All AAN Press Releases

Does Diabetes Speed Up Memory Loss in Alzheimer's Disease?

ababb@aan.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:00:00 GMT

Research has shown that diabetes increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease and the risk of memory loss in people who don't have Alzheimer's disease. But it hasn't been clear whether people with Alzheimer's disease and diabetes have more rapid memory loss than those who have Alzheimer's disease but no diabetes. New research published in the October 27, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, suggests that those with both diseases actually have a slower rate of memory loss than people who had only Alzheimer's disease. "This result was surprising," said study author Caroline Sanz, MD, of INSERM, the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research in Toulouse. "Our initial hypothesis was that diabetes would increase the rate of cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease." For the study, researchers followed 608 people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease for four years and tested their memory and thinking skills twice a year. A total of 63 people, or 10.4 percent, had diabetes. At the beginning of the study, both those with and without diabetes had average scores of 20 points on the cognitive test. Over each six-month testing period, the overall group declined by an average of 1.24 points on the test. However, those without diabetes declined by 0.38 points more per six-month period than those with diabetes. Researchers say it is not clear yet why the rate of memory loss was slower for people with diabetes. "One possible explanation is that diabetes in the elderly differs from that in younger people and in addition, elderly people with diabetes may be more likely to receive cardiovascular medications such as drugs for high blood pressure than people who don't have diabetes," Sanz said. "These drugs have been reported to decrease the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and also the rate of cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer's disease. Other possible explanations for these findings may relate to differences in brain lesions in those people with diabetes compared to those without diabetes." The study was supported by the French Ministry of Health and the Toulouse University Hospital. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Parkinson's disease, ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), dementia, West Nile virus, and ataxia. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or http://www.thebrainmatters.org. VIDEO: www.youtube.com/AANChannel TEXT: www.aan.com/press TWEETS: www.twitter.com/AANPublic

Is Disorder That Causes Dementia Hereditary?

ababb@aan.com — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:00:00 GMT

New research shows that a rare brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary. The study is published in the November 3, 2009, issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The brain disorder, called frontotemporal dementia, is formerly known as Pick's disease and destroys parts of the brain, leading to dementia, including problems with language or changes in behavior and personality. The disease often affects people under the age of 65. "Knowing your family's health history may be one way for people to better predict their risk of developing dementia," said study author Jonathan Rohrer, MRCP Clinical Research Fellow at the Dementia Research Center at the University College London in the United Kingdom. For the study, blood was drawn from 225 people who were diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia. The people were asked about family history of dementia and given a score of one through four. A score of one represents a person who had at least three relatives with dementia and an autosomal dominant inheritance, meaning that an affected person has one mutant gene and one normal gene and has a 50-percent chance of passing the mutant gene and therefore the disorder on to their offspring. A score of four represents a person with no family history of dementia. The study found that nearly 42 percent of participants scored between a one and a 3.5, meaning they had some family history of dementia. However, only 10 percent had an autosomal dominant gene history. The people in the study also had their DNA tested for five gene mutations thought to cause frontotemporal dementia. Mutations were found in two of the five genes. "Many people were still found to have a strong family history of dementia even without having any of the five known gene mutations, suggesting that there are still unknown genes that cause frontotemporal dementia," said Rohrer. "Discovering new genes and gene mutations could provide another key to unlocking the doors to new treatments and prevention strategies for dementia." The study also found that behavioral problems associated with frontotemporal dementia were the most likely to be hereditary, while language problems were the least likely to be hereditary. The study is supported by the United Kingdom Department of Health's NIHR Biomedical Research Centers, the Medical Research Council UK and the Alzheimer's Research Trust in the United Kingdom. November is National Alzheimer's Awareness Month. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as epilepsy, dystonia, migraine, Huntington's disease and dementia. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN Website or TheBrainMatters.org Website. VIDEO: www.youtube.com/AANChannel TEXT: www.aan.com/press TWEETS: www.twitter.com/AANPublic

Call for Entries: Public Asked to Submit Videos to 2010 Neuro Film Festival

ababb@aan.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:31:53 GMT

People who have compelling stories to share regarding how they or a loved one has been affected by a brain disorder are invited to submit a short video to the 2010 Neuro Film Festival, an event by the American Academy of Neurology Foundation to help raise awareness about brain disorders and the need to support research into preventions, treatments, and cures. "We need the public, especially patients and caregivers, to submit short videos to the Neuro Film Festival to help us show why more research is needed into brain disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, migraine, autism, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, ALS and stroke," said Christine E. Phelps, Deputy Executive Director of the American Academy of Neurology Foundation. "Tell us your story or the story of a loved one affected by neurologic disorders and you could win up to $1,500 and a chance to have your video shown at the Neuro Film Festival in Toronto in conjunction with the Academy's 62nd Annual Meeting." Video submissions to the Neuro Film Festival should be made at http://www.neurofilmfestival.com by February 16, 2010. Videos should be three to seven minutes in length. Each short film should include the phrase, "Let's put our brains together to support brain research." A video showing how to submit to the Neuro Film Festival is available at http://www.neurofilmfestival.com, on the Neuro Film Festival's channel on YouTube, and via Facebook®. For a complete list of contest rules, visit http://www.neurofilmfestival.com. Submissions Deadline: February 16, 2010 The Neuro Film Festival is sponsored by PSAV® Presentation Services. The American Academy of Neurology Foundation (AAN Foundation) raises money to support vital research into the prevention, treatment and cure of brain disorders. The AAN Foundation is committed to improving patient care, quality of life and public understanding of the brain and other neurologic disorders. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology and the AAN Foundation, visit www.aan.com, or TheBrainMatters.com.

What Part Do Relapses Play in Severe Disability for People with MS?

ababb@aan.com — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:00:00 GMT

People with multiple sclerosis (MS) who have relapses within the first five years of onset appear to have more severe disability in the short term compared to people who do not have an early relapse, according to a new study published in the November 4, 2009, issue of Neurology® , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study is one of the first to examine how MS relapses affect people during different time periods of the disease. Research shows that 85 percent of people with MS begin by having the relapsing-remitting form of the disease and the majority of these people later develop secondary progressive MS. A relapse is defined in the study as worsening of neurological symptoms for more than 24 hours, without a fever or infection. Because relapse-related symptoms often improve within a few weeks, it's been unclear how much disability comes from relapses, and how much from progression. For the study, scientists reviewed the medical records of 2,477 people with MS who experienced relapses in British Columbia, Canada. The study looked at whether the participants had disability severe enough to require the use of a cane for walking and whether this was related to relapses occurring within five years, five to 10 years, or more than 10 years after onset of symptoms. The participants were followed for an average of 20 years. During that time, the group experienced 11,722 relapses. Scientists found that people who had a relapse within five years of disease onset were at a 48 percent higher hazard (a measure of relative risk) of needing a cane to walk within five years of disease onset than those who did not have an early relapse. Importantly, the impact of the early relapse lessened over time. Those with early relapse who did not need a cane after five years were at only a 10 percent higher hazard (a measure of relative risk) of needing one 10 years after disease onset than those without early relapses. "Our findings may represent an important message to people diagnosed with MS today. Those who have a history of relapses could potentially be offered reassurance that as time goes on, these relapses will have a diminishing effect on their everyday lives," said study author Helen Tremlett, PhD, with the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. "In addition, our study calls upon the need for new medications that target axonal degeneration, which is suspected of causing permanent disability, especially for people who have had MS for many years or who are older at diagnosis." The impact of relapses that occurred later, either at five to 10 or more than 10 years after the start of the disease, also waned over time and became insignificant after long-term follow up. Relapses in people under 25 had a longer impact on disability compared to those over 35 years. "There may be a longer window of opportunity for treating younger people with MS right away, changing the course of progression later on," Tremlett said. The study was supported by the U. S. National MS Society. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care through education and research. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN Website or TheBrainMatters.org Website. VIDEO: www.youtube.com/AANChannel TEXT: www.aan.com/press TWEETS: www.twitter.com/AANPublic

AAN Names New Editor-in-Chief of Neurology® Journal

ababb@aan.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:51:46 GMT

The American Academy of Neurology has named a new Editor-in-Chief of its medical journal Neurology®, the world's leading clinical neurology journal. Robert A. Gross, MD, PhD, with the University of Rochester Medical Center and Director of the Strong Epilepsy Center in Rochester, New York, will officially succeed Editor-in-Chief John H. Noseworthy, MD, FAAN. Gross has been serving as Interim Editor-in-Chief since Noseworthy resigned from the position earlier this year to become president and CEO of the Mayo Clinic. Gross, who is a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, becomes the sixth editor-in-chief of Neurology since the journal was first published in 1951 and will serve a 10-year term. Prior to accepting the position, Gross held a position on Neurology's Editorial Board for eight years, two of which he served as Deputy Editor. "It is my distinguished honor to lead Neurology into the next decade as the premier peer-reviewed journal for clinical neurologists," said Gross. "My goal is for Neurology to remain at the forefront in disseminating cutting-edge, peer-reviewed information to the neurology community worldwide." Neurology is the world's most widely read and highly cited peer-reviewed neurology journal and receives nearly 4,000 manuscript submissions annually, with about 66 percent of those coming from international researchers. Readers now enjoy Italian, Japanese, Polish, Spanish, Turkish, Korean, Chinese, and English editions of Neurology. The medical journal's purpose is to advance the field of neurology by presenting new basic and clinical research that will influence the way neurology is practiced. Gross earned degrees from Harvard University and Washington University Medical and Graduate Schools. He is also active in the Epilepsy Foundation of the Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton regions, serving currently as Chair of the Board of Directors. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as dystonia, migraine, Huntington's disease, dementia and epilepsy. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit www.aan.com or TheBrainMatters.org. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/AANChannel TEXT: http://www.aan.com/press TWEETS: http://www.twitter.com/AANPublic

Teenage Obesity Linked to Increased Risk of MS

ababb@aan.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:00:00 GMT

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009 Media Contacts: Rachel Seroka, rseroka@aan.com, (651) 695-2738 Angela Babb, ababb@aan.com, (651) 695-2789 Teenage Obesity Linked to Increased Risk of MS ST. PAUL, Minn. -Teenage women who are obese may be more than twice as likely to develop multiple sclerosis (MS) as adults compared to female teens who are not obese, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The research involved 238,371women from the Nurses' Health Study and Nurses' Health Study II who were 25 to 55 years old. The women answered a questionnaire about their health behavior and medical information every two years. Over the course of 40 years, 593 developed MS. Participants reported their weight and height at age 18. Scientists then calculated their body mass index (BMI). The women were also asked to choose one of nine body silhouettes, ranging from very thin to extremely obese, to describe their body size at five, 10 and 20 years old. The study found that women who had a BMI of 30 or larger at age 18 had more than twice the risk of developing MS compared to those with a BMI between 18.5 and 20.9. A woman with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 kilograms per meter squared was considered overweight whereas a woman who was considered obese had a BMI of 30 or more kilograms per meter squared. The disease risk among women who were overweight but not obese at age 18 was only somewhat increased. The results were the same after accounting for smoking status and physical activity level. Women who had a larger body size at 20 years of age, represented by the use of silhouettes in the study, also had twice the risk of MS compared to women who reported a thinner body size. Larger body sizes at ages 5 and 10 were not associated with MS risk. "Our results suggest that weight during adolescence, rather than childhood or adulthood, is critical in determining the risk of MS," said study author Kassandra Munger, ScD, of Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. "Teaching and practicing obesity prevention from the start, but especially during teenage years, may be an important step in reducing the risk of MS later in life for women." Munger said there are two possible explanations why obesity may affect MS risk. Higher levels of vitamin D in the body are thought to reduce disease risk. People who are obese tend to have lower vitamin D levels compared to people who are not obese. In addition, fatty tissue produces substances that affect the immune system and certain types of cell activities that are thought to be associated with MS. The study was supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.comor TheBrainMatters.org. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/AANChannel TEXT: http://www.aan.com/press TWEETS: http://www.twitter.com/AANPublic

Children with Autism More Likely to Have Handwriting Problems

ababb@aan.com — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:00:00 GMT

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2009 Media Contacts: Rachel Seroka, rseroka@aan.com, (651) 695-2738 Angela Babb, ababb@aan.com, (651) 695-2789 Children with Autism More Likely to Have Handwriting Problems ST. PAUL, Minn. -Children with autism may have lower quality handwriting and trouble forming letters compared to children without autism, according to a study published in the November 10, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study included 28 children between the ages of eight and 13. Half of the children had autism spectrum disorder. The other half had no developmental, psychiatric or brain disorders. All of the children scored within the normal range for perceptual reasoning on an IQ test. The children were given the Minnesota Handwriting Assessment Test, which uses a scrambled sentence to eliminate any speed advantage for more fluent readers. The sentence used on the test was "the brown jumped lazy fox quick dogs over." Participants were asked to copy the words in the sentence, making the letters the same size and shape as the sample using their best handwriting. The handwriting was scored based on five categories: legibility, form, alignment, size and spacing. The children's motor skills, including balance and timed movements, were also examined and given a rating. The research found that half of the children with autism earned less than 80 percent of the total possible points on the handwriting assessment, compared to only one child in the group without autism. In addition, nine of the 14 children with autism scored below 80 percent on the form category of the handwriting assessment, compared to only two of the 14 children without autism. "Our results suggest that therapies targeting motor skills may help improve handwriting in children with autism, which is important for success in school and building self-esteem," said study author Amy Bastian, PhD, of the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, MD. "Such therapies could include training of letter formation and general training of fine motor control to help improve the quality of their writing." While overall quality of handwriting was worse in children with autism spectrum disorders, they were still able to align, space and size their letters just as well as children without autism. The study was supported by an Autism Speaks Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and by the National Institutes of Health. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as multiple sclerosis, restless legs syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, narcolepsy, and stroke. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.comor TheBrainMatters.org. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/AANChannel TEXT: http://www.aan.com/press TWEETS: http://www.twitter.com/AANPublic

Good News on Multiple Sclerosis and Pregnancy

ababb@aan.com — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:00:00 GMT

There is good news for women with multiple sclerosis (MS) who are pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant. A new study shows that pregnant women with multiple sclerosis are only slightly more likely to have cesarean deliveries and babies with a poor prenatal growth rate than women who do not have MS. Plus, the women with MS were no more likely to have other pregnancy problems, such as preeclampsia and other high blood pressure problems and premature rupture of membranes, than women in the general population. The study is published in the November 18, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The large study used a national database from all non-federal short-stay hospitals in 38 states. The data included an estimated 18.8 million deliveries, with about 10,000 of those occurring in women with MS. The women with MS were more likely than women without chronic medical conditions (2.7 percent for women with MS compared to 1.9 percent for women without chronic medical conditions) to have a fetus with intrauterine growth restriction, defined as a weight less than the tenth percentile for the gestational age, as measured by ultrasound. Women with MS were more likely to have a cesarean delivery than those in the general population (42 percent versus 33 percent). "These results are reassuring for women with MS," said study author Eliza Chakravarty, MD, MS, of Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, CA. "Women and their doctors have been uncertain about the effect of MS on pregnancy, and some women have chosen to delay or even avoid pregnancy due to the uncertainty. We found that women with MS did not have an increased risk of most pregnancy complications." Chakravarty said that previous studies on MS and pregnancy have focused on the impact of pregnancy on disease activity. The study also looked at women who had diabetes prior to becoming pregnant (not gestational diabetes), and found that they had higher rates of complications than women with MS and high rates of complications in areas where the women with MS did not have increased rates. The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 21,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as stroke, Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit http://www.aan.com or http://www.thebrainmatters.org. VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/AANChannel TEXT: http://www.aan.com/press TWEETS: http://www.twitter.com/AANPublic