Background: The pathological changes in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative disorders begin decades prior to their clinical expression. However, the clinical diagnosis of neurodegenerative dementias is not straightforward. Lactoferrin is an iron-binding, antimicrobial glycoprotein with a plethora of functions, including acting as an important immune modulator and by having a bacteriocidic effect. Two previous studies indicated that salivary lactoferrin could differentiate between neurodegenerative dementias.
Background and Purpose: Altered cholesterol metabolism is associated with increased risk of neurodegeneration and in particular with the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we investigate whether non-cholesterol sterols and oxysterols in the central nervous system are associated with (i) the presence of cerebral AD pathology, (ii) distinct aspects of AD pathology, i.e. amyloid pathology, neuronal injury, and tau pathology, and (iii) cognitive decline over time.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is associated with cognitive deficits and behavioral disorders such as anxiety and depression. Recent clinical and experimental studies have demonstrated that swimming exercise could be a potential therapy for cognitive and behavioral disorders. The prevalence of anxiety and depression is increasing among patients with AD; hence, further studies are needed to develop therapies for these behavioral abnormalities.
Objectives: The mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) may involve oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. Ceruloplasmin (Cp) is a circulating protein that intersects both these pathways, since its expression is increased during the acute phase response, and the protein acts to lower pro-oxidant iron in cells. Since the role of Cp in AD, and its potential for use as a biomarker is not established, we investigated CSF Cp and its association with longitudinal outcome measures related to AD.
The aggregation of fibrils of hyperphosphorylated and C-terminally truncated microtubule-associated tau protein characterizes 80% of all dementia disorders, the most common neurodegenerative disorders. These so-called tauopathies are hitherto not curable and their diagnosis, especially at early disease stages, has traditionally proven difficult. A keystone in the diagnosis of tauopathies was the development of methods to assess levels of tau protein in vivo in cerebrospinal fluid, which has significantly improved our knowledge about these conditions.
Background: Memory for music has attracted much recent interest in Alzheimer's disease but the underlying brain mechanisms have not been defined in patients directly. Here we addressed this issue in an Alzheimer's disease cohort using activation fMRI of two core musical memory systems. Methods: We studied 34 patients with younger onset Alzheimer's disease led either by episodic memory decline (typical Alzheimer's disease)or by visuospatial impairment (posterior cortical atrophy)in relation to 19 age-matched healthy individuals.
