BrainBlog

From today's Pittsburgh Post-Gazette : A Life Hijacked: Alzheimer's takes bigger toll on former pilot November 25, 2012 12:08 am By Gary Rotstein / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette <a href=" http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/neighborhoods-north/a-life-hijacked-alzheimers-takes-bigger-toll-on-former-pilot-663524/?print=1 ">Read the article</a>

Read the article

A talk by Tim Andrews and a look at "Over The Hill: A Photographic Journey" See website for information: Ethics in Performance

An excellent episode of his brain series: http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/12408

Video from The Guardian

Oliver Sacks, Exploring How Hallucinations Happen: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/10/164817448/fresh-air-weekend-oliver-sacks-and-oddly-normal?ft=1&f=13

From Wired Science : http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/brain-music/

A press release from the NIH, from 15 November 2012: http://www.nih.gov/news/health/nov2012/nidcd-15.htm

The CBC show, "The Sunday Edition," has an excellent feature 0n 18 November 2012 called "Redefining Dementia in Denmark." It can be heard at the link below and via their podcast. The Sunday Edition

From the New Statesman Your brain on pseudoscience: the rise of popular neurobollocks By Steven Poole New Statesman 06 September 2012 "The “neuroscience” shelves in bookshops are groaning. But are the works of authors such as Malcolm Gladwell and Jonah Lehrer just self-help books dressed up in a lab coat?" Read the article

Effects of Delirium Are Found to Linger By PAULA SPAN nytimes.com 29 August 2012 Read the full article

Raising the Ritalin Generation The New York Times By BRONWEN HRUSKA 18 August 2012 Read the full article

Peter Donovick ’61 Uncovers the Mysteries of the Brain By Tiffany Bentley Lafayette (lafayette.edu) 09 August 2012 Read the article

Hippocampal neuron loss is correlated with cognitive deficits in SAMP8 mice. Neurol Sci. 2012 Aug 8; Authors: Li G, Cheng H, Zhang X, Shang X, Xie H, Zhang X, Yu J, Han J Abstract The objective of this study is to examine whether neuron loss occurs in SAMP8 and whether neuron loss is correlated with cognitive deficits of these mice. Neuronal loss is considered as one of the most important pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD). In addition to the early-onset, irreversible, severe deficits of learning and memory, SAMP8 mice show spontaneous age-related neurodegenerative changes and other characteristics seen in AD patients, such as amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. However, it is still unknown whether neuron loss occurs in SAMP8 and whether neuron loss is correlated with cognitive deficits of these mice. We employed 8-month-old SAMP8 and SAMR1 mice to investigate the cognitive function and neuron numbers. The behaviors were examined by the grading score of sene...

Trials for Alzheimer’s Drug Halted After Poor Results By KATIE THOMAS The New York Times 06 August 2012 Read full article --- Corporate Press Release: Read the release Commentary from the In The Pipeline blog: In The Pipeline Commentary from Pharmalot : Pharmalot

Critical reading for those interested in Alzheimer's clinical trials: first results from the BAP Phase III program. The link includes additional links to a New York Times article and a company press release. From FierceBiotech : UPDATED: Pfizer, J&J Alzheimer's drug bapineuzumab flunks out in big PhIII July 23, 2012 By John Carroll Read the full article Examine media reports this week for these results and accompanying analysis and commentary. Those who have been following this clinical-trial program should examine the corporate press release for additional details about the other three Phase III trials in this program (which were not part of today's results).

Does pharmacological treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Alzheimer's disease relieve caregiver burden? Drugs Aging . 2012 Mar 1; 29 (3):167-179 Levy K, Lanctôt KL, Farber SB, Li A, Herrmann N Abstract Caregiving for patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with negative outcomes for the caregiver such as depression, anxiety, medical illness, poorer general health and mortality, which further translate into adverse outcomes for the patient. The burden experienced by caregivers of AD patients, both professional and informal, has been found to be positively related to the presence and severity of the patients' neuropsychiatric symptoms, also referred to as the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). As such, management of BPSD may help in alleviating caregiver burden. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current literature on the effects of pharmacological interventions for BPSD on the burden of AD patient caregivers. A litera...

A report from the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) in Vancouver: Alzheimer's drug IVIg could halt sufferers' decline Trial involving 16 patients excites scientists by suggesting treatment prevented deterioration of memory and cognitive skills Alexandra Topping and agencies The Guardian Wednesday 18 July 2012 10.21 BST [snip] "A new treatment for Alzheimer's could halt deterioration in people with early symptoms of the disease, a limited human trial has shown. The treatment, called the "most exciting drug in development" by scientists, is currently prescribed to people with immune system problems but could have a significant impact on the quality of life of Alzheimer's sufferers, the trial suggests. "The drug, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), prevented the decline in cognitive skills, memory and the ability to live independently, among patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Alzheimer's. Those who took a...

Lifetime Award goes to memory expert The British Psychological Society 13/07/2012 [snip] "Professor Alan Baddeley FRS CBE from the University of York has received this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award from the [British Psychoogical] Society’s Research Board." [snip] Read article

Here is a link to the official AAIC Overview document: www.alz.org/aaic/downloads/aaic12_overview.pdf Here is the current schedule of press briefings (Pacific Time) for the conference, as cited on the conference website: Sunday, July 15 7:30 a.m. Gait disturbances and Alzheimer's disease risk/early detection Monday, July 16 7:30 a.m. Irregular sleep patterns affect cognitive function and dementia risk Tuesday, July 17 7:30 a.m. Alzheimer's therapies update Wednesday, July 18 7:30 a.m. AAIC 2012 Developing Topics - including several clinical trials If you are not attending the conference, you might anticipate being able to access media reports on these topics along this schedule, in addition to overall media coverage of the event.