The Brain: Alzheimer's and dementia news and discussions

[firestar464]

This should just be renamed to "The Brain" thread imo

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US approves "milestone" Parkinson's treatment for 2025 release
By Bronwyn Thompson
February 04, 2025
https://newatlas.com/medical-devices/pa ... se-onapgo/

Americans will soon have access to an infusion device that provides round-the-clock effective relief of Parkinson's disease. The US FDA this week approved the sale of the treatment, which harnesses innovative technology to make managing the condition easier and more impactful, will be available towards the end of 2025.

The treatment, which will be sold under the name Onapgo, is essentially a subcutaneous – under the skin – device that allows for continuous infusion of the dopamine agonist apomorphine hydrochloride to reduce 'off' episodes. These episodes are periods during the day and night when lepodova medication wears off between doses and adverse motor-function symptoms (dyskensia) become amplified. In trial, Onapgo – formerly known as SPN-830 – significantly reduced these daily off episodes by an average of 2.47 hours, compared to the placebo treatment (0.58 hours).

[firestar464]

How a former navy mechanic defied the genetic odds of inherited Alzheimer's disease

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02- ... -odds.html

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Alzheimer's biomarkers now visible up to a decade ahead of symptoms
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
February 15, 2025

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have devised a biomarker test that can spot small amounts of clumping tau protein in the brain and cerebrospinal fluid, which lead to Alzheimer's disease.

Catching these clumps early while still in minute quantities can enable effective intervention. This test can help detect the tangled proteins years in advance of them appearing prominently in brain scans – as much as up to a decade.

That's heartening because Alzheimer's disease not only has devastating impact on patients' lives long term, but is also currently incurable. It begins to show up as forgetfulness, and progresses to confusion and disorientation, delusions, hallucinations, and trouble sleeping. As the condition worsens, patients may experience difficulty eating, moving around, incontinence, loss of speech, and significant memory loss.

https://newatlas.com/brain/alzheimers-d ... -symptoms/

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Pair of common viruses may trigger Alzheimer’s disease
By Rich Haridy
February 25, 2025

https://newatlas.com/brain/alzheimers-d ... ers-brain/
A fascinating collaborative study in 2022, between researchers at the University of Oxford and Tufts University, suggested two common viruses could be working in tandem to trigger the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease. The findings built on a growing body of evidence implicating the herpes virus in neurodegenerative disease and also turned research attention to a second virus that causes chicken pox.

Editor's note: Readers often ask us for follow-ups on memorable stories. What has happened to this story over the years? This article was originally published in 2022 but has been re-edited and updated with new information current as of Feb 22, 2025. Enjoy!

For over half a century the idea that microbial infections are a trigger for neurodegenerative disease has been hovering on the sidelines of neuroscience. In the 1980s a number of studies pointed to associations between the onset of Alzheimer's disease and herpes simplex viral infections, but exactly how this very common virus could be influencing neurodegeneration was not clear.

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Alzheimer's could be treated by enhancing the brain's own immune cells
By Abhimanyu Ghoshal
March 06, 2025

Researchers at Northwestern University have made a breakthrough in identifying a way for Alzheimer's disease to be treated far more effectively in the future – using the brain's own immune cells.

The scientists at the Evanston, Illinois-based university leveraged a new-ish technique called spatial transcriptomics on human clinical-trial brains afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. The method of examining tissue helped pinpoint the specific spatial location of gene activity inside a sample.

Alzheimer's disease is caused in part by Amyloid-beta protein clumps forming outside of neurons as plaques, which can lead to the malfunctioning of tau proteins; these and other factors impede normal brain activity.
Look closely and you'll see brown amyloid beta plaques are visible in the brain tissue sample in the left slide - on the right is brain tissue that had been treated and no longer contains amyloid plaques

https://newatlas.com/brain/alzheimers-d ... une-cells/

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Common medicines linked to 12% drop in dementia risk
By Bronwyn Thompson
March 09, 2025

https://newatlas.com/brain/alzheimers-d ... ntia-risk/
Scientists have found further evidence that long-term use of common over-the-counter pain medication such as aspirin and ibuprofen may reduce the risk of developing dementia. While it's not the first time anti-inflammatory drugs have been linked to preserving cognitive function, this new research has found there's more to it than popping a pill every few months.

Researchers from the Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam tracked 11,745 adults (59.5% female, mean age 66.2 years) in an ongoing study, which has so far had two follow-ups at an average of 14.5 years later. Using statistical hazard ratios – which measure the likelihood of an adverse event occurring between populations (in this case, patterns of medication use) – they found that those who had long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) had a 12% lower risk of dementia.

Meanwhile, short-term (less than one month) and intermediate-term (one to 24 months) use turned up a slight increase in risk compared to the general population. And cumulative dose – for example, taking without consistent use – didn't appear to be beneficial, either.

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Parkinson's treatment closer as problematic protein imaged for first time
By Michael Irving
March 13, 2025

Scientists have finally pinned down a protein that’s largely responsible for Parkinson’s disease. Known as PINK1, the protein has been linked to the disease for decades but its structure and how to switch it back on have remained elusive – until now.

When it’s functioning properly, PINK1 plays a vital role in cellular recycling processes. The protein detects when energy-producing structures called mitochondria become damaged, and will gather on their surface. PINK1 then signals for other proteins to help remove the broken component, to allow new ones to grow in its place.

Unfortunately, mutations in PINK1 can interrupt this process, causing damaged mitochondria to build up on cells – eventually killing them. The effect is particularly pronounced for cells that are very energy-hungry, like brain cells – causing the gradual degeneration seen with Parkinson’s disease.

https://newatlas.com/medical/parkinsons ... in-imaged/

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An at-home smell test could pave the way for early detection of Alzheimer's disease
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03- ... sease.html
by Mass General Brigham

When it comes to early detection of cognitive impairment, a new study suggests that the nose knows. Researchers from Mass General Brigham have developed olfactory tests—in which participants sniff odor labels that have been placed on a card—to assess people's ability to discriminate, identify and remember odors. They found that participants could successfully take the test at home and that older adults with cognitive impairment scored lower on the test than cognitively normal adults.

Results are published in Scientific Reports.

"Early detection of cognitive impairment could help us identify people who are at risk of Alzheimer's disease and intervene years before memory symptoms begin," said senior author Mark Albers, MD, Ph.D., of the Laboratory of Olfactory Neurotranslation, the McCance Center for Brain Health, and Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital.

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Protein ratio in cerebrospinal fluid outperforms traditional biomarkers in predicting Alzheimer's cognitive decline
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03- ... forms.html
by Nature Publishing Group

A potential new biomarker for predicting future cognitive resilience versus decline among people with early Alzheimer's disease is described in Nature Medicine. This protein signature may improve the ability to predict symptom onset and disease progression in people with Alzheimer's disease, the authors suggest.

Alzheimer's disease—the most common form of dementia—involves complex pathological processes that can precede clinical symptoms by up to decades. Rates of cognitive decline, which is the gradual loss of the ability to think, in Alzheimer's disease are variable, with symptom onset usually occurring between 40 and 100 years of age. The progression from mild cognitive impairment to dementia can usually take between 2 and 20 years.

Although advances have been made in the development of techniques to detect biomarkers of early Alzheimer's disease, such as amyloid- β and tau proteins, these indicators do not fully explain the variance in cognitive impairment observed in people with the disease.

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Shingles vaccine found to cut dementia risk by 20%
By Paul McClure
April 05, 2025

Taking advantage of a unique public health policy in the UK, a new study has found that receiving the shingles vaccine reduces dementia risk by 20%. The findings bolster a growing body of research linking the vaccine to lower numbers of dementia cases.

Shingles (herpes zoster) is caused by the reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus that causes chickenpox, which lays dormant in nerve cells for life, leading to a very painful, blistering rash. The risk of shingles is higher in elderly folks, where it can be more severe, with a greater likelihood of complications like persistent nerve pain and painful eye infections. For these reasons, the shingles vaccine is commonly recommended for adults aged 50 and older.

Now, a new study led by Stanford Medicine has added powerful evidence to the findings of previous studies showing a link between the shingles vaccine and lower dementia risk. But it’s done so in a unique way, thanks to the way public health policy was rolled out in Wales in the UK.

https://newatlas.com/brain/herpes-zoste ... -dementia/

[firestar464]

Thread

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Eye Health Linked to Dementia Risk
April , 2025

Introduction:

(Eurekalert) A new University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka study has found a link between our eye health and dementia.

Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study researchers discovered the blood vessels at the back of the eye – called retinal microvasculature – can show early signs someone is at risk of developing dementia.

Co-lead author Dr Ashleigh Barrett-Young, of the Department of Psychology, says the findings link to previous work by members of the research team, “putting together pieces of a puzzle” when it comes to recognising early signs of dementia.

The findings are too premature to be applied in the real world yet, but research is continuing around the world.

“Treatments for Alzheimer's and some other forms of dementia may be most effective if they’re started early in the disease course.”

Read more of the Eurekalert article here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1079726

For a presentation of study results as published in the Journal of Alzheimers Disease: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.11 ... 251321114

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[Vakanai]

I call BS, however I'm not surprised that an anti-vaxxer's biggest concern is ending autism...

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Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation shows promise in Alzheimer's treatment

by Justin Jackson , Medical Xpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04- ... tment.html

Santa Lucia Foundation IRCCS-led research is reporting that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the precuneus may slow the progression of cognitive decline, impairments in daily functioning, and behavioral symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Patients who received 52 weeks of rTMS showed slower deterioration across clinical outcomes compared to those who received sham stimulation.

rTMS delivers magnetic pulses to targeted brain areas and is considered a non-invasive brain stimulation technique. It is used to treat conditions like depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder by inducing small electrical currents in brain cells to modify neural activity and help reduce symptoms.

The precuneus brain region has been identified as a promising site for stimulation due to its early involvement in Alzheimer's pathology, including amyloid deposition, gray matter loss, and disrupted connectivity within brain networks.

[firestar464]

AI tool unlocks longstanding misfolding mystery behind Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-04- ... stery.html

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Fecal transplants for autism deliver success in clinical trials
By Rich Haridy,
Nick Lavars
April 21, 2025
https://newatlas.com/adhd-autism/fecal- ... al-trials/

Scientific research continues to uncover interesting connections between the gut microbiome and human health, including everything from depression to PTSD to autoimmune disease. Another example of this are emerging ties between gut health and autism. Exciting new research, now moving to Phase 3 human trials, has found boosting microbial diversity via fecal transplants can dramatically reduce autism symptoms in the long term.

Editor's note: Readers often ask us for follow-ups on memorable stories. What has happened to this story over the years? This article was originally published in 2019 but it has been re-edited and updated with new information current as of April 7, 2025. Enjoy!

One in every 59 children born in the US is diagnosed with autism, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and unfortunately for many of them, chronic gastrointestinal issues are a harsh reality of their condition. According to scientists at Arizona State University (ASU), who conducted the new study, around 30 to 50% of autism sufferers experience serious gut problems like constipation, diarrhea and stomach pain.

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Early Parkinson’s diagnosis possible with simple, non-invasive eye scan

Researchers have developed a simple, non-invasive method of diagnosing Parkinson’s disease early using an eye scan. It could mean treatment aimed at slowing the disease can start sooner or, alternatively, could be used to monitor the disease’s progression.

As is the case with many progressive conditions, the earlier that Parkinson’s disease is diagnosed, the better. Early diagnosis means that interventions can be introduced ahead of time that may prevent or curtail the disease’s destructive course. Unfortunately, most Parkinson’s diagnoses are made after the emergence of symptoms.

https://newatlas.com/brain/parkinsons-d ... inal-scan/