Premature aging caused by some HIV drugs, study shows – Researchers revealed that a class of anti-retroviral drugs (NRTIs) commonly used to treat HIV can cause premature ageing, as the drugs damage DNA in the patient’s mitochondria. HIV-infected people treated with antiretroviral drugs sometimes show advanced signs of frailty and age-associated diseases such as cardiovascular disease and dementia at an early age.
Study: Memory problems often not present in middle-aged people with Alzheimer’s disease – A new study suggests more than half of people who develop Alzheimer’s disease before the age of 60 are initially misdiagnosed as having other kinds of brain disease when they do not have memory problems.
Differences in brain structure indicate risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease — Thinning of key cortical areas predicts dementia up to a decade in advance – Subtle differences in brain anatomy among older individuals with normal cognitive skills may be able to predict both the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in the following decade and how quickly symptoms of dementia would develop.
Stroke survivors with irregular heartbeat may have higher risk of dementia – Stroke survivors who have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation may be at higher risk of developing dementia than stroke survivors who do not have the heart condition, according to research published in the March 8, 2011, print issue of Neurology?, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
Use of Atypical Antipsychotics in Treatment of Dementia Declined After FDA Warning – A warning issued by the Food and Drug Administration regarding the use of atypical antipsychotics for the treatment of dementia was associated with a significant decline in the use of these medications for treating dementia symptoms in elderly patients.
Imaging Procedure Can Identify Biomarker Associated With Alzheimer Disease – Preliminary research suggests that use of a type of molecular imaging procedure may have the ability to detect the presence of beta-amyloid in the brains of individuals during life, a biomarker that is identified during autopsy to confirm a diagnosis of Alzheimer disease.
A blood test for Alzheimer’s disease? – Using a new technology that relies on thousands of synthetic molecules to fish for disease-specific antibodies, researchers have developed a potential method for detecting Alzheimer’s disease with a simple blood test.
Mid-life cholesterol levels not linked to Alzheimer’s disease – Contrary to earlier research, a new, long-term study suggests that cholesterol level in mid-life may not be linked to later development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Daily dose of beet juice promotes brain health in older adults – Drinking beet juice can increase blood flow to the brain in older adults ? a finding that could hold great potential for combating the progression of dementia.
Pivotal study finds link between PTSD and dementia — More study needed to determine why veterans with PTSD are more at risk than others – Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) have a greater risk for dementia than Veterans without PTSD, even those who suffered traumatic injuries during combat, revealed by researchers in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
