Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer’s Linked to Low Systemic REST Levels and Deficient Stress Protection of the Aging Brain
A study published in Translational Psychiatry indicates that low systemic (plasma) levels of the repressor element 1-silencing transcription (REST) factor represent a candidate biomarker of cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The study also suggests that low systemic REST levels may be associated with a poor brain stress protection during aging. Recent research suggests that […]
Interleukin-33 Reverses Cognitive Deficits in Alzheimer’s Mouse Model Showing Promise as a Therapeutic Target
A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA (PNAS) indicates that interleukin-33 (IL-33) is able to improve memory deficits and reduce the accumulation of β-amyloid in APP/PS1 mice that exhibit Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-like pathologies. IL-33 is a member of the IL-1 cytokine family and is considered an ‘alarm’ molecule […]
New Evidence that Stress May Increase the Risk of Developing Dementia and Alzheimer’s: the Einstein Aging Study
According to a recent report published in the journal Alzheimer Disease & Associated Disorders stress may increase up to 30% the risk of developing amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) or dementia. Mild cognitive impairment is a significant risk factor for the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Moreover, among all MCI subtypes, patients with amnestic […]
Blocking IL-12 and IL-23 in APPPS1 Mouse Model Shows Promise as an Experimental Therapeutic Approach to Alzheimer’s Disease
A recent study, published in Nature Medicine is perhaps the first one to show interleukin (IL)-23 involvement, and implicates both IL-23 and IL-12, key pro-inflammatory cytokines in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Importantly, it also demonstrates that in the APPPS1 Alzheimer’s disease mouse model, preventing the effects of these mediators, or ‘immune hormones’, with antibodies […]
Long Term Use of Common Anticholinergic Drugs Linked To High Risk of Dementia
A new report published in JAMA Internal Medicine (formerly, Archives of Internal Medicine) indicates that cumulative anticholinergic medications exposure and use in the past 10 years is associated with a significantly increased risk for developing dementia. Common anticholinergic drugs include tricyclic antidepressants, first-generation antihistamines, and urinary bladder antispasmodics or some anti-vertigo drugs. In the JAMA […]
How to Keep Your Brain Innovative
In a recent article at Inc.com Geil Browning, PhD, Founder and CEO, Emergenetics International, outlines some key principles to keep your brain innovative. The problem with being “crazy busy” is that it does not allow freewheeling thought. Tim Kreider wrote recently in The New York Times that there is a default response when you ask […]
New Evidence That Anxiety and Vulnerability to Stress Contribute to the Development of Dementia
In a recent American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry study, Robert Wilson and colleagues from the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL examined the relation of different facets of neuroticism to risk of developing AD. Emerging research implicates a consistent reciprocal relationship between late-life anxiety and cognition, and that severe anxiety may […]
A Mechanism Linking Immune Cells Activities, Biomarkers and Hippocampal Volume Loss to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
In a recent review in Journal of Neurochemistry, James Andrews and Kameran Neises from the Naval Health Research Center, San Diego, California provide up to date information, and a brief but comprehensive overview on how peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and biomarkers may play a role in a putative mechanism and effective diagnosis of PTSD. […]
