Type 2 diabetes doesn't affect risk of late-life Alzheimer's.
WASHINGTON -- Type 2 diabetes did not increase the risk of onset or progression of Alzheimer's disease in older adults, according to results from a study of more than 700 individuals presented in a poster at the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society. The prevalences of...

Alzheimer's mystery protein unmasked.
A protein that forms plaques in people with Alzheimer's disease takes part in the normal process of forgetting and remembering, a new study suggests. Scientists have long wondered why neurons make beta-amyloid, also called A-beta. This sticky protein forms the characteristic, neuron-smothering plaques of Alzheimer's disease. A-beta...

Clinton Hospital participating in Alzheimer's Memory Walk.
CLINTON - On Sunday, Sept. 14, staff from Clinton Hospital will take a stand in the fight against Alzheimer's disease when the hospital's Geriatric Medical Psychiatry Unit (GMPU) sponsors the 2008 Central MA Memory Walk. A team from Clinton Hospital will participate in the annual walk, raising...

Heavy drinking, smoking found to hasten the onset of Alzheimer's.
CHICAGO -- Heavy drinking and smoking are associated with a significantly earlier age of development of late-onset Alzheimer's disease, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology. In a retrospective analysis of 686 patients diagnosed with possible or probable Alzheimer's disease,...

High cholesterol in midlife ups Alzheimer's risk.
CHICAGO -- High cholesterol levels in midlife are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia, data from a large, diverse cohort suggest. The analysis of more than 9,500 individuals showed that those patients with midlife total cholesterol levels of 249-500 mg/dL were one-and-a-half...

Brain Res Rev: Comparison of biochemical effects of statins and fish oil in brain: the battle of the titans.
2007;56:443-471. Neural membranes are composed of glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids, cholesterol and proteins. The distribution of these lipids within the neural membrane is not random but organized. Neural membranes contain lipid rafts or microdomains that are enriched in sphingolipids and cholesterol. These rafts act as platforms for the generation...

Identification of dementia: agreement among national survey data, medicare claims, and death certificates.
BACKGROUND Accurate dementia prevalence estimates are important from public health, long-term care planning, and cost perspectives. Numerous estimates have been made, (Pfeffer, Afifi, and Chance 1987; Evans et al. 1989; O'Connor et al. 1989; Bachman et al. 1992; Canadian Study of Health and Aging 1994; Beard et...

Tumor necrosis factor alpha: uncovering regulation mechanisms on ionotropic receptors in the CNS.
Excitotoxic activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors is a mechanism of neuron death commonly hypothesized to occur in various neuroinflammatory paradigms including Alzheimer's disease. Although changes in glutamate release or uptake may precipitate this excessive receptor activity, it is possible that other factors also contribute to excitotoxic activation. For example,...

Tarenflurbil slows decline in early AD.
A drug that inhibits the formation of neurotoxic amyloid-[[beta].sub.42] peptides slowed functional decline in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease by 46%, Dr. Gordon K. Wilcock and his colleagues have reported. Patients who took the drug for 24 months fared significantly better than did those who switched to...

Should primary care physicians provide dementia screening?
Too many patients go undiagnosed. Alzheimer's disease affects more than 5 million Americans and is the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States. Yet by many accounts, only 50% of the cases are diagnosed, and only 25% of patients receive the medication they need. In 40...