Free Republic

In A Nutshell * Two FDA-approved cancer drugs — letrozole and irinotecan — significantly improved memory and reduced brain damage in mice with Alzheimer’s. * The combination therapy targets multiple brain cell types by reversing gene disruptions in neurons and glia. *Real-world medical records of 1.4 million patients show lower Alzheimer’s rates in people treated with these drugs for cancer. * The findings offer a new multi-target strategy that may outperform existing single-drug treatments, but human trials are still needed. SAN FRANCISCO — Two cancer medications already on pharmacy shelves might hold the key to treating Alzheimer’s disease, and early...

Insulin resistance detected by routine triglyceride-glucose (TyG) index can flag people with early Alzheimer's who are four times more likely to present rapid cognitive decline, according to research. Neurologists reviewed records of 315 non-diabetic patients with cognitive deficits, including 200 with biologically confirmed Alzheimer's disease. All subjects underwent an assessment of insulin resistance using the TyG index and a clinical follow-up of three years. When patients were divided according to the TyG index, those in the highest third of the Mild Cognitive Impairment AD subgroup deteriorated far more quickly than their lower-TyG peers, losing >2.5 points on the Mini Mental...

As you’ve likely already heard, Biden has cancer. Again. We don’t yet know whether this one will stick, but it looks more legitimate than President Autopen’s previous cancer claims. Yesterday, the New York Times ran the story below the headline, “Joe Biden Is Diagnosed With an Aggressive Form of Prostate Cancer.” The announcement by his office, which created the story, conveniently streamed into media offices two days before the controversial exposé book Original Sin was due for release. CLIP: Biden rambles about how he got oil cancer in 2022 (0:27).Hearing the news, some uncharitable people are casting a skeptical eye...

Plasma assessment is not intended as a screening or stand-alone diagnostic test, agency saysThe FDA cleared the first blood-based in vitro diagnostic test for Alzheimer's disease, the agency announcedopens in a new tab or window Friday. The blood test, known as the Lumipulse G pTau 217/β-Amyloid 1-42 Plasma Ratio, can be used to detect amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer's in people ages 55 and older who have signs and symptoms of the disease, the agency said. "Alzheimer's disease impacts too many people, more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined," FDA Commissioner Martin Makary, MD, MPH, said in a statement....

The implications of this research could redefine the boundary between life and death. ================================================================= About five years ago, Yale School of Medicine neuroscientist Zvonimir Vrselja, Ph.D., and his colleagues shocked the medical community with a groundbreaking experiment. They removed a slaughterhouse pig’s brain from its head and deprived it of oxygen at room temperature for four hours. Then, they hooked it up to their resuscitation machine and revived it—to an extent. A living brain’s vasculature, or network of blood vessels, carries oxygenated, nutrient-rich blood to the brain through arteries and capillaries. So, the researchers used their machine, called BrainEx, to...

A team of scientists has tested four anti-amyloid Alzheimer's therapeutics to find out how the drugs bind to toxic amyloid beta protein to tackle the disease. Using new, highly sensitive methods, the researchers detected and visualized how amyloid beta protein—a plaque that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease—binds to lecanemab, donanemab, gantenerumab and aducanumab. The findings show that lecanemab performs the best at binding a small, soluble form of amyloid beta, suggesting that it is most effective, when used as early as possible in the disease progression. Amyloid beta is one of the toxic proteins that...

In a nutshell One dose of a psychedelic compound (25CN-NBOH) significantly improved cognitive flexibility in mice, even 2 to 3 weeks after the drug was administered. Treated mice adapted better to new learning rules in a reversal task, showing stronger performance across multiple behavioral measures compared to controls. These long-lasting effects suggest psychedelics may promote meaningful, enduring changes in brain plasticity, offering potential new approaches for treating conditions like depression, PTSD, and Alzheimer’s disease. ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A single dose of a psychedelic compound could be key to helping your brain become more adaptable for weeks. University of Michigan...

A pause to NIH funding has researchers scrambling for contingency plans at the University of Washington’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. The center’s brain bank is preserving more than 4,000 brains for research. SEATTLE — Andrea Gilbert thought she knew what would happen to her brain. The 79-year-old retired attorney, who has Alzheimer’s disease and receives care at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, agreed to donate it for research in 2023. She hoped to help scientists unlock the keys to a disease that had left her writing notes to remind herself if she’d already brushed her teeth. The fate of that...

Duck Dynasty star Jase Robertson revealed that his father, Phil Robertson was “not good,” months after it was revealed he had been diagnosed with the “early stages” of Alzheimer’s disease. During a recent episode of Unashamed with the Robertson Family, Jase, his brother Alan Robertson, and their cousin Zach Dasher provided an update on Phil’s health, and Phil’s wife, Kay Robertson’s health. “For my mom, it’s been a lot better this past week, because she was really not doing good,” Jase explained. “She got an infection from a fall — from a cut that had happened earlier.” Jase continued to...

Scientists have long recognized the brain's need for energy, but new research has now illuminated how the brain's energy utilization significantly influences our sleep patterns. The team discovered certain channels in the brain, called ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels, act as energy sensors and play a pivotal role in maintaining stable sleep-wake cycles and facilitating smooth transitions between cycles. "Our study shows that even small changes in energy usage can profoundly impact behavior," said Macauley. These changes impact when we sleep, how we sleep and the overall quality of our sleep. The study identified a previously unknown function of KATP channels...

The herb rosemary has long been linked with memory. So it is fitting that researchers would study a compound found in rosemary and sage—carnosic acid—for its impact on Alzheimer's disease. Carnosic acid is an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound that works by activating enzymes that make up the body's natural defense system. Scientists have now synthesized a stable form, diAcCA. This compound is fully converted to carnosic acid in the gut before being absorbed into the bloodstream. The research showed that when diAcCA was used to treat mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, it achieved therapeutic doses of carnosic acid in the...

Hantavirus is a rare but highly fatal virus, federal health officials say. Authorities said Friday that actor Gene Hackman died of Alzheimer’s and heart failure a week after his wife died of hantavirus, a rare viral infection. Authorities initially ruled out foul play after the bodies were discovered Feb. 26 in the couple’s Santa Fe home, while a bottle of pills was discovered next to the body of his wife, Betsy Arakawa. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning also tested negative. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza and other officials announced the development in a news conference in New Mexico,...

Watching a loved one suffer from dementia or Alzheimer's is heartbreaking, but as Christians, we can find strength, hope, and purpose in God’s Word. In this episode, we’ll discuss how to honor our loved ones even when they forget, trust God in the midst of suffering, and find encouragement as caregivers. Join me as we explore biblical wisdom, share encouragement, and remind one another that God never forgets His children. Key Scriptures: Isaiah 46:4, Psalm 34:18, Matthew 11:28-30, Exodus 20:12, Romans 8:38-39, 2 Corinthians 4:16, Galatians 6:9

A cure for ageing sounds like something right out of a wild science-fiction film like The Substance. But scientists could now be close to making this a reality. Researchers from Osaka University, Japan claim to have found a cellular 'master switch' which can reverse the process of ageing. This protein, called AP2A1, could be the key to future treatments that will turn back the body's biological clock and undo the damage caused by old age. As our bodies get older, we build up a growing number of old or 'senescent' cells which stop dividing and functioning as they should. These...

As President Donald Trump directs cuts of tens of thousands of federal government employees, among those laid off at America's health agencies are workers at a National Institutes of Health department focused on dementia research, including its incoming leader, three people familiar with the terminations told ABC News. The firings at the Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD) affected roughly a tenth of the nearly 100 employees at the center, but in interviews with ABC News, workers there described a carefully woven web of collaboration that they say could be threatened by the layoffs of just a handful of...

Turmeric has been a healing remedy in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine for centuries. It comes from the rhizome (root) of the Curcuma longa plant and has a warm, earthy flavor. Turmeric's active compound, curcumin, is a potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant with many health benefits, from soothing joint pain to enhancing digestion and immunity. 1. Arthritis (Joint Pain) Arthritis is a broad term that describes over 100 conditions that cause joint inflammation, pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. Osteoarthritis, the most common form of arthritis, typically develops due to age-related "wear and tear." Other types, like rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic...

SNIPThe disease afflicts nearly seven million Americans, about one in every nine people over the age of 65, making it a leading cause of death among older adults. SNIPOver the past 25 years, Alzheimer’s research has suffered a litany of ostensible fraud and other misconduct by world-famous researchers and obscure scientists alike, all trying to ascend in a brutally competitive field. During years of investigative reporting, I’ve uncovered many such cases, including several detailed for the first time in my forthcoming book.Take for example the revered neuroscientist Eliezer Masliah, whose groundbreaking research has shaped the development of treatments for memory...

Dementia claims the lives of smarter people sooner, scientists have discovered. People who spend more years at school or in education are likely to deteriorate from the neurodegenerative disease faster, according to the biggest study of its kind. Scientists have dubbed the phenomenon the “cognitive reserve paradigm”. Authors from the Erasmus University Medical Centre, in Rotterdam, Netherlands, said: “This paradigm postulates that people with higher education are more resilient to brain injury before functional declines. “Once this reserve has been used up and dementia is diagnosed, however, these people are already at a more advanced stage of the underlying disease...

Regular aerobic exercise could significantly reduce disease markers associated with Alzheimer's, research has found. The findings provide new hope in the battle against this devastating disorder. The study highlights how physical activity not only protects healthy brain cells but also restores balance in the aging brain. The research focused on the hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory and learning, and measured the impact of aerobic exercise on key Alzheimer's markers: amyloid plaques, tau tangles, and iron accumulation in myelin-producing cells known as oligodendrocytes. These markers are central to Alzheimer's pathology. Findings revealed that rodents who completed a structured aerobic...

Research has reported a significant connection between higher green tea consumption and fewer cerebral white matter lesions in older adults without dementia. Findings suggest that drinking three or more glasses of green tea daily may help protect brain health, while coffee consumption showed no significant effect. Cerebral white matter lesions, often indicative of small vessel disease, have been associated with cognitive decline, vascular dementia, and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Data collection occurred between 2016 and 2018, including dietary assessments, MRI scans, and cognitive evaluations of 8,766 participants aged 65 and older. Brain MRI scans provided data on the volume of white...