The number of people with Alzheimer's and dementia – both new cases and total numbers with the disease – continues to rise among the very oldest segments of the population in contradiction of the conventional wisdom, according to research reported today at the Alzheimer's Association 2009 International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD 2009) in Vienna.

Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have found that a compound called NIC5-15, might be a safe and effective treatment to stabilize cognitive performance in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease.

Findings from an 18-month, government-backed study suggest taking supplements of docosahexenoic acid, or DHA, which is an omega-3 fatty acid, does little to slow the advancement of Alzheimer's disease in those who have already developed it.

The destructive cellular pathways activated in Alzheimer's disease are also triggered following traumatic brain injury, say researchers from Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC). They say this finding suggests that novel therapy might successfully target both conditions.

Coffee drinkers may have another reason to pour that extra cup. When aged mice bred to develop symptoms of Alzheimer's disease were given caffeine – the equivalent of five cups of coffee a day – their memory impairment was reversed, report University of South Florida researchers at the Florida Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.

A new study by researchers at Rhode Island Hospital have found a substantial link between increased levels of nitrates in our environment and food with increased deaths from diseases, including Alzheimer's, diabetes mellitus and Parkinson's. The study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Scientists at UC Santa Barbara and several other institutions have found laboratory evidence that a cluster of peptides may be the toxic agent in Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say the discovery may lead to new drugs for the disease.

High cholesterol levels are considered to be a risk factor not only for cardiovascular disease including stroke, but also for the development of Alzheimer's disease. Therefore, many cholesterol lowering drugs, including statins, have been developed in recent years.

Transdermal drug delivery has gained a solid market position in a few specialty markets, owing to the unique advantages it provides in selected therapeutic applications. Now these advantages are beginning to inure to a class of conditions that are particularly well-suited to the major benefits of transdermal drug administration.

Data published in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease demonstrated that minimally-invasive biospectroscopy was able to identify changes in oxidative stress (OS) levels in blood plasma, which may prove to be a useful biomarker in the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. There is currently no accepted laboratory test for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease.

Curcumin, a component of turmeric, a spice often used in curries, appears to prevent the spread of amyloid protein plaques in the brain. These plaques are thought to cause Alzheimer's Disease, a form of dementia.

There are several risk factors for the development of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. Based on an increasing number of studies linking these risk factors with Vitamin D deficiency, an article in the current issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease by William B. Grant, PhD of the Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center suggests that further investigation of possible direct or indirect linkages between Vitamin D and these dementias is needed.