Alzheimer’s Disease/Dementia News

Napping benefits cognitive function in older adults, according to findings presented at SLEEP 2018, the Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies.

There are 5.7 million patients currently with Alzheimer’s disease, a number that due to the influx of U.S. residents already in, or about to enter, middle age, could top more than 14 million by the middle of this century, according to the Alzheimer’s Association if a cure to Alzheimer’s is not found.

Experts recommend that research stop excluding sex and gender in the detection, treatment and care of Alzheimer’s disease to improve outcomes for women and men, according to a review published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

This year alone, Alzheimer’s and related dementias will cost the United States more than $250 billion, according to data from Alzheimer’s Association. Experts predict these costs, as well as the occurrence of the disease will go up in the future, due to the influx of U.S. residents already in, or about to enter, middle age.

In adults aged 50 years, systolic BP of at least 130 mm Hg was associated with elevated risk for dementia, according to findings published in the European Heart Journal.

Short and long daily sleep duration, as well as hypnotic use, are risk factors for dementia and death in Japanese older adults, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

An advance care planning video did not impact preferences, do-not-hospitalize directives or burdensome treatments for patients with advanced dementia, according to findings published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

At the Alzheimer's Disease Research Summit 2018, experts presented recommendations for an integrated, multidisciplinary research agenda designed to inform priorities for the treatment and management of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, according to a press release.

Older adults who actively participated in intellectual activities — such as reading, playing card and board games and betting on horse racing — were at lower risk for dementia in later life, according to findings published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Study findings published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia found that most individuals with preclinical disease will not develop Alzheimer’s disease dementia during their lifetimes.