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Alzheimer's & Dementia

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Low social engagement linked to cognitive decline & dementia risk
  • A very large, very long-running British study found that higher social contact at age 60 was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing dementia.
  • A 3-year study of older adults found that lower social engagement was only associated with greater cognitive decline in those with higher amyloid-beta levels.

Socially active 60-year-olds face lower dementia risk

Moving more in old age may protect brain from dementia
  • A long-running study found older adults who moved more were less likely to develop dementia, even when they had brain pathologies characteristic of dementia.

A long-running study involving 454 older adults who were given physical exams and cognitive tests every year for 20 years has found that those who moved more than average maintained more of their cognitive skills than people who were less active than average, even if they have brain lesions or bi

More evidence for a link between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s

Glucose levels linked to cognitive decline in those with MCI

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:

Personality changes during transition to MCI
  • Behavioral and personality changes seen in those with Alzheimer's appear to be reflected in very early increases in neuroticism and declines in openness.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a precursor of Alzheimer's disease, although having MCI does not mean you are definitely going to progress to Alzheimer's. A new study suggests that one sign of MCI development might be personality changes.

Genes help explain why Alzheimer’s drugs have been so unsuccessful
  • A gene present in 75% of the human population may be a key reason why a class of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease seem promising in animal studies but fail in human studies.
  • Cell study finds APOE4 protein is slightly misshapen, causing it to break down into disease-causing fragments. But APOE4 doesn't affect amyloid-beta in mice.

Data from a ten-year study involving 345 Alzheimer's patients has found that cholinesterase inhibitors work better with those who don't have the gene CHRFAM7A. The gene is a fusion between a gene that codes for an Alpha 7 receptor for acetylcholine, and a kinase, a type of enzyme.

Navigation difficulties early sign of Alzheimer's
  • A mobile phone game designed to test spatial navigation skills (Sea Hero Quest) has found that performance can distinguish APOE4 carriers from non-carriers.
  • Preliminary findings from a long-term study indicate that middle-aged adults with close relatives with Alzheimer's did worse on a test that measured their ability to visualise their position, and tended to have a smaller hippocampus.
  • A small study found that increasing difficulties with building cognitive maps of new surroundings was linked to Alzheimer's biomarkers. Difficulties in learning a new route appeared later, among those with early Alzheimer's.

Mobile game detects Alzheimer's risk

Vascular health linked to dementia risk
  • A large study found a better cardiovascular health score was linked to a lower dementia risk and slower rates of cognitive decline, with both aspects reducing with each positive factor.
  • A large, long-running study found that higher systolic blood pressure at age 50 was linked to a greater risk of developing dementia, even when below the threshold for hypertension.
  • A large study reports that aggressive lowering of systolic blood pressure reduced the risk of MCI and dementia.
  • A long-running study found that older adults with high levels of arterial stiffness were more likely to develop dementia during the next 15 years.
  • Hypertensive rats exhibited larger ventricles, decreased brain volume, and impaired fluid transport in the brain possibly linked to impaired clearance of amyloid proteins.

Optimal levels of cardiovascular health in older age associated with lower dementia risk

Pesticide DDT linked to higher Alzheimer’s risk

A study comparing blood serum levels of the DDT metabolite, DDE, in 86 patients with Alzheimer's disease (average age 74) and 79 controls (average age 70), has found that levels of DDE were 3.8 times higher in 74 of the 86 Alzheimer’s patients (86%).

Quick dementia screening tool rivals 'gold standard'
  • 3-5 minute questionnaire can screen for presence and severity of dementia
  • its reliability is comparable to existing screening tools
  • its ease of use is better

A new questionnaire has been developed that very quickly determines whether or not a person has dementia and whether it's very mild, mild, moderate or severe. The 10-item questionnaire takes only 3-5 minutes and can be completed by a caregiver, friend or family member.

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