by Sean Patterson for WebProNews:

A new study shows that a drug used to treat insulin resistance in diabetics could improve cognitive performance in some people with Alzheimer’s disease.

In the study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, the drug rosiglitazone was used on mice that have been genetically engineered to serve as models for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers found that treatment with the drug improved learning and memory in the mice, while it also normalized insulin resistance.

The researchers believe that the drug reduced the negative influence of Alzheimer’s on a brain-signaling molecule called extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). ERK becomes hyperactive in the brains of Alsheimer’s patients when they begin to exhibit mild cognitive impairment. This leads to improper synaptic transmission between neurons. The study shows that the drug activates the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARy) pathway in the brain, reducing ERK activity.

by Zee News:

In a new study, researchers have shown for the first time that diabetes enhances the development of aging features that may underlie early pathological events in Alzheimer’s.

Specifically, the researchers from Salk Institute for Biological Studies found increases in two hallmarks of Alzheimer’s-accumulations of amyloid beta (Abeta) and tau protein-in the brains of diabetic mice, especially in cells surrounding blood vessels. Abeta, the misfolded peptide that is thought in part to cause Alzheimer’s disease, aggregated inside astrocytes, star-shaped brain cells that, upon interaction with Abeta, release inflammatory molecules that can destroy neurons. Previously, this had not been shown in mouse models of type 1 diabetes (T1D).

“Our study supports and extends the links between diabetes, aging and Alzheimer’s,” senior author Pamela Maher said.“We show that type 1 diabetes increases vascular-associated amyloid beta buildup in the brain and causes accelerated brain aging.”

by Fiona Macrae for Daily News:

Gorging on junk food may not just make you fat – it could also give you dementia. Evidence is growing that a bad diet triggers Alzheimer’s by poisoning the brain.

With studies on animals strongly implicating the hormone insulin in the process, some believe Alzheimer’s to be another version of diabetes. Bizarre as the claim may seem, confirming the link could speed the search for desperately needed new treatments for Alzheimer’s, which, along with other forms of dementia, affects more than 800,000 Britons.

Bad diets are already linked to dementia, through high blood pressure and cholesterol interrupting blood supply to the brain. But the latest theory points to high levels of fatty and sugary food damaging the brain by interrupting its supply of insulin.

by Susan E. Matthews for My Health News Daily:

The diabetes drug metformin may spur the growth of new brain cells, which could have benefits for Alzheimer’s patients, a new Canadian study on mice suggests.

The study showed that metformin caused brain cells to divide, producing new cells.

The diabetes medication was intended to target a specific pathway in liver cells. In the new study, researchers found that the drug activated that same pathway in brain cells, prompting new cell growth, said study researcher Freda Miller, a stem cell biologist and molecular geneticist at the Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute in Toronto.

by Denise Baker for Counsel & Heal:

Type 2 diabetes can extend to the brain, causing decline in memory, attention and other cognitive skills, reveals a latest study.

The study, which analyzed the data of elderly men and women with diabetes (predominantly Type 2) for 10 years, revealed that there was a considerable fall in their cognitive skills when compared to others of the same age. Type 2 diabetes is associated with obesity and inactivity. The more adversely the disease is managed, the faster the mental deterioration is caused in patients.

Also, mental deterioration was seen not just in patients with advanced stages of the disease. People who did not have the disease at the start of the study but contracted it later were also seen undergoing mental deterioration to a great extent.

by Zee News:

Researchers who examined the link between metabolic syndrome and cognitive disorders has stressed the need for new lines of research to identify effective therapeutic targets.

No effective treatments are currently available for the prevention or cure of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most frequent form of dementia in the elderly.The most recognized risk factors, advancing age and having the apolipoprotein E 4 gene, cannot be modified or treated. Increasingly, scientists are looking toward other risk factors to identify preventive and therapeutic strategies.

Much attention recently has focused on the metabolic syndrome (MetS), with a strong and growing body of research suggesting that metabolic disorders and obesity may play a role in the development of dementia.

by BBC News:

t has been known for some time that people with diabetes have a much higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s, but not why this is so.

Now US researchers writing in Genetics say a study of worms has indicated a known Alzheimer’s gene also plays a role in the way insulin is processed.

Dementia experts said more work in humans was now needed.

Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia, which affects 820,000 people in the UK. There are medications which can slow the progress of the disease, but none that can halt its progress.

A key indication of Alzheimer’s, which can only be seen after death, is the presence of sticky plaques of amyloid protein in decimated portions of patients’ brains. Scientists have already found mutations in a gene involved in the processing of amyloid protein in Alzheimer’s which run in families.

by Michael Fuhrman D.C. for Designs for Health:

Like most folks, I like the occasional sweet indulgence, be it a slice of cheesecake, scoop of Ben and Jerry’s (“Everything but the Kitchen Sink”, please!) or a “Death by Chocolate” type of dessert. The problem occurs when that occasional treat becomes a daily habit. Compound the daily habit with a steady consumption of fructose loaded juices or soft drinks and suddenly we are now looking at a situation that has now become a significant health issue. If we look around as we shop at the local grocery store, this situation may be becoming the rule and not the exception.

While we recognize the outward signs of this type of chronic indulgence; pendulous bellies, double chins and labored breathing, it’s the inward signals that may go unnoticed and may ultimately be the iceberg lying below the surface. Over consumption of fructose is now a primary culprit in the development of obesity, diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome. While I have discussed fructose in past blogs it may behoove us to revisit this subject in the context of brain function and cognition.

To illustrate, a study revealed that laboratory animals fed high amounts of fructose experienced impaired spatial memory.  The study therefore demonstrates that a high fructose diet harms the brain as well as the body.

by UC San Diego:

Researchers at the Comprehensive Alzheimer’s Program at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have announced two new clinical trials for patients with either mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and one trial for Mild Cognitive Impairment.

“Two of these studies represent an exciting new approach to treating Alzheimer’s, focusing on improving memory in patients with early symptoms of impaired memory and possibly slowing down  the disease progression long before symptoms appear,” said Michael Rafii, MD, PhD, assistant professor of neurosciences and director of the Memory Disorders Clinic at UC San Diego .

All three are randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies:

The first is a national clinical trial examining the effects of resveratrol – a compound found in red grapes or juice, red wine, chocolate, tomatoes and peanuts – on participants with mild to moderate dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.   Pre-clinical and pilot clinical research studies suggest that resveratrol may prevent diabetes, act as a natural cancer fighter, ward off cardiovascular disease, and prevent memory loss, but there has been no large definitive study of its effects in humans.

by Fox News:

The clock is ticking: The first National Alzheimer’s Plan sets a deadline of 2025 to finally find effective ways to treat, or at least stall, the mind-destroying disease.

The Obama administration finalizes the landmark national strategy on Tuesday, laying out numerous steps the government and private partners can take over the coming years to fight what is poised to become a defining disease of the rapidly aging population.

But some of the work is beginning right away.

Starting Tuesday, embattled families and caregivers can check a new one-stop website – www.alzheimers.gov – for easy-to-understand information about dementia and where to get help in their own communities.

The National Institutes of Health is funding some major new studies of possible therapies, including a form of insulin that’s squirted into the nose.