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Alzheimer's & Dementia

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Another study builds on earlier indications that hearing loss is a risk factor for dementia, and emphasizes the need for early intervention.

Data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, begun in 1958, has revealed that seniors with hearing loss are significantly more likely to develop dementia than those who retain their hearing.

Nearly half of those with dementia with Lewy bodies were found to have had adult ADHD — three times the rate of controls and those with Alzheimer’s.

A study involving 360 patients with degenerative dementia (109 people with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and 251 with Alzheimer's) and 149 matched controls, has found that 48% of those with DLB had previously suffered from adult ADHD.

A long-running study has found cholesterol levels at in mid-life were not linked to later dementia in women, but marked decline in cholesterol level over the study period was.

Research into the link, if any, between cholesterol and dementia, has been somewhat contradictory. A very long-running Swedish study may explain why.

A small study suggests that physical activity may be of greater benefit to those carrying the Alzheimer’s gene in protecting against cognitive decline.

A study involving 68 healthy older adults (65-85) has compared brain activity among four groups, determined whether or not they carry the Alzheimer’s gene ApoE4 and whether their physical activity is reported to be high or low.

A second study confirms the dramatic effect of being bilingual, with bilingual speakers being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s more than 4 years later than monoglots.

Clinical records of 211 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease have revealed that those who have spoken two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms by as much as five years.

A very large long-running study has found smoking over two packs per day in middle age more than doubled the chances of developing dementia in later life.

Data from 21,123 people, surveyed between 1978 and 1985 when in their 50s and tracked for dementia from 1994 to 2008, has revealed that those who smoked more than two packs per day in middle age had more than twice the risk of developing dementia, both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia, compared

A long-running study adds to the evidence that high levels of homocysteine increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and higher levels of vitamin B12 help to bring down these levels and reduce risk.

A seven-year study involving 271 Finns aged 65-79 has revealed that increases in the level of homocysteine in the blood were associated with increasing risk of developing Alzheimer’s (each micromolar increase in the concentration of homocysteine increased the risk of Alzheimer's by 16%), while in

Another small study supports earlier research suggesting that low testosterone is a risk factor for Alzheimer’s for older men.

A Chinese study involving 153 older men (55+; average age 72), of whom 47 had mild cognitive impairment, has found that 10 of those in the MCI group developed probable Alzheimer's disease within a year.

Research with genetically engineered mice shows why the apoE4 gene is so strongly associated with Alzheimer’s, and points to strategies for countering its effects.

Carriers of the so-called ‘Alzheimer’s gene’ (apoE4) comprise 65% of all Alzheimer's cases. A new study helps us understand why that’s true. Genetically engineered mice reveal that apoE4 is associated with the loss of GABAergic interneurons in the hippocampus.

Cognitive tests only test you at a particular moment in time; early signs of Alzheimer's are more evident in declines in everyday behavior that are most visible to other people.

Confirming earlier research, a study involving 257 older adults (average age 75) has found that a two-minute questionnaire filled out by a close friend or family member is more accurate that standard cognitive tests in detecting early signs of Alzheimer’s.