Is it Alzheimer's disease or another dementia? Marker may give more accurate diagnosis

ScienceDaily (Nov. 30, 2011) — New research finds a marker used to detect plaque in the brain may help doctors make a more accurate diagnosis between two common types of dementia -- Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). The study is published in the November 30, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology."These two types of dementia share similar symptoms, so telling the two apart while a person is living is a real challenge,...

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Yeast model connects Alzheimer's disease risk and amyloid beta toxicity

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2011) — In a development that sheds new light on the pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD), a team of Whitehead Institute scientists has identified connections between genetic risk factors for the disease and the effects of a peptide toxic to nerve cells in the brains of AD patients.The scientists, working in and in collaboration with the lab of Whitehead Member Susan Lindquist, established these previously unknown links in an unexpected way. They used a very simple cell...

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Step toward unraveling Alzheimer's disease

ScienceDaily (Oct. 27, 2011) — Scientists outline new methods for better understanding links between specific proteins and the risks associated with Alzheimer's disease in an article co-authored by University of Alabama researchers and publishing in Science Express.In experiments using a series of model organisms, including yeast, microscopic roundworms and rats, the researchers show how basic mechanisms inside cells are disrupted when a specific human protein, known as the amyloid beta peptide,...

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