A new scientific discovery may provide a future avenue for treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease. A study published Nov. 28 in the journal JAMA Neurology examined aquaporin-4, a type of membrane protein in the brain. Using brains donated for scientific research, researchers at OHSU discovered a correlation between the prevalence of aquaporin-4 among older people who did not suffer from Alzheimer's as compared to those who had the disease.

Tobacco use continues to be a major cause of cancer and premature death. Most studies of cigarette smoking and mortality have focused on middle-aged populations, with fewer studies examining the impact of tobacco cessation on disease and mortality risk among the elderly. A new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that people aged 70 or older currently smoking were more than three times more likely to die than never-smokers, while former smokers were less likely to die the sooner they quit.

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has developed a smart patch designed to monitor a patient's blood and release blood-thinning drugs as needed to prevent the occurrence of dangerous blood clots - a condition known as thrombosis. In an animal model, the patch was shown to be more effective at preventing thrombosis than traditional methods of drug delivery.

A recent study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that among users of antidementia drugs, persons using memantine have the highest risk of pneumonia. The use of rivastigmine patches is associated with an increased risk as well. The study found that persons using donepezil or galantamine had the lowest risk of pneumonia.

The use of benzodiazepines and related drugs increases the risk of hip fracture by 43% in persons with Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland. The hip fracture risk was investigated in community-dwelling Finnish persons with Alzheimer's disease. The results of the study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association.

A groundbreaking study of the virosphere of the most populous animals - those without backbones such as insects, spiders and worms and that live around our houses - has uncovered 1445 viruses, revealing people have only scratched the surface of the world of viruses - but it is likely that only a few cause disease.

In a review of published studies addressing patients' perceptions and factors influencing their reporting of adverse drug reactions, most patients were not aware of reporting systems and others were confused about reporting. For those patients who did report their experiences with adverse drug reactions, the main motivation was to prevent similar suffering in other patients.