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You may have read reports about a new blood test to detect early brain changes that can flag common markers of Alzheimer’s disease. It’s moved one step closer to clinical use and could be a game-changer, according to researchers.
Up to two decades before people develop the characteristic memory loss and confusion of Alzheimer’s disease, damaging clumps of protein start to build up in their brains. Continue reading
Photo: Joy Weinberg via Flickr
There’s no doubt that a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease is devastating for both the person who receives it and for their family.
Although it’s the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., affecting nearly 6 million people, finding a cure or even a long-term treatment has proven elusive. Most drugs never make it out of Phase I or II trials. Continue reading
A recently recognized dementia that mimics many of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, but actually is an entirely different form of brain deterioration, has been documented in a new research paper.
Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (also known as LATE) primarily affects adults 80 years and older and “has been associated with substantial cognitive impairment that mimicked Alzheimer’s disease,” said researchers of the paper, which appeared in the June edition of Brain: A Journal of Neurology. Continue reading
There’s little question in Lisa McGuire’s mind that Alzheimer’s disease is a public health threat in progress. She leads the CDC’s Alzheimer’s Disease and Healthy Aging Program at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. Both the prevalence and costs of Alzheimer’s are expected to increase as baby boomers age, meaning this crisis is fast approaching.
So the CDC, along with the Alzheimer’s Association, embarked on an ambitious “Healthy Brain” initiative to help bring down the trajectory. They created a series of roadmaps for state and local health departments, highlighting different health strategies that can quickly and easily blend into existing public health programs. Continue reading
Would you want to know if you were at risk of Alzheimer’s disease, although it’s incurable and treatment options are limited?
Most people said yes” according to a recent survey from the Alliance for Aging Research conducted by Avalere Health. The vast majority of those surveyed also said that early detection is important to them and that they are willing to participate in clinical trials. Continue reading
Photo: AJ Cann via Flickr
You may have recently heard about the multimillion-dollar donation that Bill Gates and Leonard Lauder made to support research into biomarkers for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
The Diagnostics Accelerator initiative is part of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s (ADDF) effort to speed diagnosis and develop drugs that can prevent, treat, and cure the disease. Lauder was an ADDF co-founder. Continue reading
