Aducanumab Is Showing Promise As An Alzheimer's Treatment, But It's Still Early

What were the key findings from the Aducanumab phase 1 clinical trials? That's a great question. The trial results made big splashes in the lay press, and for good reason. But you probably know that lay press tends to exaggerate some of the findings, so it’s always a good idea to clarify. I’m going to give you a 20,000-foot overview of the study and the important take-aways, but if you want a more detailed answer, read below the first bolded part. The study can be summarized as such:

Aducanumab cleared amyloid plaques and appeared to slow cognitive decline in patients with pre-clinical (before major memory loss) Alzheimer’s disease in a dose-dependent fashion (the more aducanumab you give, the better amyloid clearance and protective effects on memory you get).

How NJ drones are protecting those with Alzheimer’s and autism

Every sheriff’s department in New Jersey is now part of Project Lifesaver, a program that outfits Alzheimer’s patients and those who are autistic with transmitter wristwatches, so they can be tracked and located if they ever wander off.

Now we get word the Somerset County sheriff’s department has become the first law enforcement group in the nation to get a specially designed drone equipped with same type of tracking device that’s used on the ground.

“This is a big advantage because we are now increasing the range, that ground range of one mile to anywhere from 5 to 7 miles, and of course a drone can be moved around,” said Gene Saunders, CEO and founder of Project Lifesaver.

Dementia will soon be controlled just like HIV, says research institute

Alzheimer's may in some cases be as manageable as HIV/Aids by 2025, the head of Britain's new Dementia Research Institute (DRI) predicts.

Professor Bart De Strooper said he hoped to see a time in the near future when the condition could be stabilised even if it proved impossible to cure.

There is even a chance that the brain could re-wire itself and restore lost mental ability once progress of the disease has been halted, he believes.

Caring For A Loved One At Home Can Have A Steep Learning Curve

Dementia has been slowly stealing Ruth Perez's memory and thinking ability for 20 years. Her daughter, Angela Bobo, remembers when it was clear that her mother was never going to be the same.

"She would put food together that didn't belong together — hamburger and fish in a pot. Mom never cooked like that," she says.

The mother and daughter live together in Yeadon, Pa., just outside Philadelphia.

Perez is literally in the center of the family. She spends much of her day tucked under a fleece blanket on a recliner in the middle of the living room. The 87-year-old doesn't seem to notice as her daughter and grown grandchildren come and go, but they keep up a steady one-sided conversation with her anyway.

Mindfulness: A New Tool for Caregivers

There’s a lot of talk about “mindfulness” these days. In fact, if you search the term on the Internet, you’re likely to get millions of hits. Mindful-based approaches are being applied, taught and practiced across a wide spectrum of clinical and behavioral health; from pain relief and management to caregiving.

Yes, caregiving. As most of us are aware, caregiving can be all-consuming, potentially draining, enormously challenging and terrifically rewarding—all at the same time.

How Much Hope Is There For Alzheimer's Drugs?

Last night, Alzheimer's researchers held a celebration over their field's latest failure. A study of Eli Lilly's experimental Alzheimer's drug, solanezumab, failed to show a statistically significant benefit on its main goal, but every outcome seemed to go in the same direction. That yields some modicum of hope for other Alzheimer's drugs in development, particularly one from Biogen called aducanumab that is, in some ways, an amped up solanezumab. The results were webcast from the Clinical Trails in Alzheimer's Disease meeting in San Diego.

Relationships Impact Well-Being in Older Adults in Assisted Living

Different types of relationships — whether friendship, long-term marriage, or a new intimate partnership — significantly influence the well-being and quality of life of older adults in assisted-living facilities, according to new research published in the journal The Gerontologist.

The study explored the benefits and downsides of a variety of relationships among married and unmarried couples in assisted living facilities. The findings reveal the complexity and range of later-life couples’ intimate and social lives.

Why Scientists Are Still Flummoxed by Alzheimer’s

Preventing memory loss and restoring it once it’s gone is the holy grail of brain science. In the United States alone, an estimated 5 million people are living with Alzheimer’s disease. But recently, unexpected and disappointing findings have underlined just how difficult it is to develop therapies for cognitive decline.

In November, Eli Lilly announced that its Alzheimer’s drug solanezumab failed to show a significant benefit for people with mild forms of Alzheimer’s. “The outcome was not what we hoped for, and that is disappointing for the millions of people waiting for a potential disease-modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Eric Siemers, medical director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Team at Lilly said during a teleconference.

Could Marijuana Be the Answer to Alzheimer’s Disease?

A new study from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies implies that THC, a chemical found in marijuana, may stop the production of beta amyloid and stop nerve cells in the brain from being destroyed.

Family Caregiver stress peaks during the holiday season

With the holiday season upon us, many Canadians are scrambling to fit a host of extra errands and activities into their already jam-packed lives. For most of us, stress levels can rise during the holidays, but new data from Elizz shows this time of year can be especially challenging for the millions of Canadians who act as family caregivers.

Maria Shriver Continues Tireless Fight Against Alzheimer’s

It’s Giving Day on Tuesday, November 29 and Maria Shriver, a fierce, longtime Alzheimer’s advocate, wants everyone to make a donation in support.    

“When I first got involved with Alzheimer’s disease, it was hopeless,” she says. In 2003 her father, Peace Corps founder Sargent Shriver, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which now afflicts 1 in 9 Americans over age 65. “Nobody knew what it was. There was so much shame and fear. People were terrified.”

Baby Boomers, Relax. It Probably Isn’t Dementia

Memory loss, a possible symptom of dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, is usually associated with old age. But as a geriatric psychiatrist and head of a memory center, I am seeing more patients age 50 to 65 who complain of increasing memory lapses and other cognitive issues.

These people are in the prime of their lives, and the very thought of having dementia is causing them to panic. They are particularly fearful of Alzheimer’s, the most common form of dementia, knowing it is incurable and difficult to detect early on.

Everyone needs to take a deep breath.