Today's Health Links July 27, 2013

Scientists report an advance toward “structure-based drug design,” with the potential to delay or treat Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, type II diabetes, ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) and many other degenerative diseases.

Scientists have discovered the first genetic biomarker to detect Lewy body dementia (LBD), a disease that can be confused with Alzheimer’s. This biomarker is found in 20% of cases and differentiates one of the sub-groups of the pathology.

A class of drug, called ACE inhibitors, which are used to lower blood pressure, slow the rate of cognitive decline typical of dementia, suggests new research.