Scientists have just found a direct link between air pollution and Alzheimer’s disease—suggesting that improving air quality could be an important way to prevent dementia and protect older adults.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, which affects about 57 million people worldwide, and there is currently no cure for it, making prevention is crucial.
Read more about this study HERE
Researchers have identified two brain receptors that help the brain clear away amyloid beta, a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. By stimulating these receptors in mice, scientists increased levels of a natural amyloid-breaking enzyme, reduced buildup in the brain, and improved memory-related behavior. Because these receptors are common drug targets, the findings could open the door to affordable pill-based treatments with fewer side effects.
Read more HERE
Researchers have long recognized that Alzheimer’s disease is marked by abnormal plaques and tangled proteins in the brain. More recently, attention has turned to the brain’s blood vessels and how problems in the vascular system may influence the course of the disease. Even with decades of discoveries, however, these insights have not yet led to treatments that fully stop or reverse Alzheimer’s. A major reason is that scientists still do not have a complete picture of how brain cells progressively break down over time.
Read more HERE
Scientists have created the most detailed maps yet of how genes control one another inside the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. Using a powerful new AI-based system called SIGNET, the team uncovered cause-and-effect relationships between genes across six major brain cell types, revealing which genes are truly driving harmful changes. The most dramatic disruptions were found in excitatory neurons, where thousands of genetic interactions appear to be extensively rewired as the disease progresses.
Read more about it HERE
THE U.S. IS in a dementia crisis. According to a recent study published in Nature Medicine, by 2060, diagnoses of cognitive decline are expected to hit a rate of 1 million a year—double what they were in 2020. That’s one of the reasons the FDA’s approval of a new test from local drug company Eli Lilly and Swiss medication company Roche is such a big deal. Developed with help from scientists at the Indiana University School of Medicine, the test, called the Elecsys pTau181, uses blood-based biomarkers to determine the likelihood that someone with dementia symptoms has Alzheimer’s disease or if they’re suffering from another disorder.
Read more HERE
Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have identified a promising drug target for Alzheimer’s disease. The team found that removing an enzyme from neurons in the brain substantially reduces amyloid plaques—a hallmark characteristic of the disease—and may provide further resilience against disease progression.
Read more HERE