Mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and their subtypes are common in the “oldest old” women, which includes those 85 years of age and older, according to a report in the May issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The oldest old is “the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and is expected to increase in number by 40 percent during the next decade alone,” the authors wri ...

The available evidence is insufficient to draw firm conclusions about the association of modifiable factors and risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), according to a report posted online today that will appear in the September issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Estimates suggest that up to 5.3 million people in this country may have AD, and this number will likely increase as baby ...

Higher levels of cell chatter boost amyloid beta in the brain regions that Alzheimer’s hits first, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report. Amyloid beta is the main ingredient of the plaque lesions that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. ...

Cotinine, a compound derived from tobacco, reduced plaques associated with dementia and prevented memory loss in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, a study led by researchers at Bay Pines VA Healthcare System and the University of South Florida found. The findings are reported online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in advance of print publication. ...

Twenty-four hour cycles, known as circadian rhythms, are important for proper body functions, including for normal brain function and mental health. Disruptions of circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycles have been observed in patients with Alzheimer's disease. A new study by Douglas Institute researchers unravels a possible basis for these perturbations. ...

For the first time in 27 years, clinical diagnostic criteria for Alzheimer's disease dementia have been revised, and research guidelines for earlier stages of the disease have been characterized to reflect a deeper understanding of the disorder. The National Institute on Aging/Alzheimer's Association Diagnostic Guidelines for Alzheimer's Disease outline some new approaches for clinicians and provides scient ...

Treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and other vascular risk factors may help lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease in people who already show signs of declining thinking skills or memory problems. The research is published in the April 13, 2011, online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. ...

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. In their analysis of magnetic resonance (MR) images from two separate study groups, researchers from Rush University Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) f ...

Older adults at risk for stroke have significantly increased risk for some types of cognitive decline, according to a multicenter study led by University of California scientists. The study, which involved 73 older women and men who had not had a stroke and did not have dementia, showed that participants had substantially greater risk for decline in some aspects of "executive function" – specifically in ver ...

The extent to which we move through our environments as we carry out our daily lives – from home to garden to workplace and beyond – has more significance than we might imagine. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center have discovered that our "life space" is intimately linked with cognitive function. In a study published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, now posted online, researchers f ...