Posts Tagged ‘alzheimer’s’

The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is researching the chronic affects of concussions by studying 3,000 ex-NFL players. Concussions can occur in athletes playing any contact sport, even those wearing head protection, and may leave life-long consequences including depression, memory loss and behavioral changes. By using sophisticated imaging techniques that allow them to look down to the level of neurons, researchers noted that players who have had concussions have damaged connections between brain cells. The regions of the brain that appear to be most disrupted in the 41 retired players studied thus far are the same regions which are damaged in early Alzheimer’s disease patients. This may explain why these players experience early cognitive impairment and clinical depression (both are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease). In addition, we already know from posthumous studies of athletes’ brains that concussions can pepper the brain with injuries that resemble brown tangles called chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which can cause the brains of players as young as in the 30s to resemble brains of 80 year-olds with dementia. [via CNN]

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In 2003 researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York isolated a gene, called CETP, which is associated with longevity in a population of Ashkenazi Jews. Now, the same researchers have found the gene in an elderly group of racially and ethnically diverse Bronx residents who have been followed for 25 years as a part of the current study on aging. Participants who carried two copies of the favorable CETP gene variant had a 70% reduction in their risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease, compared with participants who carried no copies of this gene. It’s believed that 1 in 5 people carry the CETP gene, but only those who have two copies of it (one from each parent) will inherit its benefits, including an increased likelihood of living to 100 years old. How will this affect us? Scientists are already working on a drug to mimic the effect of the gene. [via Science Daily]

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New research published in this month’s Journal of Neuroscience shows that loss of smell could be a sign of early Alzheimer’s disease.  Although loss of smell is known to occur in Alzheimer’s disease, researchers are now showing that a subtle decrease could be an early indicator of the illness. By studying mice, scientists found a direct link between the development of amyloid plaques (protein deposit in the brain that can be seen in Alzheimer’s patients) and worsening sense of smell. The researchers found that the plaques first develop in the part of the mouse brain that’s devoted to the sense of smell. Even a tiny bit of the plaque was enough to affect smell. “This is a revealing finding because, unlike a brain scan, a laboratory-designed olfactory test may be an inexpensive alternative to early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s,” said study author Daniel W. Wesson of the NYU School of Medicine. [via Yahoo! News]

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The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden released the latest results from the Prospective Population Study of Women, which has been following the health status of 1,500 women since the 1960s. Blood analysis has shown that middle-aged women with high levels of the amino acid homocysteine are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease years later. As well, the risk of any type of dementia for these women was 70% higher than women with the lowest levels of homocysteine. It’s unclear whether the relationship between Alzheimer’s and homecysteine is direct or indirect. If, in fact, future studies support this claim homocysteine levels may be an easy way to determine those at risk even before the onset of symptoms. [via EmaxHealth]

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Interesting research results were presented at the 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease this week. A European study revealed that people who lived alone their entire adult life had twice the risk of developing dementia (loss of brain function) later in life. Those who divorced in midlife and subsequently remained single had 3 times the risk, while widows and widowers had a 6-fold increase in risk of dementia. Those who lived with a spouse or partner had a 50% lower risk. The researchers attribute the decrease in risk to both social and intellectual stimulation afforded by a shared relationship. Full story.

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