Basal forebrain atrophy is a presymptomatic marker for Alzheimer's disease. (Alzheimers Dement. 2008) “CONCLUSIONS: Atrophy in the basal forebrain precedes the development of AD in subjects with cognition judged to be normal by neuropsychological testing. The time required to develop dementia appears to be shortened if hippocampal atrophy is also present. These data indicate that atrophy restricted to medial basal forebrain is a biomarker that predicts development of probable AD in asymptomatic elderly subjects.”

Higher Cutoff Point on Dementia Screening Test Recommended for Educated Patients

Impact of white matter hyperintensity volume progression on rate of cognitive and motor decline (NEUROLOGY 2008) “Conclusion: Increased total and periventricular (PV) white matter hyperintensity (WMH) burden and progression of PV WMH burden are associated with decreased gait performance over time, while progression of subcortical WMH volume is associated with memory decline in cognitively intact elderly. Greater progression of WMH burden is associated with an increased risk of memory and gait dysfunction, and thus should not be considered a benign process.”

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Frontotemporal Dementia Shows Subcortical Atrophy. (Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2008) “Conclusion: Subcortical gray matter atrophy may contribute as significantly to symptoms of FTD as cortical atrophy.”

MRI Assessment of Hippocampal Volume Can Identify Alzheimer's Patients “Automated volumetry of the hippocampus based on magnetic resonance imaging can discriminate between Alzheimer's disease (AD), mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and normal aging, French researchers report in the July issue of Radiology. … Hippocampal volume was 32% smaller in AD patients and 19% smaller in MCI patients compared with controls. Hippocampal volume was 15% smaller in AD patients compared with those with amnestic MCI.”

Alzheimer and frontotemporal pathology in subsets of primary progressive aphasia (Annals of Neurology 2008)

Low HDL Cholesterol Is a Risk Factor for Deficit and Decline in Memory in Midlife. The Whitehall II Study. (Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2008)

Prevalence of dementia after age 90. Results from The 90+ Study (Neurology 2008) “Conclusions: In a very large sample of participants aged 90 and older, prevalence of all-cause dementia doubled every 5 years for women but not men.”

Study Suggests Early-Stage Alzheimer's Patients Who Were More Fit Had Less Brain Atrophy“Exercise and physical fitness have been shown to slow age-related brain cell death in healthy older adults.”

Total Daily Activity is Associated With Cognition in Older Persons (Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 2008) “Conclusions: Objective measures of total daily physical activity were associated with a broad range of cognitive abilities in older persons. These findings support the link between physical activity and cognition in the elderly.”

Blood pressure 'link to dementia' “Two studies support a link between high blood pressure and dementia risk - with one by an Imperial College London team suggesting treatment could cut this. This study, by published in the Lancet Neurology journal, found blood pressure drugs reduce dementia by 13%. The Alzheimer's Society said better control could save 15,000 lives a year.“

Inflammation and Alzheimer's disease: possible role of periodontal diseases. (Alzheimers Dement. 2008) “Recently, chronic periodontitis has been associated with several systemic diseases including AD. In this article we review the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis and the role of inflammation in AD. In addition, we propose several potential mechanisms through which chronic periodontitis can possibly contribute to the clinical onset and progression of AD. Because chronic periodontitis is a treatable infection, it might be a readily modifiable risk factor for AD.”

Moms With Alzheimer's May Pass on Risk to Kids “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 -- something that's probably genetic and starts years before symptoms of Alzheimer's appear, researchers say. "Overall, these findings show that their brains are not working properly to start with, and the metabolic impairment gets worse over time," explained lead researcher Lisa Mosconi, a research assistant professor of psychiatry at the Center for Brain Health at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. There is evidence that having a parent affected with Alzheimer's disease increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease four- to tenfold, Mosconi said. "However, we don't know why or how this happens. Our study shows for the first time that individuals with an Alzheimer's disease [-affected] mother may be at increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease themselves because their brains are not utilizing glucose in an effective way," she said.”

Risk Factors for Alzheimer Dementia in a Community-Based Birth Cohort at the Age of 75 Years (Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2008) Results: In multivariate analysis an elevated risk for late-onset AD could be found for (1) history of depressive episodes (OR = 2.09; 95% CI = 1.25-3.48); (2) the 4 allele of the APOE gene (OR = 1.86; 95% CI = 1.08-3.23); (3) lower serum level of folate (OR = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.87-0.98); (4) no chronic use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (OR = 0.40; 95% CI = 0.20-0.81), and (5) lower education (OR = 1.43; 95% CI = 1.03-2.00). Conclusions: Five risk factors for late-onset AD could be confirmed, which might be targets for preventive strategies.”

Smoking history and cognitive function in middle age from the Whitehall II study. (Arch Intern Med. 2008) “CONCLUSIONS: Smoking was associated with greater risk of poor memory. Middle-aged smokers are more likely to be lost to follow-up by death or through nonparticipation in cognitive tests. Ex-smokers had a lower risk of poor cognition, possibly owing to improvement in other health behaviors.”

The Association between APOE Genotype and Memory Dysfunction in Subjects with Mild Cognitive Impairment Is Related to Age and Alzheimer Pathology. (Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2008)

Thyroid Function and the Risk of Alzheimer Disease (Arch Intern Med. 2008) “Conclusion Low and high thyrotropin levels were associated with an increased risk of incident AD in women but not in men. “

Tofu 'may raise risk of dementia' “Lead researcher Professor Eef Hogervorst said previous research had linked oestrogen therapy to a doubling of dementia risk in the over-65s. She said oestrogens - and probably phytoestrogens - tended to promote growth among cells, not necessarily a good thing in the ageing brain. Alternatively, high doses of oestrogens might promote the damage caused to cells by particles known as free radicals. A third theory is that damage is caused not by the tofu, but by formaldehyde, which is sometimes used in Indonesia as a preservative. The researchers admit that more research is required to ascertain whether the same effects are found in other ethnic groups. However, previous research has also linked high tofu consumption to an increased risk of dementia in older Japanese American men. “

Tea consumption and cognitive impairment and decline in older Chinese adults (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2008) “Conclusion: Regular tea consumption was associated with lower risks of cognitive impairment and decline. “