Dementia

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.

An intriguing new animal study is suggesting a hunger-regulating hormone secreted from the stomach may also influence memory and cognitive function. The study builds on a growing body of research into gut-brain communication via the vagus nerve.

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.

New research reveals a novel drug, designed to break up the aggregations of toxic proteins associated with Parkinson’s disease, can effectively slow the disease in mouse models. The researchers are now looking at moving toward human trials.

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.

Researchers have conducted the world’s first meta-analysis of the relationship between PTSD and dementia. Encompassing over a million subjects the study found PTSD can double a person’s risk of developing dementia in their senior years.

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.

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.

Scientists from the Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology in South Korea have found that key biomarkers in nasal discharge show potential as an early diagnostic tool for Alzheimer's disease that is cheap and non-invasive.