What's New This Month
ADRC News:
|
AS OF SEPTEMBER 19, 2016, OUR NEW ADDRESS WILL BE: UC San Diego Shiley Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center 9444 Medical Center Drive, Suite 1-100, La Jolla, CA, 92037-0948
Click here for directions to our new office. |
Mark W. Bondi, PhD, Recipient of 2016 Alzheimer Award Honored for ground-breaking work published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease Amsterdam, NL – The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease (JAD) is pleased to announce that Mark W. Bondi, PhD, ABPP/CN, Professor of Psychiatry at UC San Diego and Director of the Neuropsychological Assessment Unit at the VA San Diego Healthcare System, has been chosen as the recipient of the 2016 Alzheimer Award presented by the journal in recognition of his outstanding work on the development of a novel and promising method of staging preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD) based on number of abnormal biomarkers that is predictive of progression to mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD. The winning paper is “Subtle Cognitive Decline and Biomarker Staging in Preclinical Alzheimer’s Disease” (J Alzheimers Dis 47, 231-242, 2015), which is freely available to all readers.
|
New Pilot Study to explore task-evoked pupil dilation (TEPD) as a marker for risk of Alzheimer's disease. Jeremy Elman, Ph.D. is conducting a study to explore the use of task-evoked pupil dilation (TEPD) as a potential marker for risk of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). TEPD is an easily acquired measure of pupil dilation during a cognitive task using a small, handheld device placed over the eye. TEPD has been used as an index of mental effort for decades, but it may also reflect functioning of the locus coeruleus, a small structure in the brain stem. This is particularly relevant to AD as the locus coeruleus may be the initial site of tau tangles, one of the hallmarks of the disease. Damage to the locus coeruleus may contribute to AD progression in multiple ways, including increased inflammation. We will investigate whether alterations in TEPD is linked to locus coeruleus structural integrity, and whether these changes are related to other markers of early AD pathology. This study will incorporate a variety measures to provide converging evidence that TEPD is a useful index indicator of disease risk, including cognitive performance, pupillometry, magnetic resonance imaging, cerebro-spinal fluid markers of AD pathology, and blood-based biomarkers of inflammation.
|
Many with Mild Cognitive Impairment Missed in Screening Study Finds In a finding with potentially big significance for combating age-related dementia such as Alzheimer’s disease, a study by UC San Diego and VA San Diego scientists has found a disturbingly high percentage of those with mild impairments in thinking are not being detected by routine tests. But more extensive testing with existing diagnostic methods can improve accuracy, the study said. To read the UT article, featuring this work, click here. ADRC affililates, Emily Edmonds, PhD and Mark Bondi, PhD authored the study, which was published Monday in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. It can be found athttp://j.mp/cogtesting. |
Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer's Disease (A4)TrialStill Enrolling!If you do not have memory changes that exceed normal age-related changes and are interested in participating in a clinical drug trial designed to prevent Alzheimer's dementia, please click on this link to see if the A4 trial is a fit for you. If so, contact Chritsina Gigliotti, PhD for more information. |
Alzheimer's in the News:
The Union Tribune did a great special insert titled, "The Wonders of your Brain" in which several UC San Diego scientists, including Dr. Galasko at the Shiley-Marcos ADRC are interviewed and quoted. Click here to read the article.
|
In case you missed the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Summit 2015: Path to Treatment and Prevention on February 9-10, 2015, the National Institutes of Health has posted video of the Summit online. You can view all or parts of the Summit at any time and for free. Video of Summit Day 1 includes plenary lectures on the socioeconomic burden of Alzheimer’s in the U.S. and globally and what we now understand about the complexity of the disease. The day also covered sessions on the biology of Alzheimer’s disease, updates on drug and therapy development, and new strategies for prevention. Video of Summit Day 2 explores innovations in disease monitoring, assessment, and care; engaging and empowering people in research, and enabling partnerships for collaboration. Visit the Summit website to learn more about the diverse group of speakers and view the Summit agenda
|
New Resources:
| Making sense of Alzheimer's is a creative space for people to understand the past, present nad future of Alzheimer's disease. It is an evolving forum, a gallery of ideas, a museum without walls. Click here to check it out. |
| The NIH's Alzheimeri's Disease Education and Referral Center has a new online portal for free clinical practice tools, training materialsand other resources for physicians, nurses, social workers and other professionals working with patients who have cognitive impairment. Click here to find tools for assessment, diagnosis, treatment and management, disease specific information, training and curricula, clinical trials and studies information, patient communcation and care tips, and patient and caregiver education materials. |
Early-onset Alzheimer's disease, occurring in people age 30 to 60, is rare but complicated. People living with early-onset Alzheimer’s (like Julianne Moore’s character in the movie “Still Alice”) may face particular challenges in dealing with work, raising children, and finding the right support groups.
All of the resources on this list are free and accessible online. |
