Category Research News (General)

Autopsies have revealed that some individuals develop the cellular changes indicative of Alzheimer’s disease without ever showing clinical symptoms in their lifetime. Vanderbilt University Medical Center memory researchers have discovered a potential genetic variant in these asymptomatic individuals that may…

Google Glass is being used by people suffering from Parkinson’s disease in a groundbreaking experiment to see if the technology can help improve their day-to-day lives. Newcastle University, UK is trialling new technology to help patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease live…

Results out of a study funded by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) have enabled researchers to secure a $23 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA, continuing a repurposed drug approved for hypertension…

Prions are infectious agents responsible for neurodegenerative diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalitis (commonly known as “mad cow disease”) and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease in humans. Since the discovery in the 60s that an incurable and fatal disease could be caused by…

The PredictND project, started by European research organisations, aims at developing and validating new procedures for the earlier diagnosis of memory disorders and for detecting individuals at high risk of developing memory disorders. Co-funded under the European 7th Framework Programme,…

Research implicates new player in Alzheimer’s and other dementias. More than a century of research into the causes of dementia has focused on the clumps and tangles of abnormal proteins that appear in the brains of people with neurodegenerative diseases.…

Quality of life (QoL) improves under subthalamic deep brain stimulation (STN-DBS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD), whereas social functioning may be disrupted. This disruption could negatively influence the family dynamic, leading to different perceptions of the STN-DBS outcome by patients and…

Researchers have long been searching for a blood-based test that could predict Alzheimer’s disease. In the March 9 Nature Medicine, researchers report that a panel of 10 lipids could one day fit the bill. In a small study, plasma levels…

The latest research from the Alzheimer’s Association shows a woman’s lifetime risk of developing the neurodegenerative disease is one in six, compared with one in 11 for men. Women are also shouldering the responsibility for caring for parents affected by…

A new ADI report highlights that undernutrition is a major problem among people with dementia and stresses the importance of recognising nutrition as a potential key factor in the wellbeing of people with dementia. Research reviewed in the report finds…

A more intensive exercise program specifically designed for people in hospital with dementia has been shown to add benefits over normal rehabilitation. The study was published in the February 2014 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (requires subscription to view full…

The underlying genetics of neurodegenerative disorders tend not to be well understood. This study links HSP to other neurodegenerative disorders and can potentially facilitate further gene discovery and mechanistic understanding of neurodegenerative diseases. Hereditary spastic paraplegias (HSPs) are neurodegenerative motor…

The word “chaperone” refers to an adult who keeps teenagers from acting up at a dance or overnight trip. It also describes a type of protein that can guard the brain against its own troublemakers: misfolded proteins that are involved…

A number of studies have shown that exercise can remodel the brain by prompting the creation of new brain cells and inducing other changes. Now it appears that inactivity, too, can remodel the brain, according to a new report. The…

The phase 3 trial results of Eli Lilly and Co.’s solanezumab and Janssen/Pfizer’s bapineuzumab appeared in the January 23rd edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. In an accompanying editorial in NEJM, JPND Scientific Advisory Board members Eric Karran…

Researchers at Duke University have shown that continuing spinal cord stimulation appears to produce improvements in symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and may protect critical neurons from injury or deterioration. The study, performed in rats, is published online Jan. 23, 2014,…

New research has uncovered a quality-control mechanism in brain cells that may help keep deadly neurological diseases in check for months or years. The findings, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, “present a breakthrough in understanding the secret life…

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) launched its 11th call for proposals on December 11th, 2013. The call features eight topics including the “European platform for proof of concept for prevention in Alzheimer’s Disease” (EPOC-AD). EPOC-AD calls for greater cooperation and…

A declaration and a communique present the agreements consolidated at the G8 Dementia Summit in London on December 11th, 2013. G8 countries have agreed: The ambition to identify a cure or therapy for dementia by 2025, with a commitment to…

An Alzheimer Disease International (ADI) policy brief entitled ‘The Global Impact of Dementia 2013-2050’ has revealed a staggering 17% increase in the number of people living with dementia, compared to the original ADI estimates in the 2009 World Alzheimer Report.…

A drug that acts like a growth-promoting protein in the brain reduces degeneration and motor deficits associated with Huntington’s disease in two mouse models of the disorder. Previous studies of people with Huntington’s disease point to a link between low…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on October 25 approved a second amyloid imaging agent. Flutemetamol is an F18-labeled ligand developed by GE Healthcare. It joins florbetapir, developed by Avid Pharmaceuticals/Eli Lilly and Company. Flutemetamol differs slightly from its cousin…

Researchers studying the natural history of Alzheimer’s disease are grappling with a puzzling group of volunteers—amyloid-free and cognitively normal older adults who show other biomarker evidence of neurodegeneration. Researchers studying the natural history of Alzheimer’s disease are grappling with a…

The largest international study ever conducted on Alzheimer’s disease, the I-GAP (International Genomics Alzheimer’s Project) consortium has identified eleven new regions of the genome involved in the onset of the disease. This research gives an overview of the molecular mechanisms underlying…

University of California Irvine’s trailblazing 90+ Study, aimed at learning more about the “oldest old, will continue for at least another five years, thanks to a $9.5 million renewal grant from the US National Institute on Aging. The 90+ Study…

A chemical substance has been identified which shows signs of being able to halt a range of neurodegenerative diseases in mice. Researchers at the University of Leicester’s Medical Research Council Toxicology Unit, investigating prion disease in mice, have found a…

Research teams from Sheffield, UK and Milan, Italy looked at the factors which might explain the differences observed in speed and severity in the progression of motor neuron disease (MND). Researchers used a scientific technique known as gene expression profiling to…

Neurobiologists from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research proved that excitability protects motor neurons from degeneration in amyotropic lateral sclerosis, a rare neurodegenerative disease. By modulating excitability researchers could influence the rate of motor dysfunction and muscle denervation, and slow…

Having depression may increase your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by up to three times, according to a new study. Depression is known to raise the risk of a host of diseases including cancer and stroke, but although it is…

In a joint announcement, three French Ministers expressed their support for people with dementia and their carers on World Alzheimer’s Day. Marisol Touraine (Social Affairs and Health Minister), Geneviève Fioraso (Minister for Higher Education and Research) and Michèle Delaunay (Minister…

Highlights EU support for the coordination of national research efforts through the joint programming initiative on neurodegenerative diseases More research, innovation and awareness is the solution to overcoming the societal challenges presented by dementia, argues Máire Geoghegan-Quinn.

Two studies recently released provide more insight into diagnosing and treating Parkinson’s disease. One emerging area of study focuses on how the build-up of proteins in the brain may lead to neurodegenerative diseases. Interactions between two of those proteins, amyloid…

Selected recent reviews on research areas relevant to JPND Click on the title to access the full article DOI: Epidemiology of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in China, 1990–2010: a systematic review and analysis (The Lancet) Prevalence Studies of…

As part of their work to foster further collaboration and facilitate innovation in neuroscience, the Nansen Neuroscience Network are currently working to create an overview of all dementia-related medical research and development in Norway. The Nansen Neuroscience Network are, in…

University of Leicester experts discovered that the activity of glutathione peroxidase, a key antioxidant in cells, improves symptoms of Huntington’s disease in models of the disease. Researchers used models such as baker’s yeast, fruit flies, and cultured mammalian cells. Their…

The structure of Portugal’s National Dementia Plan has been submitted to the Ministry of Health for approval. The submission follows a May 2013 meeting, where a group of dementia experts persuaded the government that existing dementia prevalence figures are sufficiently…

The European Medicines Agency has released a draft guideline on the clinical investigation of medicines for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for a six-month public consultation. The document focuses on the design of studies for medicines that have…

A new report from the International Longevity Centre (ILC) and Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC), presents analyses exploring financial dimensions of wellbeing and other quality of life measures concerning older age. The report was published as part of the Economic…

Results from two major cohort studies reveal that the number of people with dementia in the UK is substantially lower than expected because overall prevalence in the 65+ age group has dropped. The two studies provide the first estimate of…

The most recent findings have been published from the TRACK-HD study, designed to create an unprecedentedly detailed map of changes in prodromal and early Huntington’s disease. The latest findings from the TRACK-HD study are published in The Lancet Neurology and…

Older people with Alzheimer’s disease are less likely to also have cancer, and older people with cancer are less likely to also have Alzheimer’s disease. This is according to a study published in Neurology on 10 July 2013. The study…

MEPs set to draft written declaration aimed at improving the quality of life of people living with chronic degenerative brain diseases The pledge to table a written declaration was unveiled by Austrian ALDE deputy Angelika Werthmann at an event in…

Four different biomarkers uncovered that characterize the non-genetic form of the disease Although several genetic ALS mutations have been identified, they only apply to a small number of cases. The ongoing challenge is to identify the mechanisms behind the non-genetic…

Across a variety of neurodegenerative diseases, cerebrovascular disease affecting circulation of blood in the brain was significantly associated with dementia. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania contend that people already exhibiting clinical features of Alzheimer’s disease and other memory impairments…

The Alzheimer’s Society UK led a Dementia Priority Setting Partnership with the James Lind Alliance to identify some of the priorities for dementia research. Through extensive engagement with people with dementia and their carers, health and social care practitioners, and…

Interferon-Beta Aids Balance and Movement in Mice With Spinocerebellar Ataxia 7 The first in vivo trial of the use of interferon-beta in a mouse model of the group of fatal, neurodegenerative diseases known as spinocerebellar ataxia has shown that its use…

A report of the first year of the UK Prime Minister’s Challenge on Dementia has been published The achievements against the three main areas of the challenge are described, with progress reports from the three Dementia Challenge Champion Groups on:1. Driving…

A number of recent systematic reviews relevant to JPND diseases are highlighted below Click on the titles to access the abstract of the review: The association between vitamin D and cognition Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and its effects on swallowing…

Discovery reveals how an important protein helps translate learning into memory Scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (Gladstone Institutes) have deciphered how a protein called Arc regulates the activity of neurons – providing much-needed clues into the brain’s…

Latest figures show that in 1990, 3.68 million people had dementia in China and by 2010 this number had risen to 9.2 million The international study, led by the University of Edinburgh and published in The Lancet, reviewed almost 90…