Blogs / 80beats

Researchers have tested a new pharmaceutical approach to combating Alzheimer’s, and say they may have found the breakthrough drug that can halt the progress of the disease. In a small clinical trial, researchers tested a drug that targets the tangles of protein that form in the brain cells of Alzheimer’s patients, and found that the drug stopped the cognitive decline of those patients.

Lead researcher Claude Wischik says: “This is an unprecedented result in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. We have demonstrated for the first time that it may [be] possible to arrest the progression of this disease by targeting the tangles which are highly correlated with the disease” [CNN]. The results were announced at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease taking place in Chicago.

(more…)

The cholesterol-lowering drugs known as statins are already one of the most commonly prescribed medications, taken by 15 million Americans in an attempt to ward off heart disease. Now, a new study suggests that the drugs may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia by 50 percent.

While the provocative finding offers hope that the cholesterol-reducing drugs might help against Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, scientists say this study is unlikely to be the last word on the topic. Indeed, it may just fuel an already lively debate over statins’ potential effect on dementia. Some research has hinted at benefits, while other studies, particularly in people with clear signs of Alzheimer’s disease, show no effect from the drugs [Science News].

(more…)

Researchers have caught sight of Alzheimer’s-like plaques in the brains of rabbits using a conventional MRI scan, in what could be an important step towards early detection of Alzheimer’s in humans. Researchers say that an earlier, easier diagnosis of the disease would allow patients to try more drugs and other therapies that could slow the progress of dementia.

Diagnosis by a commonly available clinical MRI scan would be a vast improvement over current methods. Many tools are used to look for signs of Alzheimer’s, including a battery of cognitive and behavioral tests… and imaging studies called PET scans that require the injection of special chemicals that help light up the brain. But doctors can make a definitive diagnosis only after a patient dies by identifying the presence of brain lesions called amyloid plaques [USA Today].

(more…)

In a day of mixed results for Alzheimer’s research, researchers found that an experimental vaccine failed to prevent the disease’s crippling dementia, but also noted that a drug once used to treat hayfever “significantly” improves the symptoms of memory loss. The two separate studies were both published in the Lancet [subscription required], and offer a telling reminder that in medical research progress against a disease is rarely straightforward.

The first study treated patients who had already been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s with a vaccine that targeted the protein plaques that clump around brain cells in increasing numbers as Alzheimer’s progresses. The theory was that dementia could be slowed or reversed once the plaques were cleared [HealthDay News]. However, the vaccine had no effect on the patients’ slide into dementia, despite the fact that autopsies of patients who died during the study showed that the plaques had largely vanished.

(more…)

British researchers have found that giving nicotine to lab rats boosts their concentration and memory, and say that the findings could point the way towards pharmaceuticals that could treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia. This benefit may be linked to the effect nicotine has on addicted smokers: The “boost” in concentration that smokers experience from cigarettes could help sufferers fight the mental decline associated with dementia, studies suggest [Telegraph].

Researchers are definitely not suggesting that elderly people take up smoking or start wearing nicotine patches in an attempt to ward off dementia, as the negative health effects would far outweigh any benefits. Lead researcher Professor Ian Stolerman said: “Nicotine, like many other drugs, has multiple effects, some of which are harmful, whereas others may be beneficial. It may be possible for medicinal chemists to devise compounds that provide some of the beneficial effects of nicotine while cutting out the toxic effects” [BBC News].

(more…)

The onset of dementia in an aging relative can be a devastating thing to watch, as memory and cognition slowly degrade. But a new study suggests one easy thing you can do to help hold back the fog: Turn on bright lights, and keep them on all day.

The study in the Journal of the American Medical Association [subscription required] suggests that this simple intervention may boost a patients’ cognition by reinforcing the body’s circadian clock, the sleep-wake cycle that can be modulated by daylight. When the circadian rhythms are disrupted (as in a case of jet-lag), the brain releases hormones and other agents that can affect cognition.

(more…)