Menopause is often associated with sleep disturbances, hot flashes, and mood swings—but could it also play a role in brain health? While most people do not immediately link menopause with Alzheimer’s disease (AD)—a brain condition that results from the buildup of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain—research suggests that[Read More…]
Tag: dementia
Dementia and disparities: The sex differences in healthcare use
Healthcare inequities—avoidable differences in health across population subgroups—are ubiquitous in Canada. Even though women are more affected by dementia—a group of age-related diseases characterized by memory decline—than men, current dementia policies often do not consider sex-based differences. Dementia is a major public health issue, with the number of cases projected[Read More…]
Redefining care: A new approach to decision-making for individuals with dementia
While dementia is commonly most associated with memory loss, research has also linked it to impaired judgment, increased difficulty navigating one’s surroundings, and even failure to pick up on sarcasm. Understandably, the condition can impact a person’s autonomy and independence, but in what circumstances can we attest that a person[Read More…]
Alzheimer’s disease: What computational models reveal
According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, an estimated one million people in Canada could be living with dementia by 2030. Dementia encompasses a range of symptoms associated with declining cognitive function; Alzheimer’s disease is the main form, accounting for 60 to 80 per cent of all cases. Although Alzheimer’s[Read More…]
How to care for caregivers: A new online dementia education program
Many caregivers for those living with dementia are family members and friends who sacrifice their time—and even compromise their own health—to care for their loved ones. However, family and friends often lack training and support, which can put them at risk of suffering from stress and burnout. A new program[Read More…]
Neuroinflammation found to drive Alzheimer’s disease progression
Over a century ago, Alois Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist, spotted strange plaques and tangles in the brain slides of a patient with dementia. Ever since, scientists have been trying to better understand the mechanisms behind what is now known as Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a brain disorder that[Read More…]
Predicting Alzheimer’s with artificial intelligence
Researchers in the Douglas Mental Health University Institute’s Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory at McGill have created an artificial intelligence-based algorithm to recognize dementia before its onset—an elusive task, even for neurologists. The algorithm uses statistics to learn what the determining markers of the disease are—a process called machine learning, a branch[Read More…]
ABCs of Science: Alzheimer’s
Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias affect an estimated 500,000 Canadians. A study by the Alzheimer Society of Canada (ASC) found the disease to be the second most feared by Canadians as they age, and with good reason—the disease leads to cognitive function resulting in impaired short-term memory, the inability to[Read More…]
