Rapid loss of smell predicts dementia and smaller brain areas linked to Alzheimer's

New research shows that a decline in a person's sense of smell over time predicts their loss of cognitive function and can foretell structural changes in regions of the brain that are important in Alzheimer's disease and dementia. The findings could lead to the development of smell-test screening to detect cognitive impairment earlier in patients.

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Chores, exercise, and social visits linked to lower risk of dementia

Physical and mental activities, such as household chores, exercise, and visiting with family and friends, may help lower the risk of dementia, according to a new study. The study looked at the effects of these activities, as well as mental activities and use of electronic devices in people both with and without higher genetic risk for dementia.

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Harm from blue light exposure increases with age, research in flies suggests

The damaging effects of daily, lifelong exposure to the blue light emanating from phones, computers and household fixtures worsen as a person ages, new research suggests. The study involved Drosophila melanogaster, the common fruit fly, an important model organism because of the cellular and developmental mechanisms it shares with other animals and humans.

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Study links insulin resistance, advanced cell aging with childhood poverty

A study linked childhood poverty and teens' beliefs about their life prospects with accelerated immune cell aging and greater levels of insulin resistance in young adulthood.

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Alzheimer's researchers study drug efficacy in early stages of disease

Most drugs developed to treat Alzheimer's disease have for years been ineffective in clinical trials. Researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine recently evaluated the efficacy of a failed clinical trial drug using their rigorous pipeline.

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Researchers identify protein connected to aging and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an aging-associated disease caused by progressive scarring of the lungs, leading to respiratory failure and death. Therapies to treat IPF are limited, making studies on the mechanisms responsible for this crippling disease a priority. Now researchers have discovered a new mechanism linking the aging of blood vessels to the development of pulmonary fibrosis.

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Finding the right memory strategy to slow cognitive decline

What's the best way to improve your memory as you age? Turns out, it depends, a new study comparing mnemonic and rehearsal-based memorization in people with mild cognitive impairment suggests.

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Weak handgrip strength may signal serious health issues

Muscle strength is a powerful predictor of mortality that can quickly and inexpensively be assessed by measuring handgrip strength.

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Early Alzheimer's detection up to 17 years in advance

A sensor identifies misfolded protein biomarkers in the blood. This offers a chance to detect Alzheimer's disease before any symptoms occur.

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Hypertension elevates risk for more severe COVID-19 illness

Hypertension more than doubles the risk of hospitalization related to Omicron infection, even in people who are fully vaccinated and boosted, according to a new study.

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Pharmacist-based deprescribing successfully reduced older adults' exposure to anticholinergic drugs

A new study has found that using pharmacists as deprescribing care coordinators decreased prescription of anticholinergics by 73 percent and reduced cumulative use of these drugs by as much as 70 percent.

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Do benefits of physical, mental activity on thinking differ for men and women?

Studies have shown that physical and mental activity help preserve thinking skills and delay dementia. A new study suggests that these benefits may vary for men and women.

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Tracking daily movement patterns may one day help predict dementia

Researchers found significant differences in movement patterns between participants with normal cognition and those with mild cognitive impairment or Alzheimer's disease.

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Discovery of molecular signatures of immature neurons in human brain throughout life provide insights into brain plasticity

Researchers have used advanced techniques to show that, in a key memory region of the brain called the hippocampus, immature, plastic neurons are present in significant numbers throughout the human lifespan. The findings may resolve a long-running controversy over the existence of 'adult neurogenesis'-- the production of new immature neurons in the mature human brain. The discovery also paves the way for the deeper study of adult neurogenesis and its roles in memory, mood, behavior, and brain disorders.

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Loss of 'youth' protein may drive aging in the eye

Loss of the protein pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF), which protects retinal support cells, may drive age-related changes in the retina, according to a new study.

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Scientists reveal new function of enzyme ADAR1 linking it to age-related diseases via a role independent of RNA-editing during aging

Scientists have revealed a novel ADAR1-SIRT1-p16INK4a axis in regulating cellular senescence and its potential implications in tissue aging.

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Whole blood exchange could offer disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease

A novel, disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease may involve the whole exchange of blood, which effectively decreased the formation of amyloid plaque in the brains of mice, according to a new study.

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Loss of male sex chromosome leads to earlier death for men

The loss of the male sex chromosome as many men age causes the heart muscle to scar and can lead to deadly heart failure, new research shows. The finding may help explain why men die, on average, several years younger than women.

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Whether you're 18 or 80, lifestyle may be more important than age in determining dementia risk, study reveals

Individuals with no dementia risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes or hearing loss, have similar brain health as people who are 10 to 20 years younger than them, according to a new study. The study found that a single dementia risk factor could reduce cognition by the equivalent of up to three years of aging.

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A machine learning model to predict immunotherapy response in cancer patients

Development of a precision medicine technology based on artificial intelligence that predicts immunotherapy response in cancer patients.

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Could a computer diagnose Alzheimer's disease and dementia?

Researchers have developed a new tool that could automate the process of diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and eventually allow it to move online.

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Revealing one of the driving forces of Alzheimer's

A new study has shown how a protein called tau, a critical factor in the development of Alzheimer's disease, turns from normal to a disease state -- and demonstrates how the discovery could deliver a potential therapeutic target. Researchers hope to prevent the process from happening, thereby keeping tau in a healthy state and avoiding the toxic effects on brain cells that then result in impaired memory function.

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Long term high-fat diet expands waistline and shrinks brain

New research shows that fatty foods may not only be adding to your waistline but may also be aggravating Alzheimer's disease, and causing depression and anxiety.

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Thyroid problems linked to increased risk of dementia

Older people with hypothyroidism, also called underactive thyroid, may be at increased risk of developing dementia, according to a new study. The risk of developing dementia was even higher for people whose thyroid condition required thyroid hormone replacement medication.

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Predicting the future: A quick, easy scan can reveal late-life dementia risk

Researchers have discovered an important link between vascular health and late-life dementia, discovering the calcification of plaques within the abdominal aorta to be a reliable marker for late-life dementia.

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Protecting the brain from dementia-inducing abnormal protein aggregates

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's are defined by pathogenic accumulation of toxic proteins in the brain. Now, however, scientists have established that the p62 protein, which is involved in cellular protein degradation, can prevent the accumulation of toxic oligomeric tau species in mouse brains, proving the 'neuroprotective' function of p62 in a living model.

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HIV speeds up body's aging processes soon after infection, study shows

HIV has an 'early and substantial' impact on aging in infected people, accelerating biological changes in the body associated with normal aging within just two to three years of infection, according to new research.

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Novel gene for Alzheimer's disease in women identified

Scientists have identified a new gene called MGMT that increases the risk of Alzheimer's in women.

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When more is more: Identifying cognitive impairments with multiple drawing tasks

Researchers have found that extracting drawing features from a combination of five drawing tasks -- rather than from any single task alone -- leads to more accurate classification of people with normal cognition, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease by capturing different, complementary aspects of cognitive impairments. Their proposed portable, easy-to-use screening test may improve patient diagnosis, leading to earlier and more effective treatments.

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