The low affinity glutamate NMDA receptor antagonist memantine can slightly reduce deterioration in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease, but the effect in less severely affected people is unknown.
Surgery to relieve chronic lower back pain is no better than intensive rehabilitation and nearly twice as expensive, researchers said. Low back pain is one of the world’s most common complaints. In the 25-nation European Union, it affects over 40 million workers and accounts for nearly half of all sick days.
Physical activity appears to inhibit Alzheimer’s-like brain changes in mice, slowing the development of a key feature of the disease, according to a new study. The research demonstrated that long-term physical activity enhanced the learning ability of mice and decreased the level of plaque-forming beta-amyloid protein fragments – a hallmark characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) – in their brains.
In a study of people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), those who took the drug donepezil were at reduced risk of progressing to a diagnosis of Alzheimer?s disease (AD) during the first year of the trial, but by the end of the 3-year study there was no benefit from the drug. Vitamin E was also tested in the study and was found to have no effect at any time point in the study when compared with placebo.
Aricept, a drug licensed for treating Alzheimer’s disease, may slow the progression of mild cognitive impairment to dementia, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Rochester, Minnesota, and in other centers.
A high concentration of silica in drinking water seems to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, a study in France suggests.
Men with a history of depression long before the onset of any memory or other cognitive problems have a substantially higher risk of developing dementia, especially Alzheimer’s disease (AD), later in life, a study indicates. This risk is not observed in women.
People who have mild memory problems but who can correctly identify the source of certain smells are probably not in the first stages of Alzheimer’s disease, suggesting that smell tests could offer a new technique for early diagnosis, researchers reported.
Cataract, a clouding of the lens resulting in a partial loss of vision, is very common in older people. Results from a new study show that lifetime lead exposure may increase the risk of developing cataracts. Researchers found that men with high levels of lead in the tibia, the larger of the two leg bones below the knee, had a 2.5-fold increased risk for cataract, the leading cause of blindness and visual impairment.
Children and adolescents with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) respond best to a combination of both psychotherapy and an antidepressant, a major clinical trial has found. Supported by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health, the study recommends that treatment begin with cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), either alone or with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant.