Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia News

Amyloid positron emission tomography, or PET, changed the clinical management in most patients with mild cognitive impairment and most patients with dementia of uncertain cause after 90 days, according to findings published in JAMA.

Endocrine events that signal less estradiol exposure — such as shorter reproductive span, younger age at menopause and hysterectomy — appeared to increase dementia risk, study results published in Neurology showed.

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The data behind prescribing antipsychotics to treat patients with delirium may not be “as strong as we thought,” according to a speaker at Hospital Medicine 2019.

A large cohort of older women who reported at least one pregnancy performed no differently on a series of cognitive assessments over 28 years than women who had never been pregnant, according to findings published in Menopause.

Recent study results demonstrate that not only were individuals with first-degree relatives who had Alzheimer’s disease at higher risk for developing the disease, but those with affected second- and third-degree relatives were also at increased risk. Therefore, researchers recommend providers consider a broad family history when discussing risk with patients and their families.

Patients aged 75 years and older who underwent treatment for systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher showed less cognitive impairment vs. those with systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or lower, according to findings recently published in Annals of Family Medicine.

Cholinesterase inhibitors, the most frequently used therapeutic agent to treat Alzheimer’s disease, appeared to help patients with primary progressive aphasia, or PPA, who have positive Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers, according to study findings.

When compared with patients with mild cognitive impairment and control subjects, patients with Alzheimer’s disease exhibited significantly reduced macular vessel density, perfusion density and ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer thickness, according to a study.

Undergoing postmenopausal hormone therapy for 10 years or more may increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease, according to findings published in BMJ.

Heart-healthy diets, such as the Mediterranean diet, that are rich in fruits and vegetables, moderate in nuts, fish and alcohol and low in meat and full-fat dairy in early adulthood were linked to better brain function in middle age, according to data published in Neurology.