All posts tagged: Alzheimers

What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?

What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?

Published by skeptic

We all have moments of forgetfulness Craig Boylan We’ve all been there. You walk upstairs only to find yourself wondering why you bothered. You blank on an acquaintance’s name, just as you’re introducing them. Or maybe, after a frantic search, you find your car keys in the fridge of all places. Such momentary lapses of memory can be disconcerting, but they are part and parcel of getting older, and very much to be expected. “Decline in what researchers call episodic memory – what happened, where and when – is a normal part of human cognitive ageing,” says Ulman Lindenberger, a cognitive neuroscientist and director of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin. “In most adults, decline becomes apparent in their 60s… and it affects all stages of memory, from the encoding of new events over consolidation to retention and recall.” This is largely explained by structural and functional changes to the brain that begin in middle age and accelerate from there. In a 2025 paper analysing more than 3700 “cognitively healthy” adults, Lindenberger …

Jon Snow to front new Channel 4 documentary after Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Jon Snow to front new Channel 4 documentary after Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Published by Daniella Wilson

Channel 4 has announced a new feature-length documentary following Jon Snow as he comes to terms with being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and tackles one more investigative case. The veteran broadcaster’s new project A Last Big Story was made in conjunction with Alzheimer’s Society and was intended to reveal his condition to the world. However, while on safari at Victoria Falls with his wife Dr Precious Lunga, Snow learns of a local community whose land and water have been decimated by a mining disaster that received almost no media coverage. Per the official Channel 4 synopsis: “Alongside his friend and former colleague Ben de Pear and with the help of an inspiring team of Zambian campaigners, Jon uncovers one of the worst mining and ecological disasters of modern times and sets off on a mission to get the forgotten victims justice.” Jon Snow: A Last Big Story will air on Channel 4 on Saturday 20 June at 8pm. Jon Snow. Dave J Hogan/Getty Images Speaking about his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in the film, Snow says: “At the …

Columbia University researchers discover new clues to Alzheimer’s origins

Columbia University researchers discover new clues to Alzheimer’s origins

Published by Jenni Sidey

A fragile cleanup system sitting on the surface of brain cells may help explain one of Alzheimer’s disease’s oldest mysteries. It may reveal how ordinary tau protein first turns into the twisted filaments tied to memory loss and cognitive decline. That is the central finding from a Columbia University team that traced the earliest stages of tau damage to a neuron-specific protein disposal system called the neuroproteasome. When that system was disrupted, tau rapidly misfolded into paired helical filaments. This is the same broad kind of abnormal structure seen in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. The work points to a possible starting point for tau pathology. Additionally, it connects two of the disease’s biggest risk factors: aging and the APOE4 gene variant. “These prior studies could not capture how tau misfolds in the first place in Alzheimer’s disease but understanding how tau aggregation begins is critical if we want to create therapies that prevent neurodegeneration before it starts,” says the study’s senior author, Kapil Ramachandran, assistant professor of neurological sciences at Columbia University. …

Huge study of Alzheimer’s genetics identifies new drug targets

Huge study of Alzheimer’s genetics identifies new drug targets

Published by skeptic

Illustration of amyloid plaques, which build up around brain cells in Alzheimer’s disease JUAN GAERTNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Alamy The biggest genetic study of Alzheimer’s disease so far has identified 127 gene locations that are associated with the condition, of which 48 are new. The study also pinpoints several genes that could be prioritised as drug targets and cell types linked to a higher genetic risk of the condition. “It’s an exciting time for Alzheimer’s genetics,” says Rudolph Tanzi at Massachusetts General Hospital, who provided evidence of the first Alzheimer’s-linked gene, APP, in 1987. Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia, is highly heritable, with twin studies showing genetics can account for about 60 to 80 per cent of a person’s risk. Many genes have been found to play a role, chief among which is APOE. Inheriting one copy of a variant of this, known as APOE4, from a parent makes someone two or three times as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as someone without the variant, and getting a copy of APOE4 from both parents can increase risk …

Blood test could detect signs of Alzheimer’s ‘decades before symptoms’ – study

Blood test could detect signs of Alzheimer’s ‘decades before symptoms’ – study

Published by Sam Flores

Reacting to the studies, Dr Jacqui Hanley, head of research funding at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “These two studies add to a growing body of evidence showing progress in detecting the biological changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease much earlier in life, using a range of biomarkers from blood tests through to advanced brain imaging. Source link

Women’s better memories may delay Alzheimer’s diagnosis by years

Women’s better memories may delay Alzheimer’s diagnosis by years

Published by skeptic

We’re learning more about how Alzheimer’s disease presents differently in men and women Maskot/Alamy Women tend to have more robust verbal memories than men, which can mask signs of early Alzheimer’s disease. This means that commonly used memory tests may fail to pick up on the condition in women, delaying their diagnosis and treatment, according to a new study. “We are starting to recognise that gender differences in Alzheimer’s is a big issue,” says Ralph Martins at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia, who wasn’t involved in the research. Sasha Novozhilova at McGill University in Montreal and her colleagues analysed data from two large, long-term studies that conducted regular cognitive testing and brain imaging of older adults in the US and Canada, some of whom developed Alzheimer’s disease. The participants’ cognition was assessed by getting them to learn a list of 15 words that were read to them, then asking them to recall the words immediately, after being distracted with different words, and again later on. This kind of verbal memory test is commonly used …

Midlife hobbies like travel and music may offset genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Midlife hobbies like travel and music may offset genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Published by José Betancourt

Engaging in stimulating hobbies during middle age tends to protect brain health better than minimizing medical risks alone, providing evidence of a strong defense against cognitive decline. Activities like playing the piano, traveling abroad, and socializing with friends emerged as powerful ways to reduce the risk of memory disorders, according to new research from Trinity College Dublin. The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain condition that slowly destroys memory, thinking skills, and the ability to carry out simple tasks. It is the most common cause of dementia, a broader term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. The physical changes in the brain associated with this condition begin decades before any visible symptoms appear, making middle age an important window for potential prevention. Dementia currently affects about 48 million people worldwide, including nearly 1 million people in the United Kingdom and 65,000 in Ireland. Globally, dementia cases are projected to reach 150 million by the …

Lifelong cognitive enrichment is linked to a 38 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Lifelong cognitive enrichment is linked to a 38 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Published by José Betancourt

A recent study published in the journal Neurology suggests that engaging in mentally stimulating activities and having access to educational resources throughout life can significantly reduce the risk of developing dementia. The findings indicate that building a lifelong habit of cognitive enrichment tends to delay the onset of memory loss and protects brain function. This protective effect appears to persist even when physical signs of brain disease are present in old age. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that gradually destroys memory and thinking skills. As the condition advances, individuals lose the ability to carry out the simplest tasks of daily living. The disease is characterized by physical changes in the brain, including the buildup of specific proteins that disrupt communication between brain cells. Scientists have increasingly focused on ways to prevent or delay the onset of these devastating symptoms. Previous studies indicate that activities like reading, doing puzzles, and having a higher income in old age are associated with better brain health. However, examining only the later years of life paints an incomplete …

Eating at least five eggs a week is associated with a 27 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s

Eating at least five eggs a week is associated with a 27 percent lower risk of Alzheimer’s

Published by José Betancourt

A new study published in The Journal of Nutrition provides evidence that eating eggs in moderation tends to reduce the risk of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in older adults. Consumption of eggs is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline for those 65 years and older. These findings suggest that incorporating eggs into a balanced diet might offer protective benefits for brain health over time. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills. Without a known cure, medical professionals have increasingly focused on preventing the disease before it starts. The researchers wanted to explore how everyday lifestyle choices might influence brain health as people get older. “We were motivated by the growing need to identify modifiable dietary factors that may influence Alzheimer’s disease risk, especially given the lack of curative treatments,” said Jisoo Oh, an associate professor of epidemiology at Loma Linda University School of Public Health. “While eggs are widely consumed and contain nutrients relevant to brain health, there has been relatively limited evidence linking egg …

MIT releases first AI model built to make Alzheimer’s preventable

MIT releases first AI model built to make Alzheimer’s preventable

Published by Jenni Sidey

Alzheimer’s disease often starts its work long before anyone notices a problem. That gap, sometimes stretching a decade or more before memory symptoms appear, is where a research team centered at MIT says it wants to intervene. The group has released FINGERS-7B, which it describes as the first AI foundation model built specifically to help make Alzheimer’s preventable by identifying people at risk earlier and more accurately. The model, developed by a team of AI researchers, physicians, and scientists, combines lifestyle, clinical, genomic, and proteomic data from tens of thousands of at-risk individuals. By reading those signals together, rather than one at a time, the system is designed to uncover what the team calls multi-omic biomarkers for preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Looking across many kinds of biological evidence What makes the project unusual is not just the scale of the data, but the way the model handles it. FINGERS-7B was trained to learn jointly from lifestyle information, clinical records, biomarkers, genomic data, and proteomic signals. The broader platform around it is called FINGERPRINT, which pairs the …