Category Archives: Prevention

An Alzheimer’s Revolution Is Coming, Experts Say

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An earlier diagnosis and intervention strategy for Alzheimer’s disease is on the horizon, signaling a need to overhaul current detection methods and patient care protocols, experts at the Alzheimer’s Association Research Roundtable (AARR) said.

“Advances in biomarker technology, digital cognitive assessments, and amyloid-targeting therapies have redefined the opportunities for accurate and early diagnosis and care of Alzheimer’s disease,” reported Christopher Weber, PhD, of the Alzheimer’s Association in Chicago, and co-authors in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions.

These advances create new possibilities to intervene before the onset of cognitive impairment, Weber and colleagues wrote. Targeting the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s, Weber said, “is similar to how doctors treat other diseases like heart disease and some cancers, where early detection and prevention are key parts of care.”

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Brain Training Games May Have Long-Term Benefits

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Older men and women who completed five to six weeks of a computerized brain training program showed benefits up to two decades later, according to a new report. The study found that those who engaged in a program designed to speed the brain’s processing were less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease years down the road.

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Challenging your brain helps keep it healthy. Here’s how to do it

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“Exercise your brain,” experts advise people hoping to stave off dementia. But how? Stretching your brain might be the better description.

Do a crossword puzzle a day and you may just get good at crosswords. Instead, research increasingly shows that a variety of habits and hobbies are like a cognitive workout, building knowledge and skills that may beef up parts of the brain as we get older.

One recent study linked a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline to lifelong learning, meaning intellectually stimulating experiences — reading and writing, learning another language, playing chess, solving puzzles, going to museums — from childhood into retirement.

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Enhanced brain cells clear away dementia-related proteins

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WashU Medicine researchers designed a cellular immunotherapy that turns astrocytes (green), a type of cell in the brain, into super cleaners that sweep away Alzheimer’s-related proteins. With this new feature, the cells successfully reduced the amount of harmful amyloid beta plaques (blue) in the brains of mice.

The new generation of Alzheimer’s disease drugs — the first proven to change the course of the disease — typically extend independent living for patients by 10 months. Called monoclonal antibodies, they reduce the accumulations of a harmful protein, amyloid, in the brain and require high-dose, once- or twice-monthly infusions of the medication.

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Can we prevent Alzheimer’s disease within a decade?

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Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most enigmatic brain afflictions and among the greatest health care challenges facing the nation. It affects more than 7 million Americans — a number projected to double by 2060. This article is the first in the series “USC United Against Alzheimer’s: Collaborating in Research and Care,” which illustrates how USC researchers and clinicians are making groundbreaking strides in the treatment, prevention and care of Alzheimer’s.

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