Stem Cells Help In Identifying New Treatments for Dementia

Researchers in Belgium are using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology to create neurons that are targeted by dementia.

By studying these neurons, the scientists have found a defect that prevents normal neurodevelopment. Stem cells were taken from patients who has an inheritable type of dementia that is responsible for 50% of dementia cases for people below the age of 60.

Dementia is a neurological disorder that causes loss of brain function. Memory, language, behavior, judgement and how the patient thinks are affected by dementia. It is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired or normal person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static dementia, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive dementia, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body.

The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer's disease.

Usually associated with elderly patients, there are cases of dementia occurring to patients below the ages of 60/65.

The type of dementia that the Belgian scientists are studying is frontotemporal dementia. It is the result of damaged neurons in the frontal and temporal lobs which affects the patient's behavior, language, and emotions.

By reconstructing the damaged neurons using stem cells, the scientists identified the defective neuron pathway, the Wnt signalling pathway, that when genetically corrected and treated, restored the ability of the iPSCs to turn into cortical neurons.

This novel method may help scientist better understand the disease and create a cure or therapy for the disease.

Research Traces Link Between Beta Amyloid Protein, PirB/LilrB2 Protein And Alzheimer's Disease

PirB (red) is heavily concentrated on the surface of growing nerve cells.
Credit: Dr. Carla Shatz, Stanford University.

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers suggest that a link between the beta-amyloid protein and the PirB/LilrB2 protein may be a strong factor in the development of Alzheimer's Disease. The LilrB2 protein found in humans and its counterpart, the PiirB protein found in mice controls the visual system development in the brain. Research show that these class of proteins bind with the beta-amyloid protein which triggers the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

The research also shows that depleting PirB in the brain of the mouse model prevented the chain reaction and reduced memory loss. This discovery can lead to the development of treatments that can delay, treat or even prevent this this disease.

Alzheimer's disease causes brain cells to die and damages brain affecting its functions such as cognition, memory, and the control of the body's processes. Protein fragments, called plaques and tangles, stick together to form the Alzheimer's protein which stats to kill brain cells. The disease starts at the Hippocampus and ultimately destroys the whole brain.

The slow progression of the disease takes around eight to ten years from beginning to end which starts with memory loss. It then starts to spread and affect the part of the brain that controls balance and mobility. Ultimately, the disease starts attacking the area where breathing and heart functions are controlled.

Alzheimer's disease is a form of dementia that affects more than 5 million Americans. Currently there is no cure for the disease.

Omega-3 Fish Oil Helps Protect Against Dementia.

A Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine study suggests that Omega-3 fish oil helps protect the brain from alcohol related dementia. Researchers found that omega 3 helps protect the brain from against inflammation and cell death.

Previous studies show that omega-3 fatty acids or polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) are important for brain function, as well as normal growth and development. Omega-3 fatty acids include the nutrients called docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA).

They have also been found to reduce the risk of heart disease. The American Heart Association (AHA) has recommended eating fish (particularly fatty fish such as mackerel, lake trout, herring, sardines, albacore tuna, and salmon) at least twice a week.

A study a year ago published in Neurology, shows that a diet lacking in omega-3 fatty acids, may cause the brain to age faster and lose some of its memory and thinking abilities.

Dementia is the loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It negatively affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. It causes a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired or normal person that is beyond what might be expected from normal aging.

Treatment Window For Alzheimer's Disease and Related Conditions Identified

A possible treatment window of several years for the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease and other memory related symptoms have been identified.

Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a disease where the normal functions of the brain is damaged. It is a type of dementia that affects memory, thinking, cognition, and psychological behavior.

AD is caused by protein fragments called plaques and tangles start to combine and stick together to form the Alzheimer's protein. This protein starts to kill brain cells starting at the hippocampus, slowly progressing until it ultimately destroys the whole brain.

Initially, AD affects the memory and cognitive functions of the patient. It slowly moves on and destroys the area of the brain that regulates balance and mobility. In the end, AD ultimately destroys the part of the brain that controls breathing and heart functions. It usually takes eight to ten years for patients with Alzheimer's disease to progress to this point. There is no cure for this progressive and deadly brain disease.

This disease is usually associated with elderly people but there are instances where young people under 65 contract it. According to the National Institute on Aging, as many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer's disease.

Elite Group of Elderly "SuperAgers" Over 80 Have Younger Sharper Acting Brains

Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects brain performance such as memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. Dementia is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired or normal person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static dementia, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive dementia, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body.

Although dementia is associated with the elderly, there are cases that occur to patients below the age of 65. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia.

There are many stages of dementia, it usually first appears as forgetfulness.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the stage between normal forgetfulness due to aging and the early beginnings of dementia. People affected with MCI have mild problems with thinking and memory that do not interfere with everyday activities. They are often aware of the forgetfulness. MCI does not guarantee the onset of dementia.

Aside from memory problems, dementia reduces the ability to learn, reason, retain or recall past experience and there is also loss of patterns of thoughts, feelings and activities. Mental and behavioral problems arise and may affect the person's quality of life.

Secrets of 'SuperAger' brains

Researchers have long chronicled what goes wrong in the brains of older people with dementia. But Northwestern Medicine researcher Emily Rogalski wondered what goes right in the brains of the elderly who still have terrific memories. And, do those people – call them cognitive SuperAgers --- even exist?

Rogalski's new study has for the first time identified an elite group of elderly people age 80 and older whose memories are as sharp as people 20 to 30 years younger than them. And on 3-D MRI scans, the SuperAger participants' brains appear as young -– and one brain region was even bigger –- than the brains of the middle-aged participants.

She was astounded by the vitality of the SuperAgers' cortex – the outer layer of the brain important for memory, attention and other thinking abilities. Theirs was much thicker than the cortex of the normal group of elderly 80 and older (whose showed significant thinning) and closely resembled the cortex size of participants ages 50 to 65, considered the middle-aged group of the study.

"These findings are remarkable given the fact that grey matter or brain cell loss is a common part of normal aging," said Rogalski, the principal investigator of the study and an assistant research professor at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Concussion Rate in College Athletes Increasing

Concussion is the most common type of traumatic brain injury It is a head injury in which the brain is shaken. Sports athletes are susceptible to head injuries because of the extreme physical activity and contact required of in a game, specially in football. It is the leading cause of death from sports-related injuries.

Head trauma is an injury of the scalp, skull, or brain. The injury may vary from a minor bump on the skull to a serious brain injury. These head injuries can lead to a concussion.

Each year, an estimated 300,000 sports related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur in the United Stated. These include concussions, conditions of temporary altered mental status. Sports and recreational activities contribute to about 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among American children and adolescents.

Concussions affect college players at high rates too, study says

As interest in concussion rates and prevention strategies at all levels continues to grow, one population that appears to have increasing head injury rates is collegiate football players. Research presented today at the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine's (AOSSM) Annual Meeting in Baltimore highlights that the concussion rate in three college football programs has doubled in recent years.

"We monitored concussions at three service academies in the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 football seasons, and saw the combined number of reports increased from 23 to 42 in this timespan," noted Kelly G. Kilcoyne, MD, lead author from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, DC.

When Head Injury or Trauma In Sports Leads To Memory Loss and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)

A head trauma is an injury that injures the scalp, skull, or brain. The injury may be only a minor bump on the skull or a serious brain injury.

Head injuries can lead to a concussion. It is the most common type of traumatic brain injury, in which the brain is shaken. Sports athletes are susceptible to head injuries because of the extreme physical activity and contact required of in a game. It is the leading cause of death from sports-related injuries.

Each year, an estimated 300,000 sports related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) occur in the United Stated. These include concussions, conditions of temporary altered mental status. Sports and recreational activities contribute to about 21 percent of all traumatic brain injuries among American children and adolescents

Breaking point: When does head trauma in sports lead to memory loss?

A new study suggests there may be a starting point at which blows to the head or other head trauma suffered in combat sports start to affect memory and thinking abilities and can lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in the brain. The research was released today and will be presented as part of the Emerging Science (formerly known as Late-Breaking Science) program at the American Academy of Neurology's 64th Annual Meeting in New Orleans April 21 to April 28, 2012.

Chronic traumatic encephalophaty (CTE) is also known as Boxer's syndrome or Dementia pugilistica. It is called so because boxers who have been hit many times in the head suffer from this disease.

Bilingual Persons Less Likely To Develop Dementia Symptoms

Dementia is a loss of brain function that occurs with certain diseases. It affects memory, thinking, language, judgment, and behavior. Dementia is a serious loss of global cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired or normal person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging. It may be static dementia, the result of a unique global brain injury, or progressive dementia, resulting in long-term decline due to damage or disease in the body.

Although dementia is associated with the elderly, there are cases that occur to patients below the age of 65. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia.

There are many stages of dementia, it usually first appears as forgetfulness.

Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is the stage between normal forgetfulness due to aging and the early beginnings of dementia. People affected with MCI have mild problems with thinking and memory that do not interfere with everyday activities. They are often aware of the forgetfulness. MCI does not guarantee the onset of dementia.

Aside from memory problems, dementia reduces the ability to learn, reason, retain or recall past experience and there is also loss of patterns of thoughts, feelings and activities. Mental and behavioral problems arise and may affect the person's quality of life.

New research explains how speaking more than one language may translate to better mental health. A paper published by Cell Press in the March 29th issue of the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences examines how being bilingual can offer protection from the symptoms of dementia, and also suggests that the increasing diversity in our world populations may have an unexpected positive impact on the resiliency of the adult brain.

"Previous studies have established that bilingualism has a beneficial effect on cognitive development in children," explains lead study author, Dr. Ellen Bialystok from York University. "In our paper, we reviewed recent studies using both behavioral and neuroimaging methods to examine the effects of bilingualism on cognition in adults."