Do you associate technology with youth? Picture this woman doing an automated telephone assessment and think again. Modern gadgets stand poised to transform dementia research and care. Researchers are harnessing the power of computers, digital cameras, an
Last year's ice bucket challenge for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis netted $220 million in donations for ALS charities, and the 2015 challenge is off to a strong start with $100,000 from Major League Baseball. Alzforum looks at how all that money is b
If you find it hard to keep up with Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks, spare a thought for the brain. With 100 to 500 trillion synaptic connections, the human brain dwarfs all of them. How do those connections work to formulate thought, recall
With the nation at war for eight continuous years, and awareness of the dangers of sports concussions on the rise, a new priority—and opportunity—are taking shape for neurodegenerative disease researchers. In a time of austere budgets, the Department of D
A $40 million multicenter biomarker study for Parkinson disease progression is off and running, with enrollment underway at 10 of 18 sites in the U.S. and Europe. In design and operation, the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) follow
Have neuroscientists entered the era of the programmable brain? Thanks to optogenetics and pharmacogenetics, which let scientists switch neuronal activity on or off with light or designer drugs, scientists can now control specific subtypes of neurons in r
A contentious hypothesis about where and how Parkinson’s disease starts off is gaining ground as new studies provide clues in its support. Neuroanatomists Heiko Braak and Kelly Del Tredici, both at the University of Ulm in Germany, have described the dist
Banked brain tissue enables crucial advances in the understanding and treatment of degenerative disorders. As appreciation of the many different variants of neurodegenerative disease is growing, well-preserved tissue is in more demand than ever. Are the b
The endocytic receptor SORL1 has come to fruition both literally and figuratively. An interactive diagram of the 2,214 amino acid behemoth—filled with findings about hundreds of rare variants—is live for viewing on the Alzforum Mutations database. A handf
Move over, genome, transcriptome, proteome. The latest ome aims to map every metabolite linked to human health and disease. Metabolomics, although still a nascent field, offers hope for biomarkers and treatments in neurodegenerative disease. The field
Are you curious about trying iPS cell lines to model the disease you care about? Intrigued but nebulous on where the field is at? Ready to grow an iPS line but not sure where to turn? Read Madolyn Rogers's four-part series to learn all about who does
Alzforum readers might be forgiven for thinking all microglia do is act prominently, if mysteriously, in Alzheimer's pathogenesis. Not so. A recent flurry of papers shows that microglia can match themselves specifically to GABA synapses. They can rev
For families with autosomal-dominant neurological conditions, the fear of passing on the disease to their children looms large. Now, people at this highest genetic risk can ensure that they have healthy children by undergoing in vitro fertilization follow
With the holidays upon us, are your nerves fraying under the combined pressures of work deadlines, shopping, decorating, and entertaining? Now may be a good time to sit back and consider the effects of stress on the brain. Stress per se is not a cause of