A recent clinical trial has shown that it's possible to safely and effectively treat depression at home using a brain stimulation device. That means patients can give themselves low-intensity impulses to see positive results – and potentially enjoy a higher quality of life.
The study was led by researchers at King's College, London, the University of East London, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. It was funded by Flow Neuroscience, a Swedish company that makes a $500 (€459) brain stimulation headset that's designed to be used at home over 30-minute sessions while you do other things.
The study aimed to prove the efficacy of a non-invasive technology called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). A weak current (under 2 mA) is delivered to the scalp via two electrodes. These electrical impluses are directed toward the front area of your brain that regulates your mood, motivation, and sleep.
A recent clinical trial has shown that it's possible to safely and effectively treat depression at home using a brain stimulation device. That means patients can give themselves low-intensity impulses to see positive results – and potentially enjoy a higher quality of life.
The study was led by researchers at King's College, London, the University of East London, and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. It was funded by Flow Neuroscience, a Swedish company that makes a $500 (€459) brain stimulation headset that's designed to be used at home over 30-minute sessions while you do other things.
The study aimed to prove the efficacy of a non-invasive technology called transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS). A weak current (under 2 mA) is delivered to the scalp via two electrodes. These electrical impluses are directed toward the front area of your brain that regulates your mood, motivation, and sleep.
Pete Middleton, who lives in Northamptonshire, UK with his wife, has long been an early adopter of technology.
He became interested in computing while in the Royal Air Force in the 1980s and went on to learn several programming languages.
In recent years he’s been enthusiastic about the rise of AI, which he uses for editing photographs, for translating text messages, and for research.
Overall, Mr Middleton is having a busy retirement. In addition to his hobbies and his dementia blog, he’s a lived-experience consultant, committee member and volunteer with Alzheimer’s Society.
Since his diagnosis with dementia five years ago, at the age of 65, he’s noticed changes to his short-term memory. For example, “I can still write apps for mobile phones, but I can’t remember where I put my telephone.”
In healthy brains, immune cells called microglia patrol for damage, clearing away debris and harmful proteins. But in the presence of the APOE4 protein—the most important genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease—the same cells cause harmful inflammation and clumps of misfolded proteins, according to a new study by scientists at Gladstone Institutes.
The team created a new research model for studying Alzheimer's that involved transplanting human neurons producing the APOE4 protein into the brains of mice.
When they removed microglia from the brains, they discovered that the APOE4 protein no longer triggered as many deposits of amyloid or tau—two types of misfolded proteins that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease.
"The study underscores the importance of microglia, in concert with APOE4 produced by human neurons, in Alzheimer's," says Gladstone Senior Investigator Yadong Huang, MD, Ph.D., who supervised the new study published in Cell Stem Cell. "Our findings suggest that drugs reducing microglia may eventually be useful in treating the disease."
Slow-Wave Sleep Essential to Staving Off Dementia: Study
Losing even a little bit of slow-wave sleep on a consistent basis could raise your risk of dementia by 27%.
By Adrianna Nine November 8, 2024 https://www.extremetech.com/science/slo ... ntia-study
If you've been looking for a sign to work on your sleep hygiene, this is it. A new study suggests that a particular wave of sleep, called slow-wave sleep, plays an integral role in staving off dementia. Losing even a little bit of slow-wave sleep on a consistent basis could raise your risk of dementia by 27%.
As we sleep, our brains cycle through phases named for the electrical impulses, or "waves," they produce during that time. Gamma waves are the most rapid and are associated with high levels of cognitive activity; delta waves are the slowest and are thought to be behind memory consolidation. This latter "slow-wave sleep" typically comprises up to 20% of a good night's rest—but it won't happen under disruptive conditions, such as sleep apnea, caffeine overconsumption, insomnia, or high stress.
Fitbit data accurately predicts bipolar disorder mood swings
By Paul McClure
November 30, 2024
Researchers have used everyday Fitbit data to train a machine learning algorithm to accurately predict mood episodes associated with bipolar disorder. It opens the door to using a personalized algorithm to drive treatment of the life-impacting condition.
Bipolar disorder’s (BD) characteristic mood episodes – the extreme swings between depression and mania, followed by a period of remission – can have a huge impact on a person’s work, relationships, and health. Treatment of BD is focused on limiting that impact, which requires the prompt identification and treatment of mood episodes.
Leading a new study aimed at finding an accurate way of detecting mood episodes in people with BD, researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) in Boston turned to a now-ubiquitous health-monitoring device, the Fitbit.
“Most people are walking around with personal digital devices like smartphones and smartwatches that capture day-to-day data that could inform psychiatric treatment,” said Jessica Lipschitz, PhD, from BWH’s Department of Psychiatry and the study’s lead author. “Our goal was to use that data to identify when study participants diagnosed with bipolar disorder were experiencing mood episodes.”
'Breakthrough' dementia drug looks to stop disease in its tracks
By Paul McClure
December 04, 2024
Filamon Limited, an Australian biotech company focused on developing next-gen anti-inflammatory drugs, has announced its breakthrough dementia treatment. ALPHA-003 is designed to preserve the integrity of vital brain cell structures and protect them against destruction caused by brain inflammation.
In healthy neurons, the tau protein stabilizes microtubules, crucial tube-like structures that, together with neurofilaments, maintain the neurons’ shape and provide mechanical support. However, when it’s modified, tau can form toxic aggregates – tangles that degrade these key structures. This is seen in a group of diseases called tauopathies, such as dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
Existing dementia treatments focus on reducing the consequences of this structural damage but have enjoyed only moderate success. Now, an Australian biotech company, Filamon Limited, has announced its breakthrough treatment, ALPHA-003, which is aimed at halting the progression of dementia by preventing microtubular destruction.
Globally, approximately 139 million people are expected to have Alzheimer's disease (AD) by 2050. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important tool for identifying changes in brain structure that precede cognitive decline and progression with disease; however, its cost limits widespread use.
A new study by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a founding member of the Mass General Brigham health care system, demonstrates that a simplified, low magnetic field (LF) MRI machine, augmented with machine learning tools, matches conventional MRI in measuring brain characteristics relevant to AD. Findings, published in Nature Communications, highlight the potential of the LF-MRI to help evaluate those with cognitive symptoms.
"To tackle the growing, global health challenge of dementia and cognitive impairment in the aging population, we're going to need simple, bedside tools that can help determine patients' underlying causes of cognitive impairment and inform treatment," said senior author W. Taylor Kimberly, MD, Ph.D., chief of the Division of Neurocritical Care in the Department of Neurology at MGH.
"To do this, we brought a research team together to design a patient-centered approach to brain imaging to improve access and convenience, reduce costs, and streamline cognitive evaluations."
Bionomics Limited is reporting that their experimental drug BNC210, a novel α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor modulator, significantly reduced symptom severity in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
PTSD is a debilitating and widespread psychiatric condition affecting individuals who have experienced traumatic events. Current therapeutic options are often inadequate, leaving a significant unmet need for more effective treatments. BNC210 was developed to modulate α7 nicotinic receptors, a pathway implicated in PTSD pathology, and represents a novel approach to addressing this condition.
In the article, "BNC210, an α7 Nicotinic Receptor Modulator, in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," published in NEJM Evidence, details of the Phase IIb ATTUNE trial demonstrated measurable improvements in PTSD symptoms after 12 weeks of treatment.
Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, Boston University School of Medicine and the Framingham Heart Study have found that higher scores on the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) are associated with an increased incidence of all-cause dementia and Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia.
Dementia is projected to reach 152 million cases by 2050, according to the World Health Organization, placing an increasing strain on caregivers and health care systems. While advancements in drug therapies have improved care and targeted disease mechanisms, preventive measures remain elusive.
Scientists have uncovered a powerful ally in the fight against neurodegenerative diseases: a nucleolar complex that plays a pivotal role in maintaining cellular health through protein homeostasis (proteostasis), by which cells maintain the balance and proper functioning of their proteins.
By suppressing this complex, researchers have shown it's possible to dramatically reduce the toxic effects of Alzheimer's-causing proteins, boosting the cell's natural defenses through enhanced degradation of hazardous proteins.
This mechanism regulates proteostasis across tissues by modulating TGF-β signaling, a pathway involved in cell growth, differentiation, and tissue homeostasis. This breakthrough opens exciting new possibilities for the development of new therapies that could slow or even prevent diseases like Alzheimer's, offering hope for a future of healthy aging.
As we age, the intricate balance of protein homeostasis (proteostasis)—the system responsible for maintaining cellular health by ensuring proteins are correctly folded— begins to falter. This decline leads to the accumulation of toxic protein aggregates, a hallmark and an underlying cause of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
A study from the Keck School of Medicine of USC has tested a biomarker linked to vascular dementia across four separate groups and proposed an explanation for how cognitive impairment arises. The findings are published in Alzheimer's & Dementia.
Vascular dementia is the second most common form of dementia following Alzheimer's disease. It has similar symptoms, including problems with memory, decision-making and language, and represents a significant public health problem as the global population continues to age.
The condition is usually caused by cerebral small vessel disease (cSVD), which damages the brain's small blood vessels—but researchers don't yet know the exact mechanism linking cSVD to dementia. One theory involves problems with the glymphatic system, which helps clear waste from the brain.
Scientists Discover Common Virus Could Be Causing a Type of Alzheimer's by Jess Cockerill
January 6, 2025
Introduction:
(Science Alert) Researchers have discovered a link between a chronic gut infection caused by a common virus and the development of Alzheimer's disease in some people.
Most people encounter cytomegalovirus (CMV) during childhood, and after the initial infection the virus remains in the body for life, usually dormant.
By the age of 80, 9 out of 10 people will have CMV's telltale antibodies in their blood. A type of herpesvirus, the pathogen spreads via body fluids (such as breast milk, saliva, blood, and semen) but only when the virus is active.
In one unlucky group, the study showed, the virus may have found a biological loophole where it can remain active long enough to hitch a ride up the gut-brain axis 'superhighway', known more officially as the vagus nerve.
On arriving at the brain, the active virus has the potential to aggravate the immune system and contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research has partnered with Grifols, a global healthcare company, to identify biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease well in advance of symptoms appearing. The initiative could lead to new diagnostic tools and ways of slowing or stopping the condition’s progression.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world, affecting around 10 million people globally. While therapies such as medications, surgery and rehabilitation can reduce the symptoms of the condition, there is no cure. As with other chronic diseases that worsen over time, the earlier PD is diagnosed, the earlier it can be treated, ideally slowing its progression.
To identify ways of diagnosing PD at the earliest possible opportunity, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) recently announced that it has partnered with Grifols, awarding the global healthcare company a US$21 million grant to identify biomarkers that could indicate the presence of the disease well before symptoms appear.
A new one-minute video game is able to accurately and efficiently identify children with autism from those who have ADHD or are neurotypical.
Developed by researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute and Nottingham Trent University, the tool, called the Computerized Assessment of Motor Imitation (CAMI), uses motion-tracking technology to detect differences in motor imitation skills. The research is published in The British Journal of Psychiatry.
In the study, 183 children, ages 7–13, were asked to copy the dance-like movements of a video avatar for one minute, while their imitation performance was measured using CAMI. The video game tool was able to correctly distinguish children with autism vs. neurotypical children with an 80% success rate. CAMI also differentiated autism from ADHD with 70% accuracy. Researchers say that this is a particular challenge because ADHD and autism often co-occur, and it can be hard to identify the diagnoses, even by expert clinicians.
An innovative diagnostic tool distinguishes between kids with autism and ADHD
A low-cost tool accurately distinguishes neurotypical children from children with autism just by watching them copy the dance moves of an on-screen avatar for a minute. It can even tell autism from ADHD, conditions that commonly overlap.
Early diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is key to ensuring that effective interventions are put in place that, ultimately, improve a person’s quality of life. However, because ASD commonly co-exists with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), its diagnosis can be tricky and may be missed or delayed. In addition, testing a child for ASD is time-consuming and expensive.
