Alzheimer's Disease

Several new studies are reporting evidence affirming a growing hypothesis that links inflammation with the cognitive deficits seen in bipolar disorder and Alzheimer’s. It's also suggested low-grade inflammation can result in mental sluggishness.

Chinese authorities recently approved a novel drug claimed to improve cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Derived from a seaweed, it's suggested to reduce neuroinflammation by modulating a person’s gut microbiome.

In an unusual turn of events a new Alzheimer’s drug, previously declared a failure in March, has been resurrected with the pharmaceutical company behind the treatment suggesting the earlier decision was premature and based on incorrect data analysis.

Scientists in Australia have identified an enzyme that appears to play a role in two key drivers of Alzheimer's.

Clinicians soon may be able to accurately diagnose what kind of dementia patients are suffering from by studying their unique walking patterns.

A study is suggesting aerobic exercise may be more effective than flexibility training in directly reducing hippocampal deterioration linked to Alzheimer's.

A study reveals measuring the speed of pupil dilation while undertaking a cognitive test could help identify early, pre-symptomatic stages of Alzheimer’s.

Ghrelin, the “hunger hormone”, has been associated with brain lesions thought to play a role in cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer's.

Researchers have offered new evidence suggesting dysfunction in the lysosome system, our body’s cellular garbage disposal mechanism, could be the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s. The hypothesis isn't entirely new but the research explains how lysosomal failure can lead to neurodegenerative disease.

A study led by Harvard Medical School researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has found levels of amyloid beta plaques in the brain, the primary pathological characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, can be directly correlated with both increasing symptoms of depression, and worsening cognition.

Alkahest, a California-based start-up, has just revealed some compelling early results from an ongoing Phase 2 trial into the efficacy of its novel formulation of plasma proteins derived from young blood, developed to slow, or even stop, the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Researchers have developed a transgenic mouse model with human brain immune cells. The breakthrough will let scientists observe how human brain cells respond to different Alzheimer’s-inducing toxic proteins, advancing our understanding into how neurodegenerative disease progresses.