Menu Close

Articles on Alzheimer's disease

Displaying 101 - 120 of 340 articles

Vocabulary surrounding Alzheimer’s and other related disorders must be carefully chosen. Here, sculpture by Jaume Plensa, in Montréal. (Flickr/Art_Inthecity)

Alzheimer’s, related disorders and language: How we talk about ‘dementia’ is key to building community bridges

Arts-related activities for people living with Alzheimer’s and other related disorders could improve people’s quality of life, but collaborating in communities requires a common language.
There are different types of memory and not all of them are related to Alzheimer’s disease. (Shutterstock)

What types of memories are forgotten in Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease is often associated with a decline in episodic memory. Patients will complain that they can’t remember events they’ve experienced, conversations they’ve had, things they’ve done.
Alzheimer’s, like many diseases, has a genetic component. Tek Images/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Mixed-ancestry genetic research shows a bit of Native American DNA could reduce risk of Alzheimer’s disease

Using a technique called admixture mapping, researchers can leverage the diversity of people with mixed ancestry to look for hard-to-find genetic risk factors for diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.
Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by progressive memory loss, spatial disorientation and many other cognitive and behavioural disorders that ultimately lead to a state of total dependence. (Shutterstock)

FDA approval of controversial Alzheimer’s drug could delay discovery of more promising treatments

The new drug is based on the idea that a build-up of amyloid in the brain leads to the disease. But that hypothesis has been under scrutiny lately.
Do the benefits of approving a drug before confirming it works outweigh the potential costs? monkeybusinessimages/iStock via Getty Images Plus

The FDA’s big gamble on the new Alzheimer’s drug

The FDA approved Alzheimer’s disease drug aducanumab despite minimal evidence of its efficacy. Whether this decision ultimately hurts or helps patients depends on data researchers don’t yet have.
Isolation and segregation create and reinforce another kind of barrier to those with dementia: stigma. (Shutterstock)

How communities can fight the stigma that isolates people with dementia

‘Dementia friendly’ communities seek to support people with memory loss, recognize them as equals, celebrate their contributions and enable them to live with purpose in welcoming communities.
The colors in this microscope photo of a fruit fly brain show different types of neurons and the cells that surround them in the brain. Sarah DeGenova Ackerman

Astrocyte cells in the fruit fly brain are an on-off switch that controls when neurons can change and grow

Adaptable neurons are tied to learning and memory but also to neurological disorders. By studying fruit flies, researchers found a mechanism that controls neuroplasticity.
Currently, the only approved drugs for Alzheimer’s merely alleviate some of the symptoms — partially and temporarily — but do not stop the disease from progressing. (Shutterstock)

Why don’t we have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease?

It was first officially described 115 years ago, but we still do not have a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The human brain is extremely complex, and Alzheimer’s is its most complex disease.
A new study says African Americans with dementia carry a higher risk for COVID-19 than whites with dementia. kate_sept2004/Getty Images

Dementia patients are at greater risk for COVID-19, particularly African Americans and people with vascular dementia

Because dementia patients are more likely to acquire COVID-19, and because so many live in close-quarter facilities – like nursing homes – it’s critical to vaccinate them as quickly as possible.

Top contributors

More