Previous studies, including large cohort analyses comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated adults, suggest that routine immunizations such as inactivated influenza vaccines (IIVs) may reduce Alzheimer dementia (AD) risk. Whether AD risk differs after high-dose IIV (H-IIV) vs standard-dose IIV (S-IIV) remains unexamined. We hypothesized that AD risk would be lower among adults ≥65 years after H-IIV compared with S-IIV.
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Women develop Alzheimer’s disease at higher rates than men. Stanford Medicine neurologists explain what science knows about why and the many things it doesn’t yet know.
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An NIH-funded research team, led by Drs. Orly Lazarov and Jalees Rehman at the University of Illinois, Chicago, turned to the brains of cognitive SuperAgers for clues. SuperAgers were defined as people at least 80 years old with memory test scores as good as or better than those of people in their 50s and 60s. The team looked for molecular signatures unique to those with exceptional recall and memory.
The findings give us a better understanding of cognitive function in the human brain as we age. “Determining why some brains age more healthily than others can help researchers make therapeutics that will boost memory in aging and prevent Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia,” Lazarov says.
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The statistics are staggering – 342,000 people are listed as primary caregivers to the 11.7% of Virginians over age 65 living with Alzheimer’s disease. And the care that these loved ones provide within the commonwealth? It’s estimated to be worth $12.5 billion, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
“The need for dementia care in Central Virginia is immense,” said James “Trey” Bateman, M.D., MPH, director of the VCU Health Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive disorders clinic. “There’s an excellent opportunity to grow a program that excels at clinical care, research and education.”
Families need help coping with the diagnosis and care of those they love, and VCU Health strives to be at the forefront of research and treatment.
Internationally, more than 130 new dementia drugs are in the trial phase, with more on the horizon. Several already in the marketplace are proving that progression of the disease can be slowed if caught early and treated with the correct medication. Researchers are also learning how to tailor drugs to an individual patient’s brain chemistry.
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a decade-long study’s findings threw a wrench in the benefits of this nutritional powerhouse by discovering that whole grains unexpectedly were associated with a faster decline in some measures.
These findings came about when the researchers looked at individual diet components, meaning that it’s not a firm conclusion that these foods are a cause of cognitive decline and could reflect other habits of those who eat more cheese or grains.
Read more about it HERE
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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