#alzheimers-disease

#alzheimers-disease

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When doctors need to confirm an Alzheimer's diagnosis, they often turn to a combination of brain imaging and cell analysis.Both have their downsides.The latter involves a lumbar puncture, an invasive and painful procedure that's more commonly known as a spinal tap.

When actor Chris Hemsworth, aka Thor, God of Thunder, agreed to host a National Geographic series about extending the human life span, he didn't expect to discover a genetic risk of his own.But that's what happened as Hemsworth revealed on an episode of "Limitless" that he carries a common change in the APOE gene associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease.

Patients could be getting breakthrough Alzheimer's drug in a year, experts have said, but only a small proportion of patients will benefit unless more is done to boost dementia services in the NHS.Experts estimated that unless there are drastic changes in UK dementia clinics, only 5% of patients eligible for the drug will be able to access it  and most of these will be private cases.

A doctor points to PET scan results that are part of Alzheimer's disease research.Much work in the field focuses a substance called beta-amyloid.A new study could test whether that's the right target.Evan Vucci/AP An idea that has propelled Alzheimer's research for more than 30 years is approaching its day of reckoning.

(Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

A government expert has concluded that Tom Girardi, the disgraced former attorney accused of stealing millions of dollars from his clients, is mentally fit to go before a jury despite his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease.Federal prosecutors revealed the finding of Dr. Diana Goldstein in a court filing on Friday, writing that the neuropsychologist "has concluded her examination and opined, among other things, that [Girardi] is competent to stand trial."

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Jose Palacios could have picked an easier spot to get to in Griffith Park - a place to create his sanctuary - but that wouldn't have suited him.His life has never been easy.Over the course of several years, Palacios has regularly climbed the steep North Trail that offers a view of the Harding golf course and the area near the back of the old zoo.

1. Nicholas Gray, the founder of Grays Papaya, passed away at the age of 86.
2. Gray opened the first Grays Papaya location in 1972 on the Upper West Side, quickly becoming a New York City staple.
3. Gray's legacy lives on in the form

Brain scans of a man from Colombia show limited buildup of tau protein in his entorhinal cortex, a region that is characteristically affected in the early clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease.(Yakeel T. Quiroz, Justin Sanchez/Massachusetts General Hospital) When a Colombian man was first evaluated by neurologists at age 67, he was cognitively normal, and neither he nor his family had concerns about his memory.

It's time to switch off Google Maps and pull out a paper map, say scientists from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.According to research published in the journal PLOS One, navigating with a map and compass might help stave off cognitive decline and symptoms associated with Alzheimer's Disease.

A study of male footballers in Sweden, over many years, found they were one and a half times more likely to develop dementia than the general population.Nearly 9% developed the condition compared with 6% of other people - but goalkeepers were not at higher risk, the research suggests.Heading the ball repeatedly has been linked to brain injury, yet there are many causes of dementia.

Deep sleep may function as a buffer against cognitive decline in older adults with Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology by protecting cognitive reserve, new research suggests.Investigators found that deep sleep, also known as non-REM slow-wave sleep, can protect memory function in cognitively normal adults with a high beta-amyloid burden.

There's been some hopeful news in recent days concerning the treatment of Alzheimer's.The brain disorder slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out the simplest tasks.It's emerged an existing drug already used to treat HIV may have benefits in the treatment of the disorder.

Health and science correspondent

We could be entering the era of Alzheimer's treatments, after the second drug in under a year has been shown to slow the disease.Experts said we were now "on the cusp" of drugs being available, something that had recently seemed "impossible".The company Eli Lilly has reported its drug - donanemab - slows the pace of Alzheimer's by about a third.

Scientists have long been aware of a worrying link between high blood pressure and the onset of dementia.But now, in a new study published in the European Heart Journal, researchers have mapped how high blood pressure affects specific regions of the brain, unearthing the best evidence yet that the two conditions are indeed connected.

New evidence in the fight against Alzheimer's sheds light on how specific diets might help protect the brain against some neurological characteristics associated with brain aging and Alzheimer's disease.New research published in , the peer-reviewed medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, has found that people who follow the MIND and Mediterranean diets have fewer amyloid plaques and tau tangles than those who do not.

A new study looks for associations between changes in alcohol consumption and the risk of dementia, in research that is based on nearly 4 million people in South Korea.Justin Sullivan/Getty Images If you're worried that drinking alcohol could raise the risk of dementia as you get older, a large new study from South Korea can provide some insights.

Researchers have found a new way to potentially treat Alzheimer's disease.And it's inexpensive.Researchers from the UK Dementia Research Institute at Cambridge University found that maraviroc, which is marketed as Selzentry and treats HIV, clears out rogue proteins found in the brain, which could prevent and slow the progression of Alzheimer's in people's brains.

23 minutes ago23 minutes ago Players had an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia.But goalkeepers were saved from the neurological disorders, the research suggests.Elite footballers are more likely to develop dementia than the rest of the population, a new study suggested on Friday.

Disbarred Los Angeles lawyer Tom Girardi funneled more than $1 million in gifts and payments to an investigator at the State Bar and the investigator's wife, a USC accounting professor, according to a report released Friday.The long-anticipated report, the result of a year-and-a-half investigation by a law firm working for the State Bar's governing board, described corruption of the agency by Girardi beyond what was previously known publicly.

For once, Tom Girardi was silent in court.The disgraced legal legend did not utter a word Monday afternoon during an initial appearance in federal court in Los Angeles on charges of wire fraud that prosecutors have said was part of a long-running scheme to fleece clients.Girardi, 83, sat stone-faced as a magistrate judge, a prosecutor and two public defenders appointed to represent him discussed the mental health of the once powerful attorney, who was diagnosed two years ago with Alzheimer's disease.

What would you do if you heard that you have a ten times greater chance than average of developing a disease that could strip you of everything you know?For Chris Hemsworth, the answer was simple: slow down and focus on what really matters to him - his family.The actor recently shared that, following a genetic screening that flagged his "biggest fear," he's taking time away from acting.

The study of the diet-brain connection can also be referred to as the gut-brain connection, food and mood, and nutritional psychiatry.As the title suggests, it means that what we eat can have direct impacts on our brains which ultimately reflects the level of our moods as well.Accordingly, when we eat highly nutritious food in the right way, it not only nourishes us but also helps in improving our mood.

"I have to be very careful about remembering my memories," says Milisuthando Bongela, the introspective director behind the searing, highly personal documentary, "Milisuthando."In Bongela's poignant recollections resides complexity and confusion, layers of trauma connected to accepted doubts and truths about her childhood, country, and home.