The latest in United States

Educated people cope better with dementia

2010-07-26T04:15:11Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Educated people are better able to cope with the physical effects of dementia, and even one extra year of education can significantly cut the risk of developing the brain-wasting disease, scientists said on Monday. The findings by scientists from Britain and Finland could have important implications ...

Early diagnosis can cut Alzheimer's costs: study

2010-07-14T16:16:38Z

HONOLULU (Reuters) - Identifying dementia early can cut the cost of care by nearly 30 percent, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday, a finding that may reduce the heavy financial burden of the disease on the health care system. They said routine screening that identified patients with early signs of dementia helped cut average healthcare costs by nearly $2,000 per patient in th...

Scientists find clues in search for dementia drugs

2010-05-06T12:17:18Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have identified changes in mouse brains that impair learning, and say the findings mean drugs being developed for some cancers may also help fight age-related diseases like dementia and Alzheimer's. German researchers studying mice at difference ages found that older mice had changes in proteins regulating the genes in their brains -- specifically in a process called histone H4K12 acetylation ...

Common blood-pressure drug also combats dementia

2010-04-16T07:41:44Z

A widely-prescribed drug to tackle high blood pressure and heart disease also appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, according to a large US study published on Wednesday. US military veterans who took angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were between 19 and 24 percent less likely to develop dementia over a four-year period compared wi...

Some blood pressure drugs may cut risk of dementia

2010-04-16T07:41:43Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Medicines commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart disease may cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and dementia, U.S. scientists said on Wednesday. Researchers from Boston found that older people taking a certain type of blood pressure medication known as angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were significantly less likely to develop the b...

FDA warnings cut antipsychotic use 19 pct: study

2010-04-16T07:43:57Z

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Strong warnings about the dangers of giving antipsychotic drugs to patients with dementia have reduced use of the drugs in these patients by a "modest" 19 percent, U.S. researchers said on Monday. Studies have shown that using antipsychotic drugs shortens the lives of elderly patients with dementia. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) said. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh analyzed data in an eight-year randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial called t...

Ginkgo extract doesn't slow cognitive decline

2010-06-11T21:25:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The widely used herbal supplement Ginkgo biloba does not appear to slow the rate of cognitive decline in healthy older people or those with mild cognitive impairment, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday. Their study involved 3,069 people age 72 or older from four U.S. communities who were tracked for an average of six years. Half of them took twi...

Alzheimer's disease linked to hunger hormone: study

2010-06-11T21:25:18Z

A person's risk of contracting Alzheimer's may be linked to levels of the appetite-suppressing hormone leptin, according to a US study published Wednesday which could point the way toward future treatment of the disease. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that scientists in the northeastern state of CHICAGO (Reuters) - People who have higher levels of an appetite-suppressing hormone produced by fat cells may be less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease or dementia than others, U.S. researchers said Tuesday. They said people in a study who had the highest levels of leptin were far less likely to develop Alzheimer's ...

Health issues in middle age can lead to dementia

2010-04-16T09:01:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who smoke or who have high blood pressure or diabetes in middle age are more likely to develop dementia, a new study has found. The good news is that people who take steps to curb these risk factors in their 50s and 60s might have a better shot at avoiding Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia in their 70s and 80s. "People need to know that quitting smoking or controlling high b...

Report: 35 million-plus worldwide have dementia

2010-04-16T10:13:13Z

Report finds Alzheimer's, dementia afflict more than 35 million worldwide and rising rapidly

More than 35 million people around the world are living with Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, says the most in-depth attempt yet to assess the brain-destroying illness — and it's an ominous forecast as the population grays. The new count is about 10 percent higher than what scientists had predicted just a few years ago, because earlier research underestimate...

More than 35 million globally have dementia: report

2010-04-16T10:13:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 35 million people globally will suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia in 2010, and few will get any treatment at all, according to a report released on Monday. The problem is worsening especially fast in low- and middle-income countries, where there are few facilities to diagnose or help dementia patients, Reuters Life!) - Doing crossword puzzles, reading, and playing cards daily may delay the rapid memory decline that occurs if people develop dementia, according to a U.S. study. Researchers from New York's Albert ...

Dementia rates mostly stable in Europe

2010-04-16T11:20:31Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In the last two decades, most gender and age groups in Europe have shown little change in the rate of dementia, according to study findings presented Monday at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have developed a checklist that can accurately predict whether a person over 65 is at high risk of developing Alzheimer's disease within six years. The checklist of risk factors like slowness of mind or movement predicted about half the cases of dementia that developed in a group of e...

Hiring Caregivers For Your Parents

2010-06-26T04:30:38Z

Hiring Caregivers For Your Parents By Annette Gonzalez The day came when my siblings and I felt we had to take our parents' care into our own hands. It is a difficult realization. Our parents who took care of us now needed to be taken care of by strangers. My father had dementia and was mobile. My mother was suffering from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the disease was taking its toll on her mobility. She was completely in denial that she was seriously ill. Her health was declining. She was ...

Dementia in the Elderly

2010-04-16T17:57:17Z

Overall, in a pilot study of a ginkgo biloba extract for delaying the onset of dementia in the elderly, researchers did not find a reduction in progression to dementia in those using ginkgo versus those using placebo. However, when the researchers took into account participants' adherence to taking the compound, the group that took ginkgo did appear to have a reduced risk of progression and a smaller decline in memory. This small study funded by the

US Open Tennis

2010-09-05T20:40:24Z

John Isner, of the United States, reacts after a shot during a match against Mikhail Youzhny, of Russia, at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Sunday, Sept. 5...

Fading Fireflies

2010-09-05T16:50:12Z

In this photo taken on Aug. 28, 2010, Helen Mester sits on her deck visiting with friends in South Bend, Ind. Mester, a retired computer network administrator, has been counting fireflies in her backyard for three years for the Firefly Watch program. Scientists are busy analyzing a summer's worth of observations of the mesmerizing insects colle...

APTOPIX US Open Tennis

2010-09-05T15:40:12Z

Venus Williams of the United States returns the ball to Shahar Peer of Israel at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, Sunday, Sept. 5, 2010. (AP Photo/Kathy Wil...

Tulsa East Carolina Football

2010-09-05T15:20:48Z

East Carolina football coach Ruffin McNeill, center, walks on to the field at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium during his first game as head coach with strength and conditioning coach Mike Golden, left, and other members of his coaching staff ...

APTOPIX Jacksonville St Mississippi Football

2010-09-05T12:20:28Z

Jacksonville State assistant football coaches Greg Stewart, second from right, and Maxwell Thurman celebrate the team's 49-48 double-overtime victory over Mississippi in an