By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) – May 5, 2009 – Many more Americans have been using prescription drugs to treat mental illness since 1996, in part because of expanded insurance coverage and greater familiarity with the drugs among primary care doctors, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.
They said 73 percent more adults and 50 percent more children [...]
Archive for the ‘Alzheimer's’ Category
5 May
More Americans taking drugs for mental illness
26 Apr
Pain Relievers Appear Ineffective In Preventing Alzheimer’s In The Very Elderly
ScienceDaily (Apr. 23, 2009) — A new study shows that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as the pain relievers ibuprofen and naproxen, do not prevent Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Instead, the risk of developing dementia in the study’s very elderly population (most were over age 83 when they developed dementia) was 66 [...]
15 Apr
Feeding Tubes and Advanced Dementia?
Do Feeding Tubes Help Or Harm In Advanced Dementia?
ScienceDaily (Apr. 15, 2009) — Family members grappling with the decision to allow a feeding tube for a relative with advanced dementia will find little comfort from a new review of evidence.
Poor food intake is common in individuals with dementia for a variety of reasons. In advanced [...]
23 Mar
Possible Alzheimer’s/Epilepsy Connection
Alzheimer’s and Epilepsy Connection: New Research
Medical News Today, March 20, 2009
Alzheimer’s Society comment on new research in the Journal of Neuroscience investigating the link between Alzheimer’s and Epilepsy.
‘This research enhances our understanding of the relationship between epilepsy and dementia. People with early-onset Alzheimer’s have an increased risk of epileptic seizures and Alzheimer’s Society research shows [...]
11 Jan
Protein That Protects Against Alzheimer’s?
ScienceDaily (Jan. 10, 2009) — Research on the mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis, to name a few, has taken a step forward thanks to the work of biological sciences Ph.D. student Sonia Do Carmo, supervised by Professor Éric Rassart of the Université du Québec à Montreal [...]
10 Jan
Antipsychotics for Alzheimer’s up death risk: study
LONDON (Reuters) – Jan. 08, 2008 – Antipsychotic drugs prescribed to treat aggression in older Alzheimer’s patients appear to significantly raise their risk of dying prematurely, British researchers said Friday.
The results from the first long-term study on the effect of the medicines on people with Alzheimer’s highlights the need to seek less harmful treatments for [...]
7 Jan
Adult-onset Diabetes & Mental Functioning
Adult-onset Diabetes Slows Mental Functioning In Several Ways, With Deficits Appearing Early
ScienceDaily (Jan. 6, 2009) — Adults with diabetes experience a slowdown in several types of mental processing, which appears early in the disease and persists into old age, according to new research. Given the sharp rise in new cases of diabetes, this finding means [...]
6 Jan
Scientists Make Strides Toward Defining Genetic Signature Of Alzheimer’s Disease
ScienceDaily (Jan. 5, 2009) — Scientists have new information about the complex genetic signature associated with Alzheimer’s disease, the leading cause of cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly. The research, published by Cell Press in the January issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics, uses a powerful, high-resolution analysis to look for genes [...]
19 Dec
Alzheimer’s Drugs Also Treat Behavioral, Psych Problems
Therapy effective at same dosage used to improve cognitive impairment, study says
By Robert Preidt
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 17 (HealthDay News) — Drugs used to treat Alzheimer’s patients’ cognitive symptoms are also a safe and effective therapy for behavioral and psychological symptoms such as aggression, wandering and paranoia, according to U.S. researchers.
They reviewed nine studies that examined [...]
17 Dec
Dementia Deaths & Mortality Stats
Under-reported Dementia Deaths Raises Questions About Accuracy Of Mortality Statistics
ScienceDaily (Dec. 16, 2008) — Deaths due to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease are underreported on death certificates, according to a study conducted by Hebrew SeniorLife’s Institute for Aging Research (IFAR), raising concerns about the accuracy of mortality statistics based on these documents.
According to the National Center [...]
23 Nov
Weight-Alzheimer link different for men and women
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Friday, November 21, 2008 – Women who are heavy in their middle years are at greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease, especially if they have large waists. However, for men, being underweight during that period of life actually increases the likelihood of developing the degenerative brain disease, researchers report in the [...]
8 Nov
Diabetes, High Blood Pressure May Cause People With Alzheimer’s Disease To Die Sooner
ScienceDaily (Nov. 7, 2008) — People with Alzheimer’s disease who also have diabetes or high blood pressure may die sooner than people without such disorders, according to a study published in the November 4, 2008, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The study involved 323 people who had no memory [...]
18 Oct
Aerobic activity may reverse mental decline
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – October 17, 2008 – Regular aerobic exercise can not only stave off the decline in brain function that often comes with age, it can also help turn back the clock on brain aging, two experts in the field report, based on a critical review of published studies.
Age-related deterioration in the [...]
24 Sep
Scientists To Develop Blood Test For Alzheimer’s
ScienceDaily – Sep. 22, 2008
— Researchers from Nottingham’s two universities are joining forces to develop a simple blood test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease.
The £200,000 study, funded by the leading charity the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, will aim to find out whether ‘biomarkers’ in blood could be used to identify someone with Alzheimer’s.
A biomarker is a term [...]
24 Aug
Brain stimulation improves memory in Alzheimer’s
By Will Boggs, MD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – August 22, 2008 – Electrical stimulation of the brain may improve memory and recognition in elderly people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, results of a study hint.
”Our preliminary data on Alzheimer’s disease patients are promising as we observed beneficial effects after a single session of transcranial direct [...]
5 Aug
Alzheimer’s Drug May Help Mild Memory Loss, Imaging Study Suggests
(ScienceDaily) - Aug. 3, 2008 — Alzheimer’s disease is the end result of gradual, progressive brain aging. Positron emission technology (PET) scans of patients’ brains typically reveal a decreased rate of metabolism, a hallmark of the disorder.
A small sample of adults with mild age-related memory loss was randomly assigned a daily placebo or Aricept, a drug [...]
29 Jul
Dual diabetes drugs help stave off Alzheimer’s
By Julie Steenhuysen
CHICAGO (Reuters) – July 28, 2008 – Diabetics who take insulin plus a diabetes pill have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease than diabetics who take insulin alone, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
They said the finding may help some diabetics lower their risk of developing the brain-wasting disease.
“Having an oral agent on [...]
6 Dec
High Blood Pressure May Heighten Effects of Alzheimer’s Disease
ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2007) — Having hypertension, or high blood pressure, reduces blood flow in the brains of adults with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.
“While hypertension is not a cause of Alzheimer’s disease, our study shows that it is another [...]
27 Nov
Low B12 Tied To Faster Mental Decline With Age
November 26, 2007 – NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Low levels of vitamin B12 could speed mental decline in older people, a new study suggests.
Among a group of men and women aged 65 and older, those whose levels of two B12 activity markers indicated higher blood levels of the vitamin had a slower drop-off in [...]
23 Nov
Brain Differences Detected in Migraine Sufferers
By Will Dunham
November 19, 2007 – WASHINGTON (Reuters) – People who get migraines
have structural differences in their brains notably in the cortex area that processes pain and other sensory information from the body, scientists said on Monday.
The researchers, whose findings were published in the journal Neurology, said it is unclear whether these brain differences [...]
19 Nov
Alzheimer’s Patients Unresponsive to Antipsychotics
By Will Boggs, MD
Thursday, November 15, 2007 – NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Second-generation antipsychotic drugs are no better than placebo — from a cost-benefit viewpoint — for treating the psychosis and aggression that can develop in Alzheimer disease patients, according to a report in the Archives of General Psychiatry.
“These drugs do not generate enough [...]
23 Oct
Counseling Boosts Alzheimer’s Caregivers’ Health
Source: http://www.healthday.com/
Spouse study finds it brings the patient real benefit, too
THURSDAY, Sept. 6 (HealthDay News) — Spouses caring for partners with Alzheimer’s disease report better physical health if they participate in individual or group counseling, new data shows.
“Preserving the health of spouse caregivers through counseling and support also benefits the person with Alzheimer’s disease, [...]
30 Sep
SHARON AND OZZY OSBOURNE HAVE A SUICIDE PACT
It was reported that, Ozzy Osbourne has agreed to a suicide pact with wife, Sharon – because she doesn’t want to go through the pain her father Don Arden did when he suffered from Alzheimers.
The America’s Got Talent judge, 54, claims she and rocker Ozzy, 59, made the mutual decision earlier this year after music [...]
13 Sep
Estrogen Use Before 65 Linked to Reduced Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
Source: American Academy of Neurology
May 03, 2007 – (Science Daily) — Women who use hormone therapy before the age of 65 could cut their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The study found women who used any form of estrogen hormone therapy before the age of 65 were nearly 50 percent less likely to [...]
27 May
Simple Tests May Predict Progression to Alzheimer’s
Reuters Health
Thursday, May 17, 2007
By Will Boggs, MD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Simple cognitive tests can help predict the likelihood that a person with mild cognitive impairment will progress to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), researchers report in the journal Neurology.
Among 539 older individuals with mild cognitive impairment, the overall rate of progression to AD [...]
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