Breakthrough in the battle against dementia as protein offers new hope for patients

The breakthrough could lead to new treatments – and even ways of preventing the killer ­disease in the first place.

With at least 820,000 Britons ­diagnosed with a form of dementia, ways to beat it are desperately being sought.

The latest study centres on a protein that appears to stop the build-up of toxic plaques that ravage the brain of Alzheimer’s sufferers.

The American research was led by Professor Joel Buxbaum.

He said: “This result was completely unexpected when we started.

“But now we realise that it could indicate a new approach for Alzheimer’s prevention and therapy.”

The protein is commonly found in the liver, where its presence tends to be more hazardous than beneficial.

Read more....

Dementia Awareness Week 2014 - Don't bottle it up

Dementia Awareness Week 2014, will run from 18 - 24 May.

If you're worried that you, or someone close to you, may have dementia, it can be difficult to talk about. You may feel scared, confused or even ashamed. You may also be hoping that the problem will go away so you don't have to deal with it.

That's why this Dementia Awareness Week is all about opening up. We want anyone who's concerned about dementia to stop bottling it up and to talk to Alzheimer's Society.

Throughout the week there will be national and regional press coverage, awareness-raising and fundraising events across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a national advertising campaign.

Read more....

4 No-Nonsense Solutions to the Looming Dementia Crisis

The dementia tsunami is coming, fast. We all know it, and it will affect every single one of us, either directly or through our loved ones. That we are not prepared for such an onslaught is an understatement. Dementia is an expensive disease, and if we do the maths, we can see that our current health care system and long-term care infrastructure cannot hold up to what is to come.

Read more....

A one-two punch of chronic disease

Neuroscientist Prof. Michal Beeri has returned from a decade in New York to investigate the connection between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

The world faces two major epidemics of chronic disease – diabetes, with some 350 million sufferers, and Alzheimer’s disease, with an estimated 40 million.

The prevalence of each disorder is expected to double or even triple within a few decades, threatening the income of patients’ families and the economic health of nations that will be forced to treat and care for sufferers.

But could it be that they pack a one-two punch – that one may cause the other, or at least significantly raise the risk of contracting the other? In recent years, there has been growing evidence that excessive sugar in the bloodstream increases the likelihood of the most common type of dementia decades later.

Read more....