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
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
Alzforum readers who follow the science of preclinical Alzheimer's and prevention may have heard about three independent but complementary programs that together are laying the groundwork for secondary prevention trials across the spectrum of rare to
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
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
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
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
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
If you listen to National Public Radio, watch TV, or surf the Web, chances are you have come across commercials enticing you to “improve your memory” and “unlock your inner genius” with “brain training developed by neuroscientists.” In search of solid ev
U.S. guidelines for assessing Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology are getting a much-needed facelift. The existing ones, in place since 1997, had fallen out of step with the current understanding of AD as a disease with a long preclinical stage.
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
In this series, ARF takes stock of deep-brain stimulation after more than a decade of life-altering procedures, In deep brain stimulation, surgeons implant wires into the brain and hook them up to a pacemaker-like stimulator implanted in the chest, which
The Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative is the most expensive AD study the NIH has ever funded. Expectations are that it will speak with the authoritative voice of a 58-center, three-year observation of 819 research participants above a curre
Two weeks after the FDA gave the nod to aducanumab, the aftershocks continue to reverberate. Critics are lambasting the agency, three members of its advisory committee resigned, and the drug’s cost has ignited calls for pricing reform. Meanwhile, Alzheime