alzheimer's disease

Possibility of drugs that can prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease
05/21/2013 - 14:32

The team studied the effects of a class of drugs called TSPO ligands on male mice that were genetically engineered to develop Alzheimer’s disease, known as 3xTg-AD mice. Because a key mechanism of TSPO ligands is to increase production of steroid hormones, it was important to ensure that the mice had low levels of testosterone and related hormones before treatment. Younger mice were castrated while, in older mice, the decrease occurred as a normal consequence of aging.

 

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Mild Blast Injury Causes Molecular Changes in Brain Akin to Alzheimer’s Disease
04/24/2013 - 09:40

A multicenter study led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine shows that mild traumatic brain injury after blast exposure produces inflammation, oxidative stress and gene activation patterns akin to disorders of memory processing such as Alzheimer’s disease. Their findings were recently reported in the online version of the Journal of Neurotrauma.

 

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New light shed on early stage Alzheimer's disease
04/23/2013 - 10:57

The disrupted metabolism of sugar, fat and calcium is part of the process that causes the death of neurons in Alzheimer's disease. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet have now shown, for the first time, how important parts of the nerve cell that are involved in the cell's energy metabolism operate in the early stages of the disease. These somewhat surprising results shed new light on how neuronal metabolism relates to the development of the disease.

 

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Bursts of Brain Activity May Protect Against Alzheimer's Disease
04/18/2013 - 11:50
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Alzheimer Gene ABCA7 Significantly Increases Late-Onset Risk Among African Americans
04/10/2013 - 09:55

A variation in the gene ABCA7 causes a twofold increase in the risk of late onset Alzheimer disease among African Americans, according to a meta-analysis by a team of researchers including experts from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. This is the largest analysis to date to determine genetic risk associated with late-onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD) specifically in African American individuals. The study appears in the April 10 issue of JAMA, a genomics theme issue.

 

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Surgical menopause may prime brain for stroke, Alzheimer’s
04/03/2013 - 10:32

Removing the ovaries before menopause, appears to leave more of the brain vulnerable to stroke and increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, researchers report. Low doses of estrogen started right after surgery appear to reduce this vulnerability in an area of the brain that typically is not super-sensitive to stress, said Dr. Darrell Brann, Associate Director of the Institute of Molecular Medicine and Genetics at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

 

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