Category Archives: Research

Antioxidant supplements ineffective against Alzheimer’s, study shows

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For years, doctors have touted an antioxidant-rich diet to help stave off memory loss and dementia. A new study says antioxidants may not do much for preventing Alzheimer’s after all.

An antioxidant cocktail of vitamin E, vitamin C, and lipoic acid had no effect on reducing the physical signs and cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer’s disease, the study found.

Antioxidants are found in apples, blueberries, cranberries, pomegranates, strawberries and other types of fruit. Earlier research suggests a diet rich in antioxidants boosts memory and prevent age-related memory loss. They’re thought to work by protecting cells against free radicals, which are single molecules that latch onto a cell and cause damage. Antioxidants are also thought to have a protective benefit against cancer and heart disease.

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Researchers find way to predict disease in people with a rare form

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Remembering family members who can’t remember themselves, Alexandra looks through pictures of several relatives struck with an aggressive form of Alzheimer’s disease.

The 35-year-old woman, who will be identified as Alexandra to protect her identity, lost her mother to familial Alzheimer’s. Her mother was diagnosed with the disease at age 42 and died in her early 50s.

“It’s sad, and the sadder part about it is she didn’t have a life that she should have deserved,” Alexandra said.

Like other relatives, Alexandra’s mother died from familial Alzheimer’s in her early 50s. Doctors say having the specific gene mutations predict with 100 percent certainty the carrier will develop the disease. While familial Alzheimer’s disease, or FAD, accounts for less than 2 percent of total cases, the disease process is similar to common forms.

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Alzheimer’s patients ‘should stay on drugs for longer’

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Thousands of patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease could benefit from drugs, research suggests.

A study in the the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients who stayed on the dementia drug Aricept had a slower decline in their memory.

The drug tends not to be prescribed once sufferers progress beyond moderate symptoms.

Medicines regulator NICE said its guidelines supported continuing treatment where there were benefits.

The patent for the medicine Aricept, which is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, expired recently. Much cheaper versions under the generic name donepezil are already available for about £12 a month.

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Chemical link revealed in Alzheimer’s study

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Alzheimer’s symptoms such as memory loss could be prevented by
targeting a chemical that dismantles brain connections, research
suggests.

Scientists have already started work searching for a drug that will block the mechanism, discovered in mice.

If successful, a treatment that effectively protects against the effects of Alzheimer’s could be available in the next 10 years.

It has long been known that the disease is linked to a build-up of toxic amyloid-beta protein in the brain.

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Reversing Alzheimer’s gene blockade can bring back memory

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Breaking a ‘gene blockade’ could pave the way for restoring memory loss and other cognitive functions in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, a new study has suggested.

Researchers have shown that an enzyme overproduced in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients creates a barrier that shuts off genes essential to form new memories.

Furthermore, by inhibiting that enzyme in mice, the MITneuroscientists were able to reverse Alzheimer’s symptoms.

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How significant are developments in making Alzheimer’s brain cells in the lab?

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Dementia has been described as a “time bomb” in society. As more people are living longer, more are being affected by the illness which slowly but surely annihilates brain function.

More than 750,000 people in the UK already have dementia, forecasts say there will be one million dementia patients by 2021 and 1.5 million by 2051. The cost to health services and the economy is already put at more than £20bn each year.

However, the scale of the problem is in stark contrast to the level of understanding. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, yet the cause is unknown and there is no cure.

When it comes to studying dementia you cannot simply take samples of brain tissue from patients to understand what is going on or to test treatments. Research requires good “models” of the disease instead, something many scientists would argue are not good enough.

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