People who have symptoms of depression in middle age may be at increased risk of dementia decades later, a new study suggests.
On a recent late night in New Jersey, Adam Robb sat up with Dulcie Laurance, lulling her back to sleep.
Men in their 70s and 80s may be more likely than women of the same age to develop the memory loss and cognitive problems that often herald Alzheimer's disease, a new study has found.
For years, many experts have maintained that the subtle changes in memory and mental function that occur naturally as we get older rarely begin before age 60.
Barbara Hall tell us about a new study that finds breast cancer treatments can cause memory loss for patients.
Over the past several years, researchers have noticed an odd pattern in the relationship between body weight and Alzheimer's disease: Middle-aged people have a higher long-term risk of developing the disease if they're overweight or obese, while older people have a lower risk of the disease if they're carrying excess weight.
Shoes and other items with GPS devices in them can help track dementia patients. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports.
It was early evening when Lee Ferrero got in his car to make the trip home from a meeting for work. He'd done the trip many times over the years, and he looked forward to the drive.
When Darla Arni's mother began showing the first signs of dementia 16 years ago, Arni worried she was doomed to the same fate.
People with diabetes are at increased risk of having a heart attack or stroke at an early age, but that's not the only worry. Diabetes appears to dramatically increase a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia later in life, according to a new study conducted in Japan.
There was cake at one of the last birthdays Robert John Kreitner Jr. would have at the nursing home in Pennsylvania, but the guest of honor didn't open his eyes to see it.
"I'm right in the middle of a sentence, man - and it just goes, pew," the star says about his memory loss
Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt has no plans to stop coaching despite being diagnosed with early onset dementia.
With more than 5 million people suffering from Alzheimer's disease in the United States, a number that's expected to rise to 16 million by 2050, the pressure is on to find better methods of diagnosis, treatment and prevention.
Elizabeth Cohen discusses new research that suggests that eye exams may help doctors detect early signs of Alzheimer's.
Seventy-five former professional football players are suing the National Football League, saying the league knew as early as the 1920s of the harmful effects of concussions on players' brains but concealed the information from players, coaches, trainers and others until June 2010.
When a loved one moves into a nursing home, the support of family and friends is particularly important. This is especially true when the nursing home patient has dementia and can't adequately advocate on his or her own behalf.
The Office of the Inspector General believes it has just unearthed a public health scandal. Evidently, according to a report it released recently, predatory psychiatrists are prescribing deadly, ineffective drugs to our senior citizens in nursing homes throughout the country.
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with the family of a former NFL player who committed suicide.
His was a suicide with a macabre twist. In February, former Chicago Bears safety David Duerson shot himself in the chest, but not before leaving behind a note requesting his brain be studied for evidence of a disease striking football players.
His was a suicide with a macabre twist. In February, former Chicago Bears safety David Duerson shot himself in the chest, but not before leaving behind a note requesting that his brain be studied for evidence of a disease striking football players.
Alzheimer's disease is rapidly becoming one of the most critical health issues facing America. With the aging of the baby boomers into the period of risk for Alzheimer's disease, it is essential that research be accelerated to possibly delay the onset or slow the progression of the disease.
Alzheimer's disease begins long before family and friends notice differences in the patient's memory and behavior, doctors who treat the condition said Monday. By the time an official diagnosis is made, the person's function is usually significantly impaired and treatment rarely helps.
Researchers expand the definition of Alzheimer's disease, recognizing it may be present long before symptoms appear.
It's spring 2006, and a woman I vaguely recognize approaches me at a party, her auburn wig askew and a glass of wine wobbling in her hand. She announces cheerfully that, at 63, she has recently retired from the Virginia newspaper where I still work.
I am having significant memory problems that my M.D. thinks are due to depression, but I wonder if such severe problems can be accounted for by depression. I have had dysthymia my whole life. I admit I have a lot of stress in my life and may even be more depressed than I have been in the past, but I have never had these problems before. Here are some examples of things I forget on a daily basis (multiple times a day, actually) : not knowing why I'm in the car driving, not able to remember longtime friends' names, my dog's name, can't remember the names of common objects, putting keys, laundry, etc. in the refrigerator. This is affecting my professional and personal life. Could this really be just depression?
Gradual hearing loss is a common symptom of aging, but in some people it may also be an early sign of Alzheimer's disease or other types of dementia, a new study suggests.
Mental exercises won't prevent Alzheimer's disease, but they may delay it. Patty Lane has more in the Health Minute.
The changes may be subtle, especially at first: An aging executive misses an appointment or two, or can't recall what was said in last week's meeting. A doctor who's nearing retirement suddenly blanks on a longtime patient's name.
An essential nutrient found in fish oil does not appear to slow the mental decline associated with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
After age 60, we are all likely passengers on the Alzheimer's Express. These days it's overcrowded with baby boomers and is predicted by 2050 to claim 115 million victims worldwide, including 13.5 million Americans (up from 5.1 million today), bankrupting our health care system.
My mum is 67 and has suffered depression on and off all her life. She is just coming off medication from which she was having side effects: excessive sweating, and most disturbing, a shocking loss of short-term memory. She knows that she can't remember but she is extremely worried that she may have the beginning of Alzheimer's disease. She has episodes of being excessively high in her mood swings and appears confused and does not seem to be aware of her surroundings and what she is saying or doing. She then seems to come around and the next day she seems perfectly normal but says she can't remember anything about the episode. I wonder if she is suffering from some form of dementia.
Daily doses of vitamin B can halve the rate of brain shrinkage in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which can be a precursor to Alzheimer's, researchers at Oxford University said Thursday.
HLN's Susan Hendricks reports on a new study that finds men have earlier memory loss than women.
Just like the right diet can prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, or cancer, health experts are finding that certain foods may boost your mind.
If a person has had a traumatizing year and is finding himself having lapsing memories, is this a sign that he or she has developed dissociative identity disorder?
Last week, I answered a question about the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Today I want to talk a little about how dementia is treated.
Is hearing things that aren't there a symptom of Alzheimer's? Is Alzheimer's treatable?
The link between depression and dementia has always been unclear, but a new study supports the theory that depression increases dementia risk.
How can you tell if someone is suffering from Alzheimer's disease or if it is just depression?
In the fight against memory loss, nothing is certain, doctors say.
Francisca Terrazas could not be left alone.
People with Asperger's syndrome would be included in the same diagnostic group as people with autism and pervasive developmental disorders, according to new guidelines under consideration by the American Psychiatric Association.
Eating a diet rich in healthy fats and limiting dairy and meat could do more than keep your heart healthier. It could also help keep you thinking clearly.
For more than 20 years, former San Francisco 49ers lineman George Visger has lived his life out of hundreds of small yellow notebooks. In them he scrawls the minutiae of his daily life: "4:45 am left house. 2 stops to find coffee and a roll. Paper work till 9:25. 10:05 Ed called."
Ginkgo biloba has failed -- again -- to live up to its reputation for boosting memory and brain function. Just over a year after a study showed that the herb doesn't prevent dementia and Alzheimer's disease, a new study from the same team of researchers has found no evidence that ginkgo reduces the normal cognitive decline that comes with aging.
My husband, age 39, was diagnosed with manic depression/bipolar disorder approximately two years ago. He suffers from recurrent bouts of depression and is currently in a depressive phase. He does not have very many manic phases at all. His short-term memory is getting progressively worse. Lately he cannot seem to remember how to get to places that he had just visited two or three days before. This has happened three times in the past week alone. Is there a correlation between recurrent bouts of depression and memory loss? I would question the medications as a factor, but he has not changed meds in many months and the episodes of memory loss have been in recent weeks. I would appreciate any information you can give me, as the primary caregiver you can imagine that this whole ordeal is very difficult.
Life was good for Kenny Sparks. A handsome man with a big smile, he was well-known in his town of Little Compton, Rhode Island. He had a loving wife, two beautiful, college-age children and was the co-owner of a multimillion-dollar contracting business.
A man in the prime of his life suddenly has difficulty communicating due to a rare disease. Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.
Watch images from SenseCam, a miniature camera that automatically captures every detail of life.
A small, wearable camera that captures images automatically could change the way memory loss patients, in particular those with Alzheimer's, are treated, experts say.
Are professional football players at greater risk of dementia and other neurological problems?
The House Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on legal issues relating to pro football head injuries.
People as young as 40 with borderline or high cholesterol levels are at increased risk for developing Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, said a Kaiser Permanente study released Tuesday.
The number of people with dementia globally is estimated to nearly double every 20 years, according to a report released Monday for World Alzheimer's Day.
A new shoe outfitted with a GPS chip aims to offer peace of mind to Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers.
Here's a question to worry "soccer moms" and professional footballers alike: Can playing football lead to long-term brain injury?
People with a stable mood and better capacity to handle stressful situations without anxiety have a reduced risk of developing dementia, according to a study published this week in the journal Neurology.
How can poor nutrition and vitamin deficiency affect your health, as far as dementia?
Blanche Danick may be 86 years old, but she's pretty hip. She keeps up with all the latest health news, and a while back, she called her daughter wanting to know whether she should start taking the herb ginkgo biloba. She'd heard it might stave off Alzheimer's disease.
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports on a new study that suggests ginkgo biloba doesn't work in preventing Alzheimer's disease.
The popular herb ginkgo biloba does not reduce the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, according to a study of more than 1,500 elderly patients who took the supplement. Often touted as a way to preserve aging memories, no large-scale, randomized clinical trial -- until now -- has thoroughly evaluated the safety and effectiveness of ginkgo biloba extract as a way to prevent dementia.
Some doctors have long suspected that if the plaque that builds up in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease could be removed, they could be saved. But a new vaccine that did just that suggests the theory is wrong
A new study shows that patients in nursing homes with brighter lights do better than those in dimly lit facilities. Why?
Senior citizens are taking more drugs than ever, and they can have dangerous interactions. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports.
One cold November weekend five years ago, Kelli Phillips and her husband traveled from their home in Norman, Oklahoma, to Kansas City, Missouri, to watch their beloved Oklahoma Sooners play in a Big 12 championship against Kansas State. Checking into the hotel, they looked forward with great excitement to the game.
Walter Kukull, of the U.S. National Alzheimer's Coordinating Center, talks potentiallly preventing Alzheimer's disease
CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports on a study that links abdominal fat to an increased risk of dementia later in life.
Science has now confirmed what expectant moms already know: Carrying a baby makes them more forgetful.
Just a few minutes of moderate daily exercise may stave off the signs of dementia in the elderly, a new study suggests
Four prominent neurologists say they cannot see how Sen. Pete Domenici can continue his work as a U.S. senator given his diagnosis with frontotemporal lobar degeneration, a type of dementia.
Researchers are still figuring out the dangers and benefits of hormone replacement therapy, but two new studies give a boost to estrogen as a defense against dementia
Do you take care of someone in your family with a chronic medical illness or dementia? Have you felt depression, anger or guilt? Has your health deteriorated since taking on the responsibility of caregiving? If your answer is yes to any one of these, you may be suffering from caregiver stress.
How can something can be healthy one day and unhealthy the next? A new study on alcohol and dementia shows that the results are usually more complicated than we think
SI.com: Dangerous games updated: Mon Apr 23 2007 12:42:00
The images on the large screen came one after another, each more disturbing and haunting than the other. There was Mike Webster shown naked from the waist up, lying dead on an autopsy table. There was Terry Long dead on an autopsy table with his tongue sticking out, still showing the pain of someone who had endured a prolonged death after ingesting antifreeze. Then there were simply the words of Dr. Bennet Omalu -- who didn't show pictures of Andre Waters because he shot himself -- as he described Waters' condition at his autopsy.
November is National Alzheimer's Disease month. CNN medical correspondent Judy Fortin talked about the illness with Dr. John Morris, director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Lipitor, the world's top-selling drug from the world's leading pharmaceutical company, has been targeted by two lawsuits blaming it for memory loss and damage to the nervous system.
Heartsick women at disadvantage
The thick and thin of health
Remember thisupdated: Tue Mar 22 2005 08:39:00
The capitals of all 50 states. The name of your second-grade teacher. The location of your keys.
MEMORY LOSS Michela Gallagher, Ph.D. Chair, Johns Hopkins University Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Fortune: Alzheimer's Uneaseupdated: Mon Oct 28 2002 00:01:00
A common concern I hear from patients is that they're having trouble remembering names and dates. What they're really worried about is Alzheimer's disease. Anyone who's seen someone struggling with...
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