Most couples promise to love each other in sickness and in health when reciting marriage vows. Now, simply saying those words may lead to better health. Numerous studies have extolled the benefits of marriage on overall morbidity and mortality, but a recent study reports that mental health may, in fact, be preserved, in married people.

More than 25 million people worldwide suffer from dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease accounting for most of the cases. With an aging population, the number of dementia cases is expected to exceed 80 million by 2040. Read more →

Many epidemiological and observational studies have reported that the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) reduces the risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the elderly. To date, there have been no clinical trials to support these claims, and there are just as many studies that report conflicting results. In a recent issue of Neurology, study authors reported that heavy NSAID use was actually associated with an increased risk for dementia. Read more →

The clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) at the earliest clinical stages can be difficult. Given the variability in clinical threshold at which there is functional compromise in one’s social and professional life — a necessary component to AD diagnosis — there are several in-organic factors that affect early detection. Health professionals and biomedical scientists are searching for biomarkers, both biochemical or neuroimaging in nature, in order to objectively diagnose AD at various stages and provide invaluable prognostic information to the clinician. Whereas proteomic specialists have identified promising serum and CSF markers involved in AD pathophysiology (e.g. b-secretase, a key enzyme for amlyoid precursor protein cleavage), neuroradiologists have employed magnetic resonance in characterizing structural changes in the brain in vivo. Read more →

When Henrikje van Andel-Schipper turned 115 years old, her mind was sharper than many 60 year olds. Years before, she knew something about her was unique and requested multiple times for her body to be donated to her hometown university in the Netherlands. As a result of her many requests, scientists began testing her cognitive abilities at the age of 112 and discovered she could outperform those who were half her age. They were baffled by this, and post-mortem studies showed that her brain had few signs of Alzeheimer’s disease or any other age-related diseases associated with mental decline. Read more →