EurekAlert! In the Spotlight - Alzheimer's Awareness Month

In honor of Alzheimer's Awareness Month, we’re exploring the science and stories surrounding Alzheimer’s disease.

Single-dose psychedelic boosts brain flexibility for weeks, peer-reviewed study finds

Researchers at the University of Michigan have demonstrated that a single dose of a psychedelic compound significantly improves cognitive flexibility in mice for at least three weeks after administration. This groundbreaking finding suggests potential therapeutic applications for conditions characterized by cognitive rigidity, including depression, PTSD, and Alzheimer's disease.

Journal: Psychedelics
Funder: NIH/National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse, University of Michigan

21-Apr-2025

UT Health San Antonio-led discovery means IV medication could be taken orally for range of cancer, Alzheimer’s treatments

University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Breakthrough research led by The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio could make any IV drug able to be taken orally for a range of hard-to-treat cancers and other diseases, and redefine how medicines are designed, evaluated and delivered.

Journal: Cell

21-Apr-2025

Engineered microglia show promise for treating Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases

University of California - Irvine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new way to deliver disease-fighting proteins throughout the brain may improve the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, according to University of California, Irvine scientists. By engineering human immune cells called microglia, the researchers have created living cellular “couriers” capable of responding to brain pathology and releasing therapeutic agents exactly where needed.

Journal: Cell Stem Cell

21-Apr-2025

New research lays groundwork for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease

Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study suggests that risk factors and biomarkers related to Alzheimer’s disease are associated with cognition much earlier in life than previously recognized. The study highlights significant associations between cognition and Alzheimer’s disease risk factors as young as ages 24 to 44 and underscores the importance of early prevention. This is the first study to systematically examine Alzheimer’s disease risk factors, including biomarkers related to cognitive impairment in a large group of generally healthy middle-aged individuals in the U.S.

Journal: The Lancet
Funder: NIH/Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

20-Apr-2025

Eye test could predict postoperative delirium in older patients

Shanghai Jiao Tong University Journal Center
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Postoperative delirium is one of the most common complications in the older surgical population, but its pathogenesis and biomarkers are largely undetermined. Retinal layer thickness has been demonstrated to be associated with cognitive function in mild cognitive impairment and patients with Alzheimer’s disease. However, relatively little is known about possible retinal layer thickness among patients with postoperative delirium.

Journal: General Psychiatry

17-Apr-2025

Integrative approach reveals promising candidates for Alzheimer’s disease risk factors or targets for therapeutic intervention

Baylor College of Medicine
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A new study provides solutions to the pressing need to identify factors that influence Alzheimer’s disease (AD) risk or resistance while providing an avenue to explore potential biological markers and therapeutic targets.

The researchers integrated computational and functional approaches that enabled them to identify not only specific genes whose alterations predicted increased AD risk in humans and behavioral impairments in AD fruit fly models but also showed that reversing the gene changes has a neuroprotective effect in living organisms.

Journal: American Journal of Human Genetics

Welcome to In the Spotlight, where each month we shine a light on something exciting, timely, or simply fascinating from the world of science.

Latest News Releases

Single-dose psychedelic boosts brain flexibility for weeks, peer-reviewed study finds

UT Health San Antonio-led discovery means IV medication could be taken orally for range of cancer, Alzheimer’s treatments

Engineered microglia show promise for treating Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases

New research lays groundwork for early detection of Alzheimer’s disease

Eye test could predict postoperative delirium in older patients

Integrative approach reveals promising candidates for Alzheimer’s disease risk factors or targets for therapeutic intervention