Could 1 in 10 veterans diagnosed with dementia actually have reversible cognitive decline caused by advanced liver disease?
Review Looks at Higher Alzheimer’s Rates Among Blacks in U.S.
Why do Black/African-American (AA) individuals have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) than white non-Hispanic persons of European ancestry (EUR)?
More Flexible Lookback Periods for Dementia Also Useful
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) often are identified using a list of claims codes and a fixed lookback period of three years of data.
Monogalactosyl Diglyceride Levels Rise With Alzheimer’s Progression
While many clinical studies have reported brain lipidomic abnormalities in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that affect glycerophospholipids, sphingolipids and fatty acids, no consensus exists about those abnormalities and whether they relate to disease progression.
Anemia Raises Dementia Risk in Veterans With CKD
What is the role of anemia in risk of dementia in veterans with chronic kidney disease?
Genetic Risk Factors for Alzheimer’s Found for Those of African Ancestry
VA researchers have discovered several new genetic variants associated with Alzheimer’s disease—the most common form of dementia—in people of African ancestry.
With More Than 250,000 Alzheimer’s Patients, VA Is a Market for New Drug
Now that the Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track approval for the new Alzheimer’s disease medication Leqembi, the issue of who will pay for it looms large.
Military Study: Biomarkers Can Identify Risk for TBI-Related Dementia
Several studies have found a link between traumatic brain injury (TBI) and an increased likelihood of late-life dementia. The mechanisms driving the relationship have remained elusive, however.
Model Helps Predict Mortality Prognosis for AD, Dementia Patients
Dementia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and is associated with increased mortality risk.
Glitazones Decrease Risk of Alzheimer’s, Other Dementia in Veterans’ Study
The risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, appeared to be reduced in veterans prescribed an older class of type 2 diabetes drugs, glitazones.
Prescribing of Antipsychotic Medications for Dementia Dropped Overall at
VHA nursing homes are prescribing fewer antipsychotic and anxiolytic (anti-anxiety) medications for dementia patients, but the overall prescribing of other psychotropic and opioid medications increased, according to a new study.
Speech Therapist Finds Way to Make Dining More Dignified at CLCs
For residents of VA’s Community Living Centers, dignity is a precious resource. Patients who are there for short rehab stays may be struggling with new, frustrating limitations.
Older Black, Hispanic Veterans Much More Likely to Get Dementia Diagnosis
The incidence of dementia varies significantly by race and ethnicity among older adults receiving care at VHA medical centers, according to a new study. Why that occurs was not immediately clear, however.
Brain Stimulation Improves Memory in Veterans with Early Alzheimer’s Disease
Transcranial magnetic stimulation, or TMS, is a technique that uses strong magnetic pulses to stimulate regions of the brain, producing electric currents that may affect neuron activity.
Receipt of Multiple Vaccines Lessens Dementia Risk
Are older adults who receive both herpes zoster (HZ) and a tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis (Tdap) vaccine less likely to experience cognitive issues than seniors who receive only one or the other vaccine?
VA Study: TNF Inhibitors Have Potential Long-Term Effect on Dementia Risk
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a global health problem for which there are no disease-modifying therapies.
Housing Insecure Veterans Much More Likely to Have Dementia
Veterans who are at risk of being homeless have significant greater risk of having Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias compared to other veterans.
VA Declines to Add Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug to Formulary
The VA joined several other major players in the health care market in deciding not to add the recently approved—and controversial—Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab (Aduhelm) to its national formulary.
Alzheimer’s, Related Dementias Increase Veterans’ Homelessness Risk
Homelessness is a persistent problem among a subset of U.S. veterans, and neurological and psychiatric conditions often play a role.
Pulse Wave Velocity Helps Assess Alzheimer’s Risk Factor
While arterial stiffening is increasingly considered an important risk factor for Alzheimers disease (AD) and related dementias, the mechanisms behind that have been poorly understood.
Blood Screening Tool Increases Alzheimer’s Trial’s Diversity
Mexican American patients often aren’t participants in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) clinical research, according to a new study that suggests more efficient screening tools could change that.
FDA Grants Accelerated Approval for Controversial Novel Alzheimer’s Medication
Aducanumab, the novel Alzheimer’s drug that recently gained accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration is expected to cost about $56,000 a year.
Untangling the Mystery Behind Blast-Induced Neurological Complications
Explosive blasts account for a majority of the injuries among wounded servicemembers, but some of the most long-term and damaging effects of blast exposure might be slipping by undetected.
With Atrial Fibrillation, More than the Heart Is Aflutter
The most feared consequence of atrial fibrillation has long been ischemic stroke, but the erratic heartbeat doesn’t just raise the risk that a blood clot formed in the heart will lodge in the brain with sudden and frequently fatal results.
Cognitive Disorders Common in Older Temporal Lobe Epilepsy Patients
Cognitive impairment can be a typical comorbidity in epilepsy, appearing in a significant number of older adults with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the most common form of focal epilepsy, according to a new study.
Multiple Factors Interact to Predict Parkinson’s Disease Dementia
The common image of Parkinson’s disease focuses on tremors and unstable movement, but for many patients with the disorder, the possibility of dementia worries them more. The concern is well justified—about 30% of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) suffer from dementia.
Dementia Rates Increased With Serious Mental Illness
Because VHA provides a continuum of care over the life course, the healthcare system has need to better understand what effect bipolar disorder and schizophrenia have on veterans’ risk of dementia.
Study Finding Could Detect Alzheimer’s Disease Earlier
SAN DIEGO — People who were diagnosed as having “objectively-defined subtle cognitive difficulties” appeared to accumulate amyloid more quickly than those deemed cognitively normal, according to a new study. That information could potentially improve early detection...
TBI Might Not Be a Risk Factor for Alzheimer’s Disease
BOSTON—New research is calling into question whether traumatic brain injury is actually a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. A report in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia discussed recent research with neuropathologic or biomarker evidence of Alzheimer’s...
Veterans Treated by VA Often Have Risk Factors for Elder Abuse
The VHA should take a lead role in combatting elder abuse, which affects at least 10% of older adults in the United States, according to a recent medical journal article.