I remember my father being brought back home by the police because he’d been found wandering down the central reservation of a dual carriageway. Understandably, his diagnosis came with a lot of fear. But we need to face up to dementia’s realities and tackle the stigma surrounding it. I was saddened to hear this week about […]
Experts say a new breed of the quick-spreading brown dog tick is fast becoming a UK epidemic. Their rapid growth as summer looms has been helped by our unusually warm winter.Pest control firms say the parasitic bugs now here are variants from Europe – and bring with them a deadly threat to Brits.Worringly, they now […]
Scientists in Cardiff say they are on the verge of an “enormously exciting” breakthrough in understanding the causes of Alzheimer’s disease. Their study will suggest the body’s own immune system could be attacking brain cells of those genetically susceptible. It builds on global studies identifying 30 genes linked to the disease. About 45,000 people in […]
Eating traditional family dinners or listening to soothing music could help to protect people with dementia from dehydration and malnutrition, a study has found. Older people with dementia are among those at the highest risk of both conditions as they may be less aware of drinking enough fluids or remembering to eat.Experts tried more than […]
Dementia researchers have developed a video game that could lead to the development of early diagnostic tests for the disease. The way players navigate the 3D levels in Sea Hero Quest will be anonymously tracked and sent to the researchers. Understanding how people navigate 3D environments is important because the skill is often one of […]
Yeast infections and a malfunctioning immune system could ‘disturb those brain processes that are important for memory’, researcher says A sexually transmitted yeast infection has been linked to schizophrenia in men and also appears to damage the memory of mentally ill women, according to new research. The Candida albicans fungus is usually present in the human digestive tract, but if it […]
Germany is to legalise cannabis for medicinal purposes early next year, the health minister said on Tuesday. “Our goal is that seriously ill patients are treated in the best possible way,” said Hermann Groehe, who will present draft legislation to the German cabinet on Wednesday. The draft bill comes as many parts of the world are relaxing laws […]
A new drug used to treat the underlying causes of Duchenne muscular dystrophy has been rejected for routine use in Scottish hospitals. Michael Young, nine, who has the condition, recently lobbied Nicola Sturgeon campaigning for the treatment. The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) said it was not satisfied that routine use of ataluren would “represent a […]
A spike in the number of deaths in England and Wales last year was due to an increase in dementia and respiratory diseases such as flu among older people, according to official figures. The peak happened in the early months of 2015 when flu was common, according to the Office for National Statistics. People with […]
A gene that triggers stroke and dementia by damaging vessels in the brain has been discovered, offering hope of new drugs for the two most common neurological conditions. The gene blocks off blood flow denying the organ essential oxygen and nourishment, without which neurons die. The finding, published in the journal Lancet Neurology, may help […]
