dementia news stories on Newser

Inside a Love Gutted by Dementia

Matt Cantor — Sun, 06 May 2012 08:05:36 CDT

A little-known form of dementia can turn sufferers into completely different people, leaving spouses and children struggling to cope with someone who's still there in body but not in mind. Frontotemporal dementia bears some similarities to Alzheimer's—but it can hit patients who are younger and it develops faster. The...

Battle Dementia With Berries

Matt Cantor — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 09:57:05 CDT

There's a tasty new weapon in the struggle to stay sharp as we age: munching lots of strawberries and blueberries may slow the brain's aging by up to 2.5 years, a study of some 16,000 women over age 70 finds. Researchers tracked the women's cognitive function every two...

Dementia Cases to Skyrocket by 2030: WHO

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:04:36 CDT

The number of dementia sufferers will likely skyrocket in the coming decades, according to a new report from the World Health Organization. Today there are 35.6 million people with dementia, and that number is expected to nearly double to 65.7 million by 2030—and more than triple by...

Weak Handshake? You May Be at Higher Risk of Stroke

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 12:20:10 CST

If you're a slow walker or someone with a weak handshake, it may not bode well for your future. A new study finds that those who walk slowly may be more likely to develop dementia later in life, the BBC reports. Researchers looked at brain scans, walking speeds, and grip...

Mental Decline Can Start at 45

John Johnson — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 13:23:05 CST

A comprehensive new study has depressing news for people in their 40s: Memory loss and a general decline in brain function can start much earlier than thought, say about age 45, report Reuters and USA Today . The study of 7,000 office workers in Britain refutes the generally held notion...

Pat Summitt Has Early Dementia

Kevin Spak — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 16:22:19 CDT

Pat Summitt has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s type early onset dementia, she revealed in an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel last night, but she intends to keep her gig as head coach of Tennessee’s Lady Vols. “There’s not going to be any pity party, and I’ll make sure of...

Could Sleep Apnea Cause Dementia?

Mark Russell — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 08:24:05 CDT

Sleep apnea disrupts the sleep of 10% to 20% of middle-aged and older adults—and the damage may not end there. Older women who suffer from the condition are twice as likely to face memory decline and other symptoms of dementia, according to a new study that followed 289 women...

Only Human Brains Shrink

Kevin Spak — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:37:05 CDT

Next time you start to feel mentally superior to a chimp, think again. It turns out that while human brains shrink as they age, chimpanzee brains do not, a new George Washington University study has discovered. The findings upend the conventional wisdom that all primates saw their brains shrink over...

50% of Alzheimer's Cases May Be Preventable

Rob Quinn — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 07:37:19 CDT

At least half of all cases of Alzheimer's disease are linked to common risk factors, and researchers believe the number of cases could be sharply reduced if people took steps to tackle those underlying issues. To reduce the risk, researchers say people need to stay active both mentally and physically,...