The latest in Dementia

Vision problems linked to higher dementia risk

2010-02-23T11:30:09Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Elderly adults with poor vision, particularly untreated vision problems, may have a higher risk of developing dementia than those with better vision, a new study suggests.</p><p>Researchers found that among 625 older Americans with initially normal cognition, those who said they had poor vision even with corrective lenses were more likely to develop dementia over the next...

Feeding tubes may be overused in demented patients

2010-02-22T10:16:30Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Whether or not a person with advanced dementia winds up with a feeding tube inserted down their throat may have more to do with economic concerns than his or her wishes, suggests a new study out in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association).&am...

British dementia costs seen rising, research urged

2010-02-22T12:22:15Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - Dementia costs Britain 23 billion pounds ($37 billion) a year, more than cancer and heart disease combined, and the number of sufferers is expected to rise nearly 20 percent to over a million by 2025, experts said Wednesday.</p><p>A study for the Reuters Health) - Men with impaired brain function may be at higher risk of suffering a stroke, even if these impairments are quite minor, a new study published today in the journal Neurology hints.</p><p>Several studies have suggested a link between seriously impaired cognitive function and stroke, Dr....

More blood pressure worry: It's linked to dementia

2010-02-22T14:55:49Z

<div id="subtitle">HEALTHBEAT: Study will put to test growing evidence linking high blood pressure to dementia</div><div><p>If the cardiologist's warnings don't scare you, consider this: Controlling blood pressure just might be the best protection yet known against dementia.</p><p>In a flurry of new research, scientists scanned people's brains to show hypertension fuels a kind of scarring linked to later developm...

Exercise protects and improves the aging brain

2010-02-22T19:45:43Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Two new studies provide more evidence that regular aerobic exercise not only staves off the problems with thinking and memory that often come with age, but it can actually help turn back the clock on brain aging.</p><p>In one study, researchers found evidence that engaging in moderate physical activity such as brisk walking, swimming, or yo...

Diabetes ups risk of dementia for mildly impaired

2010-02-22T20:14:17Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Diabetes may hasten progression to dementia in older people with mild thinking impairment, new research shows.</p><p>So-called mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, increases a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. But aside from a person's severity of menta...

Report blasts dementia care failings

2010-02-22T20:26:40Z

<div><p>Care for dementia patients is still not receiving the "urgency and priority" it needs almost a year after the government unveiled a national strategy, a spending watchdog said on Thursday.</p><p>A lack of basic training and "patchy" joined-up working meant many older people faced unnecessary hospital stays or were put into care homes too early, the National Audit ...

FDA Drug Warnings Under the Microscope

2010-02-22T20:35:43Z

<div id="subtitle">Study raises questions about 'targeted' warnings</div><div><p>An FDA safety warning for commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications resulted in a decline in usage among the elderly with dementia, a new study shows.</p><p>The findings, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, raise the question as to...

Common blood-pressure drug also combats dementia

2010-02-22T21:11:33Z

<div><p>A widely-prescribed drug to tackle high blood pressure and heart disease also appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, according to a large US study published on Wednesday.</p><p>US military veterans who took angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were between 19 and 24 percent less ...

Some blood pressure drugs may cut risk of dementia

2010-02-22T21:21:55Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - Medicines commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease may cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday.</p><p>Researchers from Boston found that older people taking a certain type of blood pressure medication known as angiotensin receptor b...

Gene variant protects against Alzheimer's: study

2010-02-22T21:24:51Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - People with a gene linked to long life and good health are also less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>They said people with two copies of a certain version of the cholesteryl ester transfer protein or...

FDA warnings cut antipsychotic use 19 pct: study

2010-02-22T22:00:14Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Strong warnings about the dangers of giving antipsychotic drugs to patients with dementia have reduced use of the drugs in these patients by a "modest" 19 percent, U.S. researchers said on Monday.</p><p>Studies have shown that using antipsychotic drugs shortens the lives of elderly patients with dementi...

Study: Ginkgo Biloba Doesn't Slow Cognitive Decline

2010-02-23T07:18:56Z

<div id="subtitle">Widely used supplement not effective in reducing dementia</div><div><p> Lots of older adults who purchase the herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba, in hopes it will keep them mentally sharp, may be wasting their money. That's the finding of researchers reporting their results in the latest issue of theJournal of American Medicine. </p><p>"Ginkgo biloba is marketed widely ...

Ginkgo biloba does not slow cognitive decline: study

2010-02-23T08:18:00Z

<div><p>The herbal supplement ginkgo biloba does not slow cognitive decline, a study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said.</p><p>Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh analyzed data in an eight-y...

Ginkgo extract doesn't slow cognitive decline

2010-02-23T08:19:24Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The widely used herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba does not appear to slow the rate of cognitive decline in healthy older people or those with mild cognitive impairment, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>Their study involved 3,069 people age 72 or older from four U.S. communities who w...

Stress speeds mental decline in impaired elders

2010-02-23T11:35:41Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Chronic stress can speed up memory decline in older people who already have some impairment in their mental function, a new study in the American Journal of Psychiatry shows.</p><p>But being stressed doesn't appear to affect memory in older p...

Alzheimer's may guard against cancer and vice versa

2010-02-23T11:53:38Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with Alzheimer's disease may be less apt to get cancer and people with cancer may be less apt to get Alzheimer's disease, new research hints.</p><p>"Discovering the links between these two conditions may help us better understand both diseases and open up avenues for possible treatments," CHICAGO (Reuters) - People who have higher levels of an appetite-suppressing hormone produced by fat cells may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or dementia than others, U.S. researchers said Tuesday.</p><p>They said people in a study who had the highest...

Alzheimer's protein may be early risk factor

2010-02-23T16:07:18Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Imaging tests may be able to detect the early signs of Alzheimer's disease long before it begins to affect memory, a finding that may lead to earlier, more effective treatments, U.S. researchers said on Monday.</p><p>They said healthy people who ...