Study finds those tending Alzheimer's relatives at risk for hospital visits of their own. The stress of providing care for a loved one with Alzheimer's results in 25 percent of family caregivers having at least one emergency room or hospital visit every six months, says an Indiana University study.

A promising approach in mice disappoints in human trial. A compound that boosts growth hormone levels in Alzheimer's patients may not slow the disease, new research suggests.

Taking the herb long-term didn't prevent or curb dementia, researchers say. Although commonly taken to improve memory, new research suggests that the herb ginkgo biloba won't help prevent dementia, including Alzheimer's disease.

Autopsies of quick-witted elderly hint at how they stayed that way.  Differences in the brains of elderly people may help explain why some develop dementia while others are among the "super aged" -- people who maintain sharp mental focus and ability well into old age.

Study sees less damage from brain plaques in those with more education. A study using an advanced brain scanning technology supports the growing body of evidence that education levels and some form of intellectual activity decrease the impact of Alzheimer's disease.

Suggestions to help you and a person with Alzheimer's cope with extra stress Holidays are a time of happiness but they can also be quite stressful, especially for caregivers and their charges with Alzheimer's disease.

Treatment cured memory problems in mice, researchers found. Researchers report that huge doses of an ordinary vitamin appeared to eliminate memory problems in mice with the rodent equivalent of Alzheimer's disease.

They're more than twice as likely to die sooner, study finds. Having diabetes or high blood pressure may hasten the death of people with Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.

Finding may help evaluate infants, as well as psychiatric, movement disorders. The mind functions essentially the same when asleep as when awake, a new study shows.

Valproic acid blocked formation of brain plaques in mice, Canadian study finds. A drug used to treat epilepsy and bipolar disorder may help prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease, according to Canadian researchers, who found that valproic acid (VPA) blocked the formation of Alzheimer's-related brain plaques in mice.

These DNA may influence age of disease onset and nerve cell death. Four newly identified genes may be linked to the most common form of late-onset Alzheimer's disease, U.S. researchers report.

Cognitive reserve compensates for brain damage, study says. Having a higher level of education and a mentally demanding job may help protect against the memory loss that precedes Alzheimer's disease, according to an Italian study.

Underlying depression and less cognitive flexibility could be warning signs, study says. Two simple tests may predict which older patients have underlying depression or less cognitive flexibility, leaving them vulnerable to post-surgery delirium, a new study suggests.

But each discovery awaits testing in humans, experts note. New discoveries in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also called Lou Gehrig's disease, and Alzheimer's disease could bring new hope to patients, scientists say.

Review of studies shows workouts that leave a person breathless boost brain tissue volume. Regular exercise can reverse age-related brain decline, according to a U.S. cognitive neuroscientist.

Reducing homocysteine levels doesn't slow cognitive decline, study finds. Vitamin B supplements don't slow cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, a new study finds.

Hamsters deprived of body's sleep-wake system 'can't remember anything,' study says. Your body clock may do more than help guide your daily sleep/wake cycle -- it may also play a vital role in learning and memory, say Stanford University researchers.

The take-home message is that, if you drink a lot, you're going to hurt your brain," said Rajesh Miranda, an associate professor of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. "This is something we knew, but this is a huge study that quantifies that."

Study found their levels were lower than Alzheimer's patients, healthy controls. Parkinson's disease patients are more likely than healthy people or Alzheimer's patients to have vitamin D deficiency, say researchers from the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta.

It's unclear whether this is linked to dementia, scientists say. Occasionally forget an appointment or a friend's name? Then you may have a loss of brain volume, a new study suggests.

Home, family, club activities appear to enhance creation of new brain cells, study finds. Cognitive and social activity in midlife may significantly reduce men's risk of dementia, says a U.S. study that followed 147 male twin pairs for 28 years.

Finding could help develop new drugs to treat Alzheimer's, Parkinson's diseases. Duke University Medical Center scientists say they have found compounds that prevented brain injury and greatly improved survival in fruit flies with a Huntington's-like disease.

Levels of amyloid beta peptide increase before, decrease after disease presents, study says. A simple blood test to identify people at risk for Alzheimer's disease may be close at hand, according to researchers at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

Acts against destructive free radicals, researchers say. A newly developed molecule holds the promise of reducing the damage done by heart attacks and a number of diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, researchers report.

Bryostatin may also work in patients with Alzheimer's and traumatic injury, study says. A little-used cancer drug called bryostatin can repair brain tissue if it's administered within 24 hours after a stroke, according to U.S. researchers.

And patients with dementia face a more than 3-fold danger, study finds. All antipsychotic drugs can increase the risk of stroke, but the risk is greatest among older patients with dementia, British researchers report.

Recovery from brain injury, not injury itself, associated with increased plaque. A group of researchers has described hourly changes in a protein in the brain that is thought to play a key role in Alzheimer's disease.

Findings hint of new treatments to prevent their formation, MIT study says. A new method of identifying protein structures related to Alzheimer's disease has been developed by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Study authors stress new method is a complement to current testing.  Yearly changes in a person's performance on cognitive testing may be associated with dementia, new research suggests.

Research suggests that exercise can benefit the brain as well as the body. Memory loss and confusion often provide the first clues to the onset of dementia. But recent research suggests that physical -- not mental -- impairment may be an earlier harbinger of trouble.

Waning of strength, agility tied to brain damage, even in the absence of dementia. Physical frailty among the elderly may be linked to early Alzheimer's disease, regardless of whether or not patients develop dementia, new research reveals.

Injectable marker spots deposits, could be used to assess drugs in clinical trials. PET scans may provide doctors with a non-invasive method of detecting Alzheimer's disease-related brain plaques, Finnish researchers say.

But experts aren't ready to embrace the findings as fact. A new study suggests an association between low levels of "good" HDL cholesterol and loss of memory.

Slowed cognitive decline in patients without ApoE4 gene, trial shows. Long-anticipated results from a trial on an experimental Alzheimer's therapy look promising, at least in a certain group of patients.

Study in older women found friends, family helped minds stay sharp. The key to a healthy mind in old age may lie in an active social life, a new study suggests.

Some progress to dementia, while others regain their skills, researchers find. More than one-fifth of Americans over age 70 have some memory impairment that isn't classified as dementia, a new study finds.

Those rich in omega-3 fatty acids can reduce risk by 26%, study finds. Fish may be brain food after all -- not making you smarter, as your grandmother said, but by lowering the risk of cognitive decline and stroke as you get older, according to a new study.

If you are single and in your 40s, it might be a healthy idea to get hitched. A new Scandinavian study found unmarried middle-aged people are more likely to develop cognitive impairment than their partnered counterparts.

 New reports on very different approaches to treating Alzheimer's disease could one day lead to better therapies for the mind-robbing condition, experts say. A trio of studies that were presented Wednesday at the Alzheimer's Association 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease.

People whose mothers have had Alzheimer's disease may be predisposed to the mind-robbing condition, a new study finds. The link may be a dysfunction in how the brain handles sugar.

The gene most often associated with Alzheimer's disease doesn't provide a complete picture of overall risk, according to researchers who analyzed family histories of the disease.

A drug that aims to reduce the clogging "tangles" in the brain cells of people with Alzheimer's disease appears promising in early trials, researchers report. Further studies are necessary to confirm whether the medication is as effective at slowing Alzheimer's as it seems.

Scientists may be succeeding in the hunt for biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. A biomarker -- something that can be measured and that gives an indication of what's going on inside the body -- will help in early detection.

High or low levels of the hormone thyrotropin may be associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease in women. Thyrotropin affects thyroid gland function and thyroid hormone levels. No association between thyrotropin levels and Alzheimer's risk was noted in men.

Older people who were taking cholesterol-busting statin medications saw their risk for dementia fall by half, a new study found. The finding appears to be more evidence that statins -- which include drugs such as Crestor, Lipitor, Pravachol and Zocor -- can help maintain brain health.

More men, women may develop Alzheimer's than previously thought, researchers say. The growth in the number of cases of mild cognitive impairment in the elderly population is outstripping earlier predictions, Mayo Clinic researchers report.

It may be harder to prove the effectiveness of new Alzheimer's disease therapies, because researchers have been having a hard time finding measurable decline in memory and thinking processes in the placebo groups the drugs are being tested against, according to two new reports.

Rates of dementia in developing countries have been greatly underestimated, according to researchers who used a specially-developed method of calculating dementia prevalence. Previous studies have suggested that rates of dementia in developing countries are much lower than in high-income countries.

Alzheimer's patients may often become upset and even act out when nurses or other caregivers use "baby talk" to converse with them, a new study shows. Researchers who taped the interactions of nursing home staff and people with moderate Alzheimer's found that the residents often became more agitated and resistant to care if they were addressed as infants

The use of blood pressure drugs called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) is associated with lower incidence and slower progression of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the Boston University School of Medicine report.

Scientists are reporting that they have captured images of brain lesions in rabbits similar to those found in people with Alzheimer's disease using conventional MRIs. Amyloid plaques, which accumulate in the brain and are a hallmark of Alzheimer's.

Physical fitness can help the mind, body and quality of life of people with early Alzheimer's disease and dementia, according to new research. "These studies reinforce the need for increased awareness and education about the importance of living a brain-healthy lifestyle"

The health benefits of an animal's companionship can be significant, experts say. When the elderly woman first arrived at Brooke Grove Retirement Village in Sandy Spring, Md., some of the staffers were skeptical when they saw she had brought her cat along.

Genetically engineered rodents will help in study of loss of smell, researcher says. Mice genetically engineered to have inflamed nasal passages may help researchers learn more about loss of smell due to chronic sinusitis.

Inability to filter out background noise may be indicator of mild impairment, study says. Mild memory impairment may be associated with a sound processing disorder called central auditory processing dysfunction, say U.S. researchers.

Once-promising vaccine fails to ease symptoms, but old drug offers new hope. In one of two studies in the July 19 issue of The Lancet, an older drug called dimebon significantly improved Alzheimer's symptoms. But in a second report, a once-promising vaccine failed to prevent the progression of Alzheimer's

Men and women with early-stage Alzheimer's disease who were more physically fit also had larger brains compared to their counterparts in less stellar shape. The findings, though preliminary, may indicate that staying physically fit could slow the brain atrophy.

But far more women live to be that old, study authors note. Not as many men as women make it to their 90s or beyond, but those who do have an advantage over their female counterparts: Researchers found that males aged 90 and older are more likely to avoid dementia than women of similar age.

As a caregiver of someone with Alzheimer's, administering their medication -- and preventing missed pills or the wrong dosages -- can be a daunting responsibility. The Alzheimer's Association offers these suggestions.

Questionnaire for those close to patient pinpointed who was likely to progress to dementia.  A new questionnaire may help in both diagnosing older adults facing dementia and also in identifying individuals who need help with daily living.