Innovative treatment holds promise for new approach to Alzheimer's treatment

In decades of research, scientists have focused on eliminating the signature plaques of Alzheimer’s to fight the devastating disease. Now, a drug in phase-II trials is taking a new approach, focusing on strengthening cells’ protection against neurological attacks, which may be a game changer, Time reported.

Dr. Frank Longo of Stanford University School of Medicine and his team are studying the treatment LM11A-31, or C31, as his team calls it, in combination with anti-amyloid and anti-tau therapies, which Time reported could be a potent counterpunch to neurological problems from memory loss to confusion to loss of language.

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Alzheimer’s: Four Activities You Can Do to Help Your Loved Ones

Hundreds of thousands of people on this planet live with Alzheimer’s, a devastating disease that slowly shuts down their cognitive functions. Attributed as the most common cause of dementia, Alzheimer’s leads to memory loss, reduction in brain efficiency and problem solving and, often, difficulties with language, whether writing or speaking. There is no cure for Alzheimer’s, but treatment is usually typified by a mixture of drugs and activity - both physical and mental.

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High Stress Levels Can Dramatically Increase Your Risk For Alzheimer’s

Stress is a killer — for both the body and the brain. 

Over time, chronic stress can contribute to a host of negative health outcomes, including heart disease, depression, diabetes and obesity. And according to new research, high stress levels late in life can contribute significantly to the development of Alzheimer’s disease. 

Neurologists at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System in New York found that older adults who reported experiencing high stress levels were twice as likely to develop the memory problems that tend to precede full-blown Alzheimer’s. 

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When Someone With Dementia Says, “I Want to Go Home”

I used to dread the moment near the end of a visit with my Gram (who had Alzheimer’s) when she’d perk up from a semi-stupor in which she no longer recognized me: “Where’s my purse? Have we paid yet? Let’s go home.” Briefly, she sounded almost like her jolly old self.

No matter how long I was there, or what we did, it ended like a perpetual restaurant outing. Except of course that she lived at this “restaurant.”

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fMRI Study Documents Decline in Memory Activation Over Time in Cognitively Intact Elders with APOE ɛ4

In recent years, prevention has become a major focus of Alzheimer disease (AD) research because once AD pathology has advanced, treating patients at this stage does little to slow disease progression or improve cognitive function.

The focus of our research at Cleveland Clinic and increasing numbers of other centers has therefore been identifying the brain changes that happen a decade or more before clinical symptoms manifest and finding biomarkers that can be used to assess interventions that can slow or prevent disease progression.

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