(January 23, 2012 - Insidermedicine)

From California - Keeping your brain active may reduce risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to a report published in the Archives of Neurology. Researchers studied 65 healthy elderly patients, as well as 10 Alzheimer disease patients and 11 young controls. They found that individuals who participated in more brain stimulating activities throughout their life, particularly in their early and middle years, had reduced levels of β-amyloid protein--a major component of AD development.

From Germany - Two reports published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine find a single protein that may be key to fighting several forms of cancer. In the first study, researchers found that inhibiting the protein HSP90 slowed breast tumour growth in a mouse model, while the second study revealed that HSP90 inhibitors also slowed the growth of leukaemia cells in a mouse model.

And finally, from Boston - Research published in CANCER finds that many patients continue to smoke even after being diagnosed with cancer. Examining nearly 5,500 colorectal and lung cancer patients, researchers found that a substantial minority of these patients continued smoking 5 months after their diagnosis.