Scientists at Oregon State University have captured something researchers have long struggled to see: the real-time chemical interactions that help drive Alzheimer’s disease. By watching how metal ions—especially copper—trigger harmful protein clumping in the brain, the team uncovered a clearer picture of how the disease develops at a molecular level.
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There is an urgent need to expand access to Alzheimer’s disease testing, Schaeffer Institute Founding Director Dana Goldman writes in an op-ed for RealClearHealth.
Goldman argues that new blood tests that detect Alzheimer’s disease earlier and more accurately will enable intervention at an earlier stage, better care planning, and more effective use of emerging therapies.
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Doctors are only just getting to grips with LATE – a newly recognised form of cognitive decline behind up to one in five dementia cases
When a parent or grandparent begins forgetting names, misplacing objects or repeating the same stories, the diagnosis most people expect is Alzheimer’s disease. For decades, Alzheimer’s has dominated public understanding of dementia, becoming almost shorthand for memory loss itself.
But that assumption is increasingly being challenged. Neurologists now know that a significant number of people with Alzheimer’s-like symptoms actually have a different condition altogether – one that most families, and even many doctors, have only recently heard of.
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This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Many people living with HIV report having memory loss or other cognitive problems that can sound a lot like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. Unlike their senior counterparts, however, cognitively impaired people with HIV are often in their 40s and 50s—and the early decline can make it difficult to hold jobs and maintain personal lives.
Researchers have been looking for similarities between the two diseases for years. And new findings, published online today in the journal Neurology, have confirmed a key commonality: abnormal distribution of a protein known as amyloid beta.
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For many older adults, life is full of routines. Making breakfast, paying bills, shopping, driving, managing appointments and keeping track of medications are tasks done almost automatically. For most, these routines run smoothly, but for some, small disruptions begin to creep in.
These small struggles matter. Perhaps it starts with uncharacteristically forgetting to add an item to the grocery list or misplacing a pair of glasses. Maybe a chequebook gets mismanaged, or a favourite recipe becomes harder to follow.
These moments can be brushed off as part of aging or blamed on a busy mind. Yet, when these new difficulties persist over time, they may be more than just minor frustrations; they might be early signs of something far deeper.
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