Latest Research News

New research supports the classification system for preclinical Alzheimer’s proposed two years ago. The classification system divides preclinical Alzheimer's into three stages:

Stage 1: Levels of amyloid beta begin to decrease in the spinal fluid. This indicates that the substance is beginning to form plaques in the brain.

Stage 2: Levels of tau protein start to increase in the spinal fluid, indicating that brain cells are beginning to die. Amyloid beta levels are still abnormal and may continue to fall.

Last year I reported on a finding that ten lipids in the blood could predict development of MCI or Alzheimer's within 2-3 years, with over 90% accuracy. The hunt for an accurate blood test has been gathering momentum, on the back of the growing belief that any effective treatment of Alzheimer's might have to start early, and the high cost and inconvenience of other means of early diagnosis.

Analysis of post-mortem with and without dementia has found lipopolysaccharide, a component of an oral bacterium (Porphyromonas gingivalis), in four out of 10 Alzheimer’s disease brain samples, but not in any of the 10 brains of people who didn’t have Alzheimer’s.

Gingivitis is extremely common, and about 64% of American seniors (65+) have moderate or severe periodontal disease.

The finding adds to evidence linking gum disease and Alzheimer’s.

A study involving 218 participants aged 18-88 has looked at the effects of age on the brain activity of participants viewing an edited version of a 1961 Hitchcock TV episode (given that participants viewed the movie while in a MRI machine, the 25 minute episode was condensed to 8 minutes).

While many studies have looked at how age changes brain function, the stimuli used have typically been quite simple. This thriller-type story provides more complex and naturalistic stimuli.

In a series of experiments involving college students, drawing pictures was found to be the best strategy for remembering lists of words.

A review of nearly 2.8 million patient cases in Denmark found that the risk of dementia in individuals with a history of TBI was 24% higher than those without a history of TBI, after accounting for other risk factors.

Risk was greater when the TBI was characterized as "severe" — 35% compared to an increased risk of 17% for a single "mild" TBI or concussion.

Moreover, dementia risk increased 33% higher for two or three TBIs, 61% higher for four TBIs, and 183% higher for five or more TBIs.

Alzheimer's disease is associated with abnormalities in the vast network of blood vessels in the brain, but it hasn’t been known how this affects cognition. A study has now shown that a blood-clotting protein called fibrinogen plays a part.

The study found that fibrinogen, after leaking from the blood into the brain, activates the brain's immune cells and triggers them to destroy synapses, which are critical for neuronal communication.

Perivascular spaces are fluid-filled spaces around the cerebral small vessels, commonly seen on brain scans in older adults. They have been thought to be harmless, but a new study challenges this belief.

A large, long-running Finnish study looking at the dietary habits of 2,497 men aged 42-60 has found that a high intake of dietary cholesterol was not associated with the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, even among carriers of the ‘Alzheimer’s gene’ APOE4.

Previous research has found that the effect of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol levels is more visible in carriers of APOE4. In Finland, the prevalence of the APOE4 gene variant is exceptionally high and approximately a third of the population are carriers.

DNA data from more than 48,000 patients and 139,000 healthy controls from four different ethnic groups has identified seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-02/uoo-sng020714.php