Alzheimer's & Other Dementias

Research Topics

Latest news

Long-winded speech could be early sign of Alzheimer's
  • Rambling and long-winded explanations may be an early sign of mild cognitive impairment. The problem is not the increase in verbosity, however, but a growing inability to be precise.

A study comparing the language abilities of 22 healthy young individuals, 24 healthy older individuals and 22 people with

Diagnosing MCI at home
  • A Greek pilot study has shown that a self-administered cognitive training game can detect mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

Following on from a previous study showing that such a virtual supermarket game administered by a trained professional can detect

Higher coffee consumption linked to lower dementia risk in women
  • A large study adds to evidence that caffeine helps older women fight cognitive impairment and dementia.
  • This is supported by two animal studies showing precisely how caffeine is valuable for keeping the brain healthy.

Data from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study, involving 6,467 postmenopausal women (65+) who reported some level of caffeine consumption, has found that those who consumed above average amounts of coffee had a lower risk of developing dementia.
Age-related drop in body temperature worsens Alzheimer's disease
  • A mouse study suggests that some Alzheimer’s symptoms are made worse by falling body temperature — and are helped by improving body temperature.

Our bodies’ ability to regulate its temperature gets worse with age, along with a slowing metabolism. We also become more vulnerable to Alzheimer's as we age. A study compared mice genetically engineered to manifest Alzheimer's symptoms as they age with normal mice.
Why people with Alzheimer's stop recognizing their loved ones
  • A finding that Alzheimer's sufferers' failure to recognize familiar faces is rooted in an impairment in holistic perception rather than memory loss, suggests new strategies to help patients recognize their loved ones for longer.

People with Alzheimer's disease develop problems in recognizing familiar faces. It has been thought that this is just part of their general impairment, but a new study indicates that a specific, face-related impairment develops early in the disease.
Different kinds of physical activity improve brain volume & cut Alzheimer's risk
  • A large long-running study adds to growing evidence that higher levels of physical activity reduce brain atrophy and Alzheimer's risk, and shows that many types of aerobic activity are beneficial.

Data from 876 patients (average age 78) in the 30-year Cardiovascular Health Study show that virtually any type of aerobic physical activity can improve brain volume and reduce Alzheimer's risk.
Rates of new dementia cases may be falling
  • Data from the very long-running Framingham Heart Study adds to evidence that, for those with at least a high school education, the rate of dementia is declining. Improved cardiovascular health and treatment appears to be an important factor in this decline.

As we all know, people are living longer and obesity is at appalling levels. For both these (completely separate!) reasons, we expect to see growing rates of dementia. A new analysis using data from the long-running Framingham Heart Study offers some hope to individuals, however.
Fish reduces Alzheimer's risk for those with APOE gene
  • A new study finds that seafood consumption reduces Alzheimer's pathology, but only in those with the Alzheimer's gene APOEe4. While fish oil didn't appear to affect brain health, the omega-3 acid found in flaxseed did.

I've spoken before about how the presence or absence of the “Alzheimer's gene” may affect which lifestyle changes are beneficial for you.
How dementia risk varies among ethnic groups
  • A very large U.S. study looking at ethnic differences in dementia risk, has found that African-Americans show the highest rates of dementia, followed by blacks and American Indian/Alaska Natives, then Latinos and whites, with Asian-Americans having the lowest rates.

A study involving 14 years of health records from more than 274,000 Northern Californians has assessed the relative dementia risk of six different ethnicities.

The average annual rate of dementia was:
Three-minute test detects Lewy Body dementia
  • An easy new rating scale will help those with Lewy Body dementia be diagnosed much more quickly.

After Alzheimer's disease, the next most common type of dementia is Lewy Body disease. Far less widely known, this form of dementia is often diagnosed quite late.

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