Latest Aging brain Stories
UCI researchers locate brain passage that could aid early diagnosisWith the help of volunteers aged 18 to 89, UC Irvine researchers have identified for the first time in humans a long-hidden part of the brain called the perforant path. Scientists have struggled for decades to locate the tiny passage, which is believed to deteriorate gradually as part of normal aging and far more quickly due to Alzheimer's disease."The nice thing about this is we may be able to predict Alzheimer's very early,"...
Specialized brain training targeted at the regions of a rat's brain that process sound reversed many aspects of normal, age-related cognitive decline and improved the health of the brain cells, according to a new study from researchers at University of California, San Francisco.The results indicate that people who experience age-related cognitive decline, including slower mental processing and decreased response to new stimuli, might also benefit from specially designed mental exercises."From...
The brain undergoes rapid growth and development in the early years of life and then degenerates as we progress into old age, yet little is known about the biological processes that distinguish brain development and aging. In a report published online today in Genome Research (http://www.genome.org), researchers have identified a gene regulatory link between changes in the young and aging brain, describing "runaway" development as a potentially significant factor in age-related loss...
Researchers at NYU School of Medicine have found that elevated cerebrospinal fluid levels of phosphorylated tau231 (P-tau231), a damaged tau protein found in patients with Alzheimer's disease, may be an early diagnostic biomarker for Alzheimer's disease in healthy adults.The study published this month online by Neurobiology of Aging shows that high levels of P- tau231 predict future memory decline and loss of brain gray matter in the medial temporal lobe- a key memory center. Prior studies...
Brain imaging can offer a window into risk for diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). A study conducted at the University of Kansas School of Medicine demonstrated that genetic risk is expressed in the brains of even those who are healthy, but carry some risk for AD. The results of this study are published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.Investigators used automated neuroimaging analysis techniques to characterize the impact of an AD-risk gene,...
Of dozens of candidates potentially involved in increasing a person's risk for the most common type of Alzheimer's disease that affects more than 5 million Americans over the age of 65, one gene that keeps grabbing Johns Hopkins researchers' attention makes a protein called neuroglobin.Adding to a growing body of evidence about the importance of this protein for the health of the aging brain, researchers at the McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine of the Johns Hopkins University...
Approach combines PET scans with information on patients' Alzheimer's riskUCLA scientists have used innovative brain-scan technology developed at UCLA, along with patient-specific information on Alzheimer's disease risk, to help diagnose brain aging, often before symptoms appear. Published in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, their study may offer a more accurate method for tracking brain aging.Researchers used positron emission tomography (PET), which allows "a window...
A new British study finds that consistent aerobic exercise can prevent age-related decline in brain function, and may even help reverse aging of the brain.The study, conducted by two field experts from the University of Illinois Beckman Institute, was based on a review of previously published research.Age-related deterioration in the brain's crucial white and gray matter makes a number of advanced "executive function" tasks more problematic, wrote Drs. Arthur F. Kramer and Kirk I....
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Regular exercise may prevent the mental decline associated with the long-term use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), preliminary research suggests. In a study of 54 postmenopausal women, investigators found that long-term HRT use -- more than 10 years -- was linked with poorer scores on a standard test of mental acuity. However, physical fitness appeared to counter this effect, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging. While...
