Alzheimer's & Other Dementias

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A pilot study suggests that wearing a nicotine patch may help improve memory loss in older adults with mild cognitive impairment.

The study involved 74 non-smokers with amnestic

Significant differences in the risk of mild cognitive impairment for men and women, and in the risk of developing the two sub-types, suggests that risk factors should be considered separately for genders and sub-type.

More data from the long-running Mayo Clinic Study of Aging has revealed that, in this one part of the U.S.

  • Brain scans reveal that active bilinguals can have nearly twice as much brain atrophy as monolinguals before cognitive performance suffers.

Growing evidence points to greater education and mentally stimulating occupations and activities providing a

  • Shrinking of certain brain regions predicts age-related cognitive decline and dementia, with greater brain tissue loss markedly increasing risk.

A study involving 159 older adults (average age 76) has confirmed that the amount of brain tissue in specific regions is a predictor of Alzheimer’s disease development.

Two large studies respectively find that common health complaints and irregular heartbeat are associated with an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s, while a rat study adds to evidence that stress is also a risk factor.

A ten-year study involving 7,239 older adults (65+) has found that each common health complaint increased dementia risk by an average of about 3%, and that these individual risks compounded.

  • A new study shows that, among the very old, it’s harder to distinguish between normal brain atrophy and cognitive impairment and that indicative of Alzheimer’s.

A study involving 105 people with Alzheimer's disease and 125 healthy older adults has compared cognitive function and brain shrinkage in those aged 60-75 and those aged 80+.

Recent studies add to the evidence that sleep apnea and even mild brain injury increase the risk of developing dementia.

Sleep apnea linked to later dementia

A study involving 298 older women with sleep problems found that those who had disordered breathing (such as sleep apnea) were significantly more likely to develop dementia or mild cognitive impairment.

Several recent reports point to the need for GPs to be better informed about the initial symptoms of dementia and mild cognitive impairment.

Functional impairment good indicator of mild cognitive impairment

New genetic studies implicate myelin development, the immune system, inflammation, and lipid metabolism as critical pathways in the development of Alzheimer’s.

I commonly refer to ApoE4 as the ‘Alzheimer’s gene’, because it is the main genetic risk factor, tripling the risk for getting Alzheimer's. But it is not the only risky gene.

  • Updated clinical guidelines now cover three distinct stages of Alzheimer's disease.

For the first time in 27 years, clinical diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease dementia have been revised, and research guidelines updated. They mark a major change in how experts think about and study Alzheimer's disease.

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