One pathologic process occurring in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients is nerve cell damage caused by strong overstimulation of the cell. This is one factor among others eventually leading to the death of the nerve cell. A research team headed by Amalia Dolga, PhD, of the University of Groningen, The Netherlands, showed in animal experiments that giving a drug called Lovastatin could prevent the death of nerve cells under these conditions. The statins not only prevented cells from dying but also prevented the loss of memory capacity that normally occurs after such cell death. Lovastatin is a statin which is usually used to reduce high blood cholesterol levels, a state considered to be a risk factor for stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

According to a recently published study by scientists from the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) at the University of South Florida and their colleagues from other research centers in the US and at the Saitama Medical University in Japan, caffeine might become a future treatment option in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers gave mice that were genetically changed to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s a caffeine dosage equivalent to 5 cups of coffee a day which lead to a reduction of memory impairment and diminished accumulation of amyloid beta protein in the brain of the mice. When the mice reached the age of 18 to 19 months they were divided into two groups, one which received a daily dose of 500 mg caffeine added to their drinking water, and another received only plain drinking water. After two months, the mice of the caffeine group showed better results in memory and thinking tests than the non-caffeine group and even performed as well as mice without dementia. In addition, when examining the brains of the mice, the caffeine group had nearly 50 per cent less beta-amyloid. The researchers are now working on getting funding to replicate these findings in well designed clinical trials for humans.

Inflammation is a normal immunologic response of the human body to infections, foreign bodies or cell death. Two studies published by William A. Banks, M.D., professor of geriatrics and pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, suggest that an ongoing inflammatory process interferes with a normal function of the blood-brain barrier. This is a network of cells that regulates the exchange of substances between the brain and the blood. The so-called LRP pump is a transporter that forms part of this system and is responsible for the regular removal of the amyloid beta protein, which pathologically accumulates in the brain in Alzheimer’s disease. According to the research of Dr. Banks, inflammation leads to a blockage of the LRP pump in mice which results in an increased deposition of amyloid protein in the brain, accompanied by cognitive impairment as observed in Alzheimer’s patients. Furthermore, the study showed that treatment with indometacin, an anti-inflammatory drug usually used for e.g. headaches or back pain, prevented inflammation and thus the malfunction of the LRP pump. These findings go hand in hand with clinical practice, where the use of indomethacin has been associated with protection against Alzheimer’s.

Vitamin D3, a special form of Vitamin D may both alone and together with a synthetic version of curcumin, a turmeric spice, be able to help the immune system clear the brain of amyloid beta. This amyloid forms the plaques that are thought to play a significant role in developing Alzheimer’s disease. Especially Alzheimer’s patients who usually spend a lot of time indoors may suffer from a lack of vitamin D3 as it is synthesized through the skin only in the presence of sunlight. Using blood samples from nine Alzheimer’s disease patients, one patient with mild cognitive impairment and three healthy control subjects, researchers found that curcuminoids enhanced the surface binding of amyloid beta to immune cells and that vitamin D strongly stimulated the uptake and absorption of amyloid beta in those cells in a majority of patients. Therefore, UCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute who conducted the research, hope that vitamin D3 and curcumin may offer new preventive and treatment options in the future. The researchers added that no effective dosage could be recommended so far. To investigate this, larger studies on vitamin D and curcumin with more patients are planned.

Scientists have found that harmful tangles of proteins that cause diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease can be transmitted from one brain to another, spreading and causing damage after being injected into the brains of mice. The researchers stressed, however, that Alzheimer’s disease was not contagious and said it could not be caught, for example, through blood transfusions.
Alzheimer’s disease and similar neurodegenerative diseases can be caused by the build-up in the brain of tangled masses of a type of protein called tau. They destroy brain function and, when they damage large amounts of tissue, can lead to dementia.

Researchers from the University of Aberdeen report that the drug memantine, used for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and praised as "the first and only representative of a new class of Alzheimer drugs" works in fact similar to other existing compounds, and is beneficial only in a narrow concentration range. They further indicate that the complex pharmacological profile of memantine requires careful consideration concerning suitable doses and suitable patient groups, so that the best use can be achieved for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

People whose blood shows signs of inflammation are more likely to later develop Alzheimer’s disease than people with no signs of inflammation, according to a study published in the May 29, 2007, issue of Neurology®, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Older men who receive testosterone replacement therapy because of low testosterone are no more likely to get prostate cancer than similarly aged men not receiving testosterone, a new study found.

New research suggests that the form of tomato product one eats could be the key to unlocking its prostate cancer-fighting potential. "Processing of many edible plants through heating, grinding, mixing or drying dramatically increases their nutrition value, including their cancer prevention potential. It appears that the greatest protective effect from tomatoes comes by rehydrating tomato powder into tomato paste," said Valeri V. Mossine, Ph.D., research assistant professor of biochemistry at the University of Missouri.