Recent quotes:

Alzheimer’s: Inflammatory markers are conspicuous at an early stage: Evidence of damage and also neuroprotective processes long before symptoms of dementia manifest -- ScienceDaily

n recent years, it has become evident that the brain's immune system and related inflammatory processes -- also known as "neuroinflammation" -- significantly contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease. In view of this, the scientists analyzed various immunological biomarkers that are characterized by good detectability in the cerebrospinal fluid and reproducible results. "It was already known that these markers indicate immune processes in the context of Alzheimer's disease. However, how these markers relate to brain volume, cognitive performance and other parameters had not been studied as comprehensively as we have now," explains Prof. Michael Heneka, who led the current study during his long-time tenure at DZNE and UKB. Since the beginning of this year, he has been director of the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine. "We have found that some of these inflammatory markers are conspicuous even when there are no symptoms of dementia yet," Heneka says. "Based on the data we have so far, we can't specify the lead time at this point. But my estimate is that it is at least ten to twenty years."

Exercise alters brain chemistry to protect aging synapses: Enhanced nerve transmission seen in older adults who remained active -- ScienceDaily

Honer and Casaletto found that elderly people who remained active had higher levels of proteins that facilitate the exchange of information between neurons. This result dovetailed with Honer's earlier finding that people who had more of these proteins in their brains when they died were better able to maintain their cognition late in life. To their surprise, Honer said, the researchers found that the effects ranged beyond the hippocampus, the brain's seat of memory, to encompass other brain regions associated with cognitive function. "It may be that physical activity exerts a global sustaining effect, supporting and stimulating healthy function of proteins that facilitate synaptic transmission throughout the brain," Honer said.