There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease, but there may yet be hope of reversing the symptoms of the neurodegenerative disease if a certain prototype cognitive helmet designed by Dr. Gordon Dougal of the University of Sunderland lives up to its creator's and its user's expectations. More details on this strange-looking helmet after the jump.

In a new study done, a therapeutic molecule was administered to the spine and marked improvements in Alzheimer's disease appeared within a short span of time.

The study used Etanercept to lower a substance that has the ability to interfere with the neural impulses in the brain when it reaches excess amounts. Details of the study can be found in the full article.

There is now a new ray of hope shining on science and those searching for cures to the most incurable diseases. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's researchers from the Board of Governors Gene Therapeutics Research were able to find a way to sustain gene therapy for longer periods of time, without having to alert the body's innate immune system and ending the gene therapy.

Through a demonstration using an animal specimen, researchers were able to show that gene delivery using HC-Adv adenoviral vectors were able to completely bypass the immune system. The researchers said that this manner of gene therapy delivery is safer as well as effective compared to existing methods.

This method of gene therapy aims to cure diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, as well as Multiple Sclerosis. Other gene therapies, such as the use of genetically-modified blood cells, have been developed to cure severe diseases.

Researchers from Stanford University have developed a blood test that appears to identify patients who have or are prone to contracting Alzheimer's disease. If the initial findings prove correct, then doctors will have a new tool in diagnosing this neurodegenerative disease which kills 66,000 Americans each year.

The scientists have found that those with Alzheimer's consistently have a set of 18 distinct chemical signals in their blood. Stanford neurology Professor Tony Wyss-Coray, the team leader of the project, said that these are signaling proteins that cells use to communicate with each other and that they decided to look for the more distinctive proteins in Alzheimer's patients.

In one of their experiments, the scientists found that the new method was able to correctly identify Alzheimer stricken individuals 90% of the time. The test was also able to classify individuals without Alzheimer's disease but had other mild cognitive diseases with 87% accuracy.

While the results look promising, Wyss-Coray said that it will take at least two more years and further studies before this new method can be adopted by clinics across the United States. If this is further developed, then this will be another new tool in the fight against Alzheimer's disease.

New findings have revealed that the memory-losing disease, Alzheimer's, is actually a form of diabetes. Northwestern University scientists have discovered that the toxic protein "amyloid ß-derived diffusible ligand" - or ADDL - takes away the insulin receptors from the nerve cells, thereby making them insulin resistant.

Hampering insulin and its receptors to the brain results to memory loss as the two are key components in memory formation. Now having determined that Alzheimer's may be caused in part by this insulin resistance, thanks to the attack of ADDL, the next question to confront then would be how this attack is triggered.

Weinberg College's William L. Klein, leader of the research, explains:

We think this is a major factor in the memory deficiencies caused by ADDLs in Alzheimer's brains. We're dealing with a fundamental new connection between two fields, diabetes and Alzheimer's disease, and the implication is for therapeutics. We want to find ways to make those insulin receptors themselves resistant to the impact of ADDLs. And that might not be so difficult.

The discovery is published online by the FASEB Journal.

Another gene linked to Alzheimer's disease has been found. Early this year, the gene SORL1 was discovered to be a factor in late-onset dementia, along with ApoE4. Scientists have found another clue to the mind degenerating disease.

According to journal Neuron, people with a damaged copy of the GAB2 gene are more susceptible to developing Alzheimer's in their later years. Late onset Alzheimer's hit one out of ten people over 65 and about 50 percent of people over 85. Researchers from the Institute of Neurology and other institutions studied DNA gathered from 1,411 people and found that GAB2 has an effect on ApoE4.

People with Alzheimer's commonly have protein "tangles" in their brains. It was found that GAB2 (if undamaged) stops a protein called tau that has a direct effect on the formation of the said tangles. So if a person has a bad copy of GAB2, tau runs amok and you know what happens next. Alzheimer's Society's director of research, Professor Clive Ballard had this to say:

This impressive research suggests a common gene could be responsible for a four-fold increased risk of developing Alzheimer's disease. It is the most important risk factor gene to be identified in relation to tangles, which develop in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.

Interesting discovery. The faster they discover things, the faster they find cures, right? Let's hope they do.

Although it's not supposed to give anyone ideas for human testing, a report by Reuters had announced that scientists had found a way to switch off certain genes related to Alzheimer's disease. They found out that by turning off a certain gene, called Cdk5, they were also able to make experimental mice smarter.

These researchers were in the process of finding a cure for memory problems, when they stumbled upon genetic engineering techniques that would allow them to switch certain genes on and off.

Cdk5, a gene that determines the production of an enzyme that is reputably linked to Alzheimer's, was one of those that they could turn off.

And what's more, the mice that did have Cdk5 turned off became better at tasks based on associated learning. Dr. James Bibb of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center said, "It's the most important kind of learning in the animal kingdom. It's how we know where our car is and that is our wife or our husband and that's our kids. It's how we connect things."

When placed inside a maze together with ordinary mice, the altered mice performed much better in contrast. "The increase in sensitivity to their surroundings seems to have made them smarter. It was very clear right off the bat that the loss of Cdk5 made them have a much stronger associative memory," said Bibb.

There's still no known cure for Alzheimer's disease but a study published this week claims that they are closing in on a treatment that will reverse memory loss with the help of mental simulation and drug treatment.

The said study was conducted by Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientist Li-Huei Tsai. Accordingly, the treatment was conducted to mice with a condition like Alzheimer's.

To make things a little easier, the process included placing the mice inside some sort of a miniature Disneyland and using a kind of drug that promotes brain nerve cell development (histone deacetylase or HDAC). According to Tsai, this suggests that lost memories are not actually erased. She explained,

We show, I believe, the first evidence that even if the brain suffered some very severe neurodegeneration and the individual exhibits very severe learning impairment and memory loss, there is still the possibility to improve learning ability and recover to a certain extent lost long-term memories.

Going back to the study's Disneyland, Tsai discussed that it is just actually a regular cage loaded with an assortment of colorful toys, treadmills, and other mice that change every time. Initial results implied that these rodents remember the changes easily as well as learned new tricks after inducing a mild electric shock to their feet to help establish enduring memory.

Lastly, the neuroscientist added that the study is aimed at curing those with Alzheimer's during the disease's later stages and those with severe brain damage.

Scientists have discovered that the gene SORL1 - the fifth gene to be linked to Alzheimer's - can identify whether a person may develop Alzheimer's disease in their later years. SORL1 and ApoE4 are the only two genes that have been identified to have abnormalities on people with late-onset Alzheimer's.

Although the time span between discoveries is daunting (ApoE4 was discovered in 1993, SORL1 was discovered early 2007), it's still a good step toward preventive medicine. Now scientists have one more ace up their sleeve to find out how they can prevent the disease that plagues a good portion of older folk.