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Science News about Alzheimer's Disease

Mental Decline Thwarted in Aging Rats 

Press Release • July 08, 2010
Scientists have discovered a compound that restores the capacity to form new memories in aging rats, likely by improving the survival of newborn neurons in the brain's memory hub. The research, funded in part by the National Institutes of Health, has turned up clues to a neuroprotective mechanism that could lead to a treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

Use of Antipsychotics in Alzheimer’s Patients May Lead to Detrimental Metabolic Changes

Science Update • April 15, 2009
Atypical antipsychotic medications are associated with weight gain and other metabolic changes among patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent analysis of data from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness—Alzheimer’s Disease (CATIE-AD) study. The study was published online ahead of print April 15, 2009, in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Antipsychotic Medications May Ease Some Alzheimer’s Symptoms, Not Others

Science Update • June 23, 2008
Antipsychotic medications may lessen symptoms like hostility and aggression in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, but do not appear to lessen other symptoms or improve quality of life, according to a recent analysis of data from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness Alzheimer’s Disease (CATIE-AD) study.

Cortex Area Thinner in Youth with Alzheimer’s-Related Gene

Press Release • April 24, 2007
A part of the brain first affected by Alzheimer’s disease is thinner in youth with a risk gene for the disorder, a brain imaging study by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has found.

Antipsychotic Medications Used to Treat Alzheimer’s Patients Found Lacking

Press Release • October 11, 2006
Commonly prescribed antipsychotic medications used to treat Alzheimer’s patients with delusions, aggression, hallucinations, and other similar symptoms can benefit some patients, but they appear to be no more effective than a placebo when adverse side effects are considered, according to the first phase of a large-scale clinical trial funded by NIMH.

More Science News about Alzheimer's Disease

Director’s Updates about Alzheimer's Disease

NIMH Perspective on Treating Alzheimer’s Patients with Antipsychotic Medications

October 12, 2006

The recent publication of phase 1 results from the NIMH-funded Clinical Antipsychotic Trials in Intervention Effectiveness for Alzheimer's disease (CATIE-AD) in the New England Journal of Medicine provides new information about the use of several "atypical" antipsychotic medications for the treatment of psychotic symptoms in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

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