Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Despite all efforts, no treatments have been found yet. To increase the odds, we need to rethink our approach and try to better understand it.
In dementia sufferers, if autobiographical self-knowledge is lost, feelings of agency – learned as an child – may be the last remaining facet of self, something most studies have ignored.
Many chronic diseases increase our risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This link between our bodies and our brains means certain healthy choices could protect our cognitive function.
Ever more Americans are using digital cameras to keep an eye on elderly relatives who live in nursing homes. This surveillance may violate patients’ privacy and demoralize their caretakers.
Our brains create new memories, and forget old ones, by forging and breaking connections between nerve cells. Now researchers can do something similar using a light-sensitive electronic chip.
Some previous research suggests people living in rural areas may be at a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. But these results tell a different story.
Not all drug development needs to start from scratch. Sometimes researchers discover that a drug developed for one disease can be used for another. Here a cancer drug may show promise for dementia.
Our ability to smell is a function of the brain, so it makes sense that an impaired sense of smell can point to cognitive decline. The good news is training our noses may be effective.
Antipsychotic drugs are often used to “chemically restrain” aged care residents and control their behaviour. The system needs to change – but lessons from the US tell us it’s not going to be easy.
Many pieces leading to Alzheimer’s disease have been identified. To put the pieces together, one scholar argues that the government should launch a Manhattan Project-scale effort to find a cure.
We were the first to make the connection between P. gingivalis and fully diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease. While evidence of a link is growing, it must be interpreted in context.