Category Research News (General)

Scientists know that faulty proteins can cause harmful deposits or “aggregates” in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Although the causes of these protein deposits remain a mystery, it is known that abnormal aggregates can result when cells…

Freezing of gait (FoG) is a disabling symptom of Parkinson’s Disease, characterised by patients becoming stuck while walking and unable to move forward. It is well-known to lead to falls and lower quality of life, making it an important target…

Moderate to high intensity exercise does not slow cognitive impairment in older people with dementia, a trial published by The BMJ finds. The view that exercise might slow cognitive decline has gained popularity, however, recent reviews of trials of exercise training in people with dementia have…

Lifetime risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease dementia vary considerably by age, gender and the presence of any signs or symptoms of dementia, a new study by Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association reports. These are the first lifetime…

Enhanced lifestyle counselling prevents cognitive decline even in people who are carriers of the APOE4 gene, a common risk factor of Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study published in JAMA Neurology. The two-year FINGER trial involved 60–77 year-old people…

New research sheds light on how a breakdown in the brain’s vascular system predates the accumulation of toxic plaques and tangles in the brain that bring about Alzheimer’s disease. Nearly 50 percent of all dementias, including Alzheimer’s, begins with the…

ALS and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two neurodegenerative diseases with a toxic relationship, according to a new paper published in Nature Medicine. The study describes how a mutation in a gene, called C9ORF72, leads to toxicity in nerve cells—causing 10…

A team has developed a system to model Huntington’s in human embryonic stem cells for the first time. In a report published in Development, they describe early abnormalities in the way Huntington’s neurons look, and how these cells form larger…

People with Alzheimer’s disease are known to have disturbances in their internal body clocks that affect sleep/wake cycle and may increase their risk of developing the disorder. Now, new research published in JAMA Neurology indicates that such circadian rhythm disruptions…

A new study published in Scientific Reports shows that low levels of alcohol consumption may tamp down inflammation and help the brain clear away toxins, including those associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The research focused on the glymphatic system, the brain’s…

Directly involving the thousands of family members and friends who serve as ‘informal carers’ for people with dementia in the evaluation of patients’ symptoms and behaviour could offer improved insights for healthcare professionals and help alleviate feelings of stress, guilt…

Increasing the amount of social interaction for people with dementia living in care homes to just one hour a week improves quality of life when combined with personalised care, according to a new study. A large-scale trial  found that the…

After more than a decade of research, this much we know: it’s good for your brain to know another language. A new study, published in Neuropsychologia,  goes further, however, focusing specifically on the effects of knowing a second language for…

Scientists developing a rapid, practical test for the early diagnosis of prion diseases have modified the assay to offer the possibility of improving early diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies. The findings were published in Acta Neuropathologica…

Low muscle strength during the later teen years has been identified as a risk factor for much later onset of the neurological disease known as ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. A study published in the Journal of Neurology also links…

With the aid of a PET camera, researchers have developed a new method for investigating the dopamine system in the brains of patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The method measures levels of a protein called dopamine transporter and could lead…

A team of researchers has found that gradually depleting an enzyme called BACE1 reverses the formation of amyloid plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease, thereby improving the animals’ cognitive function. The study was published in the Journal…

Scientists have developed a novel approach for deep brain stimulation. The new method, published in Science, utilises upconversion nanoparticles to allow delivery of visible light deep into the brain to stimulate neural activities in a less-invasive manner. This innovation marks…

Higher levels of lifestyle physical activity — such as housecleaning, walking a dog and gardening, as well as exercise — are associated with more gray matter in the brains of older adults, according to a study published in The Journal…

Scientists have transformed skin cells from patients with Huntington’s disease into the type of brain cell affected by the disorder, creating a new tool to study the degenerative and eventually fatal neurological condition. The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, showed…

Doctors who work with individuals at risk of developing dementia have long suspected that patients who do not realize they experience memory problems are at greater risk of seeing their condition worsen in a short time frame, a suspicion that…

Amyloid beta pathology might have been transmitted by contaminated neurosurgical instruments, a new study published in Acta Neuropathologica suggests. Researchers studied the medical records of four people who had brain bleeds caused by amyloid beta build-up in the blood vessels…

Researchers have found that excess levels of calcium in brain cells may lead to the formation of toxic clusters that are the hallmark of Parkinson’s disease. This is the first time it’s been shown that calcium influences the way alpha-synuclein…

For couples with decades of shared memories, a partner’s decline in the ability to communicate is one of the most frightening and frustrating consequences of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Impaired communication leads to misunderstandings, conflict, and isolation. A new…

The selective demise of motor neurons is the hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Yet neurologists have suspected there are other types of brain cells involved in the progression of this disorder and perhaps…

Alcohol use disorders are the most important preventable risk factors for the onset of all types of dementia, especially early-onset dementia, according to a nationwide observational study of over one million adults diagnosed with dementia in France. This study was…

Researchers have found that disconnections of brain areas involved in attention and visual processing may contribute to visual hallucinations in individuals with Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The disconnected brain areas seen…

Researchers have discovered a new class of molecules in the brain that synchronize cell-to-cell communication and neuroinflammation/immune activity in response to injury or diseases. Elovanoids (ELVs) are bioactive chemical messengers made from omega-3 very long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (VLC-PUFAs,n-3).…

The first symptom of Parkinson’s disease is often an impaired sense of smell. This neurodegenerative disease primarily causes irreparable damage to nerve cells in a brain area involved in movement control. Until now, how it affects the olfactory system has…

New research has proven the existence of an important interaction between the molecules involved in the two types of pathologies. Parkinson’s disease and prion diseases are very different from each other in regards to both origins and course. A group…

More than 5 million Americans today are affected by Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is estimated that there will be more than 16 million people with AD in the United States and more than 60 million people with AD worldwide by…

A new study shows that the taking of diabetes medicine reduces the risk of getting Parkinson´s disease. Researchers have discovered that medical treatment against diabetes reduces the risk of getting Parkinson´s disease by 35 percent. The researchers believe that diabetes…

Increased communication between distant brain regions helps older adults compensate for the negative aspects of aging, reports a new study published this week in Human Brain Mapping. The aged brain tends to show more bilateral communication than the young brain.…

The brain’s own mechanisms for dealing with the loss of dopamine neurons in Parkinson’s disease may be a source of the disorder’s abnormal movement, according to a study published in Neuron. The study suggests the loss of dopamine may cause…

Physical aggression among people with dementia is not unusual. A new study shows that one-third of those diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or frontotemporal dementia were physically aggressive towards healthcare staff, other patients, relatives, animals and complete strangers. The study is…

A research team has identified a new mechanism that causes the hallmark symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, namely tremors, rigidity, and loss of voluntary movement. The discovery presents a new perspective to three decades of conventional wisdom in Parkinson’s disease research.…

Nearly a quarter century ago, a genetic variant known as ApoE4 was identified as a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease — one that increases a person’s chances of developing the neurodegenerative disease by up to 12 times. However, it…

Mutations in the human genome may be responsible for many diseases. In the case of Parkinson’s disease (PD), variants of ACMSD (aminocarboxymuconate semialdehyde decarboxylase), may be implicated in PD, but until now, no mutations in ACMSD had been found in…

Researchers have recently discovered a new mechanism for storing information in synapses and a means of controlling the storage process. The breakthrough helps clarify the mystery of the molecular mechanisms of memory and learning processes. The research appears in the…

Scientists have identified a toxic cascade that results in neuronal degeneration in people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and have determined how to interrupt it, reports a study published in the journal Science. Using an antioxidant to intervene early in the…

Researchers report that intermittent electrical stimulation of an area deep inside the brain that degenerates in Alzheimer’s appears to improve working memory. Conversely, continuous deep brain stimulation, like the type used for Parkinson’s impairs memory, according to study results in…

Scientists have published a proof-of-concept study in the journal Neurobiology of Disease demonstrating that an antidepressant drug which has been on the market for more than 50 years could slow the progression of Parkinson’s. The drug nortriptyline, which has been…

The protein amyloid beta is believed to be a major cause of Alzheimer’s disease. BACE inhibitors, which reduce the production of amyloid beta are therefore promising candidates for new drug treatments. A research team has recently demonstrated that one such…

While memory and learning as people age have been intensively studied, changes in how people map their surroundings and construct and follow directions are not well understood.  Now a review published in the journal Neuron discusses the possibility that age-related…

A gene called ” triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2”, or TREM2, has been associated with a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Frontotemporal lobar degeneration, Parkinson’s disease, and Nasu-Hakola disease. Recently, a rare mutation in the…

Scientists are reporting that monkeys with Parkinson’s disease symptoms show significant improvement over two years after being transplanted neurons prepared from human iPS cells. The study, published in Nature, is an expected final step before the first iPS cell-based therapy…

New research suggests serotonin loss may be a key player in cognitive decline, rather than a side-effect of Alzheimer’s disease. In a study examining the brain scans of people with mild loss of thought and memory ability, researchers report evidence…

A new kind of antibody targets a feature shared by proteins thought to cause the most damage in Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and related conditions, creating potential for a unified treatment approach. The findings are part of a study published…

New artificial intelligence research has demonstrated the predictive capability of AI to determine in advance who is likely to develop dementia. Scientists used artificial intelligence techniques and big data to develop an algorithm capable of recognizing the signatures of dementia…

Alzheimer’s disease manifest itself with widely divergent symptoms and, so far, its various expressions have mainly been observed through the behaviour and actions of patients. Researchers have now produced images showing the changes in the brain associated with these symptoms…