NEW YORK, Aug. 21 -- An experimental
vaccine aimed at tangles of tau protein, the lesser-known Alzheimer's
pathology, slowed deterioration of function and frontotemporal dementia
in mice, found investigators here.
Immunized mice also had better behavioral and motor function at five
and eight months of age than controls, the authors reported in the Aug.
22 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
"This approach may have extensive therapeutic implications because
you can specifically target the problematic protein," said Dr. Sigurdsson. "Tau
aggregates are inside the cell, making it especially difficult to develop
a therapy to target and clear them from the cell."
Aug. 31, 2006 -- Drinking fruit
or vegetable juice every other day may keep Alzheimer's disease away.
A new study shows people who drank fruit and vegetable juices more than
three times a week were 76% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease
than those who drank juices less than once a week.
Researchers say the results suggest that a class of antioxidants found
in fruit and vegetable juices called polyphenols may have a protective
effect on the brain and help fight dementia dementia and Alzheimer's
disease.
Polyphenols are found in fruits and vegetables, primarily in the skins
and peels, and are abundant in juices, teas, and wine.
SAN ANTONIO, July 13 -- Mild
impairment of the executive function domain of cognition may represent
an early marker of increased stroke risk, according to data from the
Framingham Study.
Mildly impaired executive function conferred a stroke hazard ratio of
2.4 compared with normal executive function in the original Framingham
cohort, Sudhas Seshadri, M.D., of Boston University reported at the International
Society of Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive Disorders meeting here.
An even greater effect was seen in the Framingham
Offspring cohort, as mildly impaired executive function increased the
relative risk of stroke almost five-fold, the investigators added.
SAN ANTONIO,
July 13 -- The fewer teeth someone has in middle age, the greater the
risk seems to be for dementia later in life, data from an ongoing study
of women's health suggest.
Poor dental health increased the likelihood of dementia by 30% to 40%
over a 32-year period, regardless of cardiovascular status, according
to a report at the International Society of Vascular Behavioral and Cognitive
Disorders meeting here.
After adjustment for multiple demographic and clinical factors, the
association between tooth count and dementia remained significant.
EAST HANOVER, N.J., July 10
-- The FDA has approved a rivastigmine transdermal patch for mild to
moderate Alzheimer's disease, Novartis announced here.
The patch (Exelon Patch) is the first approved transdermal
system for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The patch has also won approval
for mild to moderate Parkinson's disease dementia. Rivastigmine oral
formulations were already approved for the Alzheimer's indication.
The new approval of rivastigmine patch came on the
basis of results from the international IDEAL (Investigation of transDermal
Exelon in ALzheimer's disease) trial, involving nearly 1,200 patients.
In that trial, the patch demonstrated similar efficacy
to the highest doses of rivastigmine capsules and the target dose (9.5
mg/24 hours) was well tolerated by patients. (See ICAD: Patch Smoothes
Alzheimer's Drug Delivery)
Novartis said the most common side effects in the IDEAL trial were gastrointestinal
symptoms, such as nausea and vomiting, that are typical of all cholinesterase
inhibitors. But those toxicities were three times more common among patients
treated with oral rivastigmine than compared with patients who were treated
with the patch. By Peggy Peck, Managing Editor, MedPage Today
June 11, 2007 — Today, 26.6
million people worldwide suffer Alzheimer's disease. In just over 40
years, that number will quadruple to more than 106 million patients —
and 43% of them will need full-time care in nursing homes.
This grim prediction of the global burden of Alzheimer's disease comes
from Johns Hopkins researcher Ron Brookmeyer, PhD, and colleagues. The
researchers base their forecast on a complex computer model fed United
Nations population projections and data on Alzheimer's disease.
In its 2007 Alzheimer's Facts and Figures, the association estimated that 2.4 million people from the ages of 75 to 84 years — 19% of the all U.S. adults in this age range — have Alzheimer's.
Among Americans ages 85 and older, an estimated 42%, or 2.2 million people, are living with dementia, the report stated.
Alzheimer's Association estimated that there are 300,000 Americans ages 65 to 74 with Alzheimer's (2% of the U.S. population for this age range).
There are approximately 500,000 Americans younger than 65 with Alzheimer's or another dementia. It is estimated that at least 200,000 of these people younger than 65 have early-onset Alzheimer's.
By Neil Osterweil, Senior Associate Editor,
MedPage Today
Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
May 31, 2007
ST. LOUIS, May 31 — The appearance of passive personality traits in
an older adult with signs of dementia may signal the presence of Lewy
bodies rather than Alzheimer's disease, said investigators here.
Among 290 older adults in a longitudinal study, specific personality
traits involving social withdrawal and purposeless hyperactivity helped
distinguish between the two types of dementia, wrote James E. Galvin,
M.D., M.P.H., of the Alzheimer Disease Research Center at Washington
University School of Medicine, and colleagues.
NEW YORK, NY—The Alzheimer’s
Foundation of America (AFA) recently awarded its “Excellence in
Care Dementia Program of Distinction” status to the nation’s
first two dementia care settings that have successfully achieved AFA’s
nationwide standard of excellence for facilities that provide care to
individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or related illnesses. Both
settings are located in New York City.
The 80th Street Residence was the first to earn this distinction.
The 80th Street Residence is an assisted living residence in Manhattan’s
Upper East Side that specializes in Alzheimer’s and dementia care.
Soon afterward, Ozanam Hall, a skilled geriatric and short-term rehabilitation
facility in Bayside, achieved the status for its dementia care settings.
