Alzheimer's

A company has started selling the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease

A drug that curbs delusions in Parkinson’s patients did the same for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia in a study that was stopped early because the benefit seemed clear. If regulators agree, the drug could become the first treatment specifically for dementia-related psychosis and the first new medicine for Alzheimer’s in nearly two decades. It...

Dr. Mehmet Oz has revealed his mother has Alzheimer’s disease and that he failed to notice the signs ahead of the “devastating” diagnosis. The cardiac surgeon and host of “The Dr. Oz Show” wrote on Instagram and his website Monday that he was caught off guard after learning his mother, Suna, 81, had been diagnosed with the irreversible, progressive brain...

Science says age is only a number, not a proxy for physical and mental fitness. But with three Democrats in their 70s vying to challenge the oldest first-term president in American history, age’s importance will be tested as never before. Only a few years separate President Donald Trump, 73, from Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 77, and former Vice President Joe...

New research gives some biological clues to why women may be more likely than men to develop Alzheimer’s disease and how this most common form of dementia varies by sex. At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday, scientists offered evidence that the disease may spread differently in the brains of women than in men. Other researchers...

On a cool night in Santa Clara, California, on Feb. 7, 2016, John Elway thrust the Lombardi Trophy into the air and hollered, “This one’s for Pat!” It came 18 years after Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen had declared, “This one’s for John!” following the franchise’s first Super Bowl championship, a 31-24 win over Green Bay in San Diego after...

To save babies from brain-damaging birth defects, University of Pittsburgh scientist Carolyn Coyne studies placentas from fetuses that otherwise would be discarded — and she’s worried this kind of research is headed for the chopping block. The Trump administration is cracking down on fetal tissue research , with new hurdles for government-funded scientists around the country who call the special...

As multiple states pass laws banning many abortions, confusion is swirling about what exactly that means for women.

Researchers may be closing in on a way to check athletes while they’re alive for signs of a degenerative brain disease that’s been linked to frequent head blows. Experimental scans found higher levels of an abnormal protein tied to the disease in a study of former National Football League players who were having mood and thinking problems. It’s the first...

Few seniors get their thinking and memory abilities regularly tested during check-ups, according to a new report from the Alzheimer’s Association that raises questions about how best to find out if a problem is brewing. Medicare pays for an annual “wellness visit” that is supposed to include what’s called a cognitive assessment — a brief check for some early warning...

Federal officials are sending warning letters and advisories to manufacturers of supplements which claim the products can treat diseases like Alzheimer’s, cancer and diabetes, NBC News reported. Among the products hit with warnings for illegal marketing are fish oil, green tea extracts and melatonin. See the full list here. The crackdown from the the Food and Drug Administration comes as...

Suicides and drug overdoses pushed up U.S. deaths last year, and drove a continuing decline in how long Americans are expected to live. Overall, there were more than 2.8 million U.S. deaths in 2017, or nearly 70,000 more than the previous year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. It was the most deaths in a single year...

President Donald Trump and Chief Justice John Roberts clashed Wednesday in an extraordinary public dispute over the independence of America’s judiciary, with Roberts bluntly rebuking the president for denouncing a judge who rejected his migrant asylum policy as an “Obama judge.” There’s no such thing, Roberts declared in a strongly worded statement contradicting Trump and defending judicial independence. Never silent...

It may be too late to stop Alzheimer’s in people who already have some mental decline. But what if a treatment could target the very earliest brain changes while memory and thinking skills are still intact, in hope of preventing the disease? Two big studies are going all out to try. Clinics throughout the United States and some other countries...

The Senate on Tuesday approved a wide-ranging, $854 billion bill that funds the military and a host of civilian agencies for the next year and provides a short-term fix to keep the government open through early December. The measure includes $675 billion for the Defense Department and boosts military pay by 2.6 percent, the largest pay raise in nine years....

Lowering blood pressure more than usually recommended not only helps prevent heart problems, it also cuts the risk of mental decline that often leads to Alzheimer’s disease, a major study finds. It’s the first time a single step has been clearly shown to help prevent a dreaded condition that has had people trying crossword puzzles, diet supplements and a host...

Despite billions of dollars spent on clinical trials through the decades, Alzheimer’s disease remains one of the most devastating and baffling diseases in the world. Dallas scientists have made a major breakthrough in the fight.

U.S. health regulators on Monday approved the first prescription drug made from marijuana, a milestone that could spur more research into a drug that remains illegal under federal law, despite growing legalization for recreational and medical use. The Food and Drug Administration approved the medication, called Epidiolex, to treat two rare forms of epilepsy in patients 2 years and older....

Viruses that sneak into the brain just might play a role in Alzheimer’s, scientists reported Thursday in a provocative study that promises to re-ignite some long-debated theories about what triggers the mind-robbing disease. The findings don’t prove viruses cause Alzheimer’s, nor do they suggest it’s contagious. But a team led by researchers at New York’s Mount Sinai Health System found...

The Ohio Supreme Court will decide whether the widow of a former University of Notre Dame football player can sue the school and the NCAA over allegations her husband was disabled by concussions from his college career in the 1970s. Steve Schmitz was suffering from dementia and early onset Alzheimer’s disease when he and his wife, Yvette, filed a lawsuit...