaying learning and memory impairments. The findings build on a growing body of research linking age-related cognitive decline with gut microbiome changes.

A new study offers strong evidence linking Alzheimer’s disease and sleep apnea. The research, studying autopsied brain tissue, shows how the protein aggregations seen in Alzheimer’s spread in the same way through the brains of patients with sleep apnea.

New research has found diabetic patients using a drug called metformin experience slower rates of cognitive decline and dementia compared to those not using the drug. The findings build on a body of evidence suggesting this drug generates anti-aging effects.

A protein, previously found to be an effective blood-based biomarker of neurodegenerative diseases, has for the first time been detected in eye fluid. The discovery lays the foundation for eye tests to catch neurodegenerative diseases before symptoms appear.

In some neurological disorders neuronal connections in the brain can be lost. Now researchers have created synthetic molecules that may be able to patch them up, with tests in cultured cells and mice showing promise in treating disease and injury.

A UC Berkeley study has found an association between poor sleep and accumulation of the toxic proteins thought to cause Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers suggest poor sleep could be a way to predict those at risk of developing the degenerative disease.

Researchers have uncovered what they say is the first direct evidence to show how an immune response can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease. The study adds to evidence highlighting the role of neuroinflammation in dementia and cognitive decline.

Researchers have turned their attention to the subtle differences in the language of Alzheimer's sufferers, and have developed an AI tool they say can pick up on these as a way of potentially screening for the disease.

Using a multi-modal approach to data analysis, scientists have identified a subtype of autism linked with a gene cluster known to affect neurodevelopment and lipid metabolism. It's suggested this subtype accounts for nearly seven percent of autism cases.

A new study is questioning whether Alzheimer’s treatments previously found to be ineffective in human trials should be re-examined, after the discovery of a specific gene that can inhibit a therapy’s efficacy is only present in 75 percent of people.