Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Oct 23, 2018

Sandra Day O'Connor Says She 'Probably' Has Alzheimer's: What Defines Different Dementias?

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor — the first woman appointed to the U.S. high court — announced that she had been diagnosed with dementia. Some time ago, doctors diagnosed me with the beginning stages of dementia, probably Alzheimer's disease, O'Conner wrote in a public letter dated today...

Jan 29, 2019

What Causes Alzheimer's? We Don't Really Know Yet

Last week, headlines reverberated across the internet with seemingly groundbreaking news: Scientists had found a cause — and with it, a possible cure — of Alzheimer's disease. The culprit, the reports said, was the bacterium that causes gum disease. But have scientists really solved one of the 21st century's biggest...

Apr 30, 2019

A Newly Recognized Brain Disorder Can Mimic Alzheimer's. Here's How It's Different.

Researchers are officially defining a new brain disorder that mimics Alzheimer's disease, giving the condition a name and diagnostic criteria, according to a new report. The disorder will be known as LATE, which stands for limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, the report said. LATE has only recently been recognized as a...

Aug 15, 2019

Alzheimer's Directly Kills Brain Cells That Keep You Awake

Alzheimer's disease might be attacking the brain cells responsible for keeping people awake, resulting in daytime napping, according to a new study. Excessive daytime napping might thus be considered an early symptom of Alzheimer's disease, according to a statement from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Some previous studies...

Jan 20, 2023

New Alzheimer's drug slightly slows cognitive decline. Experts say it's not a silver bullet.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the second-ever drug in a new class of medications designed to treat Alzheimer's disease. The drug — lecanemab (brand name Leqembi) — underwent accelerated approval, which differs from the FDA's standard approval process where drugmakers have to provide direct evidence of...

Jan 31, 2023

Similar brain 'thinning' seen in older adults with obesity and people with Alzheimer's

The brains of older adults with obesity show patterns of gray matter loss that are strikingly similar to those seen in people with early Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests. These patterns overlap in the location of the tissue loss but not in the severity; in other words, Alzheimer's patients...

Feb 16, 2023

Alzheimer's disease: Brain changes, symptoms and treatment

Alzheimer's disease is a progressive brain disorder and a form of dementia that impacts memory, thinking and behavior. As symptoms grow more severe, the disease can seriously affect a person's ability to perform tasks that would otherwise be deemed routine. There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's, but there are...

Feb 16, 2023

Bruce Willis diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia: What to know about the disorder

Blockbuster action movie star Bruce Willis stepped away from acting in spring 2022 after being diagnosed with aphasia, a neurological disorder that impacts the ability to produce and understand words. Now, Willis' condition has progressed and he's received a new diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, his family announced Thursday (Feb. 16)....

Feb 21, 2023

Brain training probably won't reduce Alzheimer's risk — here's why

Alzheimer's disease and related dementias affect an estimated 5.8 million people in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). By 2060, this figure is predicted to rise to 14 million. Last month, the charity Alzheimer's Research UK launched an online brain check tool that...

Feb 7, 2006

New Noninvasive Imager Detects Deadly Melanoma Early

Researchers have developed a non-invasive technique for early detection of skin cancer. The procedure uses different colors of light and assorted alignments of the electric field of each light segment to create unique images that can identify suspect skin growths called nevi. We are able to generate processed images that...

May 13, 2006

Exercise Linked to Reduced Skin Cancer Risk

Exercise has many benefits, but you might not have thought it could help protect against skin cancer. In mice, however, that is the case. In a new study, two groups of mice were exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) light, which is known to cause skin cancer. The group that had...

May 16, 2011

Indoor Tanners Use Beds Despite Boosting Skin Cancer Risk

Many teens and young adults who tan indoors do so despite knowing the health risks of the practice, according to a new survey. The results show 86 percent of Caucasian women aged 14 to 22 who tan indoors say they used tanning beds within the last year even though they...

Jun 7, 2011

Parkinson's Disease, Melanoma Linked

Men with Parkinson's disease are twice as likely as those without it to be diagnosed with melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, a new report suggests. And women with Parkinson's were one-and-a-half times as likely to be diagnosed with the cancer as women without it. The link between...

Jul 19, 2011

HPV Infection Boosts Risk of Skin Cancers, Study Finds

The human papillomavirus spurs the development of nonmelanoma skin cancers, a new study in mice shows. It was previously suspected that the virus, also known as HPV, was involved in the occurrence of these skin cancers, but it was not clear whether it had a direct role, the researchers said....

Jan 20, 2012

Deadliest Skin Cancer Hides in Plain Sight, Study Says

More people survive melanoma now than in generations past, but the death rate of one type of melanoma has not budged for the past 30 years, a new study shows. Nodular melanoma consistently accounts for 14 percent of diagnosed melanomas, but makes up 37 percent of ultimately fatal cases, according...