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Washington University in St. Louis News & Information > News Topics > Culture & Living > Aging >
Alzheimer's Disease / Memory
Alzheimer's disease is devastating to both the victims and their families. The following experts look at the medical and social aspects of Alzheimer's disease and offer the latest research toward a cure for the disease and advice for family and friends dealing with the impact of Alzheimer's. These researchers also look at why memory fades with age and what can be done to help preserve memory.
| Faculty Experts: |
Showing Alzheimer's Disease / Memory Experts 1 through 5 of 8.
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John Morris
Director and Principal Investigator, Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Neurology
John C. Morris, M.D., is the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Distinguished Professor of Neurology, Professor of Pathology and Immunology and of Physical Therapy, and the Director of the Alzheimer Disease Research Center, Center for Aging, the Memory and Aging Project, and the Memory Diagnostic ...
Expertise: Alzheimer's disease, dementia, memory, aging, mild cognitive impairment
Media assistance: (314) 286-0122 / purdym@wustl.edu
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Alexander W. Dromerick
Associate Professor of Neurology and Occupational Therapy
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| Dromerick |
Dromerick is known for his clinical and laboratory research on rehabilitation methods for stroke patients, including a new technique called constraint-induced movement therapy.
Expertise: stroke, neurology, brain injury, occupational therapy, rehabilitation, constraint-induced movement therapy, brain imaging, …
Media assistance: (314) 286-0109 / reckessg@wustl.edu
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David M. Holtzman
Head of the Department of Neurology
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| Holtzman |
Holtzman is known as one of the leading experts in researching the underlying mechanisms that lead to Alzheimer's disease in an effort to improve diagnosis and treatment. In addition to seeing patients at the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the Memory Diagnostic Center, Holtzman leads a research ...
Expertise: Alzheimer's disease, dementia, neurology, molecular biology, monoclonal antibodies, amyloid plaques, perinatal stroke
Media assistance: (314) 286-0109 / reckessg@wustl.edu
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Martha Storandt
Professor of Psychology
Storandt's research deals with aging. A major goal is understanding the distinction between normal aging and Alzheimer's disease, especially the very early stages of the disease, and how each affects cognitive function. Most of her research involves administering standard and experimental psychometric ...
Expertise: aging, Alzheimer's disease
Direct contact: (314) 935-6508
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mstorand@artsci.wustl.edu
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Sandra Hale
Associate Professor or Psychology in Arts and Sciences
Hale conducts research that focuses on developmental changes in speed of information processing across the life span and on the role of age-related differences on other aspects of cognition. In particular, she has developed one line of research that examines the role of developmental changes in processing ...
Expertise: developmental changes, information processing, life span, cognition, working memory, brain, processing, …
Direct contact: (314) 935-6664
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sshale@artsci.wustl.edu
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Showing Alzheimer's Disease / Memory Experts 1 through 5 of 8.
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| News Stories & Tip Sheets: |
Showing Alzheimer's Disease / Memory Stories 1 through 3 of 43.
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Elderly driver safety
Experts discuss aging's impact on ability to drive, find other transportation
April 28,
2008 -- Ensuring that the elderly have access to transportation while preventing age-related driving impairments will be the focus of the eighth annual Friedman Conference on Aging, "Are We Licensed for Life? Transportation and Driving Issues in an Aging Society."
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Tracking biomarkers
Washington University in St. Louis and AstraZeneca announce Alzheimer's research collaboration
April 17,
2008 -- The School of Medicine and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) have announced a research collaboration that aims to develop new and improved ways to diagnose and treat Alzheimer's disease. The major focus of the alliance will be biomarkers, characteristic changes in the brain and spinal fluid that physicians can use to diagnose Alzheimer's disease and track its response to treatment.
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Producing plaques
Researchers close in on origins of main ingredient of Alzheimer's plaques
April 9,
2008 -- The ability of brain cells to take in substances from their surface is essential to the production of a key ingredient in Alzheimer's brain plaques, neuroscientists at the School of Medicine have learned. The researchers used a drug to shut down the intake process, known as endocytosis, in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. The change led to a 70 percent drop in levels of amyloid beta, the protein fragment that clumps together to form Alzheimer's plaques.
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Showing Alzheimer's Disease / Memory Stories 1 through 3 of 43.
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Study Details New Molecular Approach to Preventing Alzheimer's
The Washington Post
and 7 others
April 25,
2008 -- German researchers are reporting a new approach to the possible prevention of the molecular "debris" that's associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease.
WUSTL neurology professor James Galvin called the German research "a novel idea."
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Gut Check: Why Doctors Say Not All Fat Is Created Equal
The Wall Street Journal
and 2 others
April 15,
2008 -- The recent report that having a pot belly in your 40s roughly triples your risk of dementia in later life is just the tip of an ominous iceberg. WUSTL research on liposuction in which found no change in the women's cholesterol levels, triglycerides, insulin sensitivity or other health risks. "If they had lost that much fat by dieting, they would have substantially improved their metabolic profile, but they didn't," says Samuel Klein, director of WUSM's Center for Human Nutrition and the study's principal investigator.
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Researchers zero in on Alzheimer's plaque origin
Agence France Presse
and 13 others
April 10,
2008 -- WUSTL researchers have found that a key ingredient for the formation of Alzheimer's plaques is produced by a brain cell activity. WUSTL neurology professor and the study's first author John Cirrito comments.
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McCain works to answer age and health questions
Boston Globe
and 5 others
March 27,
2008 -- David Carr, clinical director of WUSTL's division of geriatrics and nutritional science, said the fact that McCain has gone five years without a melanoma recurrence is good news.
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Researchers Pinpoint Link Between Caloric Restriction and Longevity
CBC News (Canada)
and 7 others
Sept. 21,
2007 -- Harvard researchers report in the Sept. 21 issue of Cell that they have uncovered a molecular clue that seems to explain why cutting calories might lengthen your life.
It turns out that mitochondria guard against cell death, and two specific genes within the mitochondria actually carry out that task. Mitochondria are compartments within a cell that are dedicated to energy production, and their loss is thought to be a major cause of aging.
WUSTL molecular biology and pharmacology professor Shin-ichiro Imai comments on the Harvard study.
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Humor Hampered By Aging Brain?
CBSNews.com
and 1 others
Aug. 6,
2007 -- Age-related brain changes may make it harder for older adults to understand humor, a new study shows.
The study comes from WUSTL psychology graduate student Wingyun Mak and psychology professor Brian Carpenter.
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Joke comprehension may decrease with age, study at St. Louis university suggests
International Herald Tribune (France)
and 206 others
July 11,
2007 -- It's no laughing matter: a new study suggests older adults have a harder time getting jokes as they age.
The research indicates that because older adults may have greater difficulty with cognitive flexibility, abstract reasoning and short-term memory, they also have greater difficulty with tests of humor comprehension.
The research conducted by WUSTL graduate student Wingyun Mak and WUSTL psychology professor Brian Carpenter.
Findings were published earlier this month in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society.
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How Depression Weakens the Brain
The Wall Street Journal
July 3,
2007 -- In findings that highlight the importance of mood and stress to maintaining a healthy brain, researchers and psychiatrists say that a bout of depression may raise the risks of developing dementia later in life.
Article mentions research by WUSTL psychiatry professor Yvette Sheline. Her study showed that people with more days of depression untreated by antidepressants, at any point in their lives, exhibit an average 10% reduction in volume in the hippocampus, which may result in subtle changes to their memory capabilities, The study appeared in the American Journal of Psychiatry.
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How to Talk About Aging
Newsweek
June 11,
2007 -- A recent survey by AARP found that nearly 70 percent of adult children have not talked to their parents about issues related to aging. Some children avoid this most intimate of conversations because they believe their parents don't want to talk. Others think they know what their parents want.
WUSTL psychology professor Brian Carpenter is one of the experts offering advice.
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Future recall
New Scientist (UK)
March 27,
2007 -- Cover story on the connection neuroscientists are finding between our memory of the past and our imagining of the future.
Evidence is accumulating of an intimate mental connection between recalling the past and imagining the future. Neuroscientists and psychologists have found that people who have lost their memories also lose their ability to imagine the future, and that the brain regions that are used for remembering are also used for imagining.
Article includes fMRI research done by WUSTL psychology professor Kathleen McDermott and colleague Karl Szpunar.
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Eldercare Choices Revive Sibling Fights
Associated Press Online
and 59 others
Jan. 17,
2007 -- With about 20 million Americans providing care for a parent or in-law, such family dramas often with financial questions lurking unsaid are playing out across the country. WUSTL psychology professor Brian Carpenter comments on old family dynamics.
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On the scales: Exercising helps dieters preserve bone strength
The New York Times
Jan. 2,
2007 -- When overweight people lose weight, they often lose bone mineral density as well, increasing their risk for osteoporosis. But new research led by medical professor and lead author Dennis Villareal suggests that losing weight with exercise rather than calorie restriction can preserve bone strength.
The results of the study appear in the Dec. 11 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine.
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Diabetes, obesity can increase your Alzheimer's risk
CNN.com
Nov. 7,
2006 -- November is National Alzheimer's Disease month. CNN medical correspondent Judy Fortin talked about the illness with John Morris, director of WUSTL's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. He said besides old age, diabetes and obesity are also risk factors for developing Alzheimer's.
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Diagnosis: Dementia May Follow Higher Weight Loss in Aging
The New York Times
Sept. 19,
2006 -- Weight loss in people over 65 can be the result of normal aging, but new research suggests that it may also be an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia.
WUSTL neurology professor and senior author John Morris comments on the study that appears in the September issue of Archives of Neurology.
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Funding for Alzheimer's research is key, scientists say
Kansas City Star
and 17 others
July 5,
2006 -- Scientists who study Alzheimer's disease say they are on the brink of finding treatments to slow or stop it.
A few weeks ago, Congress voted to reduce funding for research on Alzheimer's disease.
WUSTL scientists commenting are neurology professor Anne Fagan Niven, neurology professor and chair David Holtzman, and Tom Meuser, director of education and rural outreach at WUSTL's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
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The hidden dangers of belly fat
MSNBC.com
May 24,
2006 -- While we all know that excess pounds increase your risk of certain diseases, you may not realize that where you carry the weight makes a big difference. Researchers have found that abdominal fat could be even more hazardous to your health.
WUSTL nutrition expert Samuel Klein, director of the Center for Human Nutrition, explains why.
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Reducing your daily calories by 40%: The science behind 'starvation' diets
Wall Street Journal
and 3 others
Feb. 1,
2006 -- Earlier this month, one of the first human studies of calorie restriction showed that people on the strict diet had younger hearts than normal-weight people on a typical Western diet.
This new research shows that calorie-restriction diets -- which cut calories by as much as 40% of your normal intake -- may help you live a longer life.
WUSTL nutritional studies researcher Luigi Fontana comments.
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Cut calories for a younger heart
CBS News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
and 115 others
Jan. 13,
2006 -- A very low calorie — that cut calories by as much as 40% of your normal intake — can help the heart age more slowly, according to researchers who released what they call the first-ever human study on the subject. Results showed that people on the strict diet had younger hearts than normal-weight people on a typical Western diet. WUSTL medical professor and lead author Luigi Fontana and colleague John Holloszy comment.
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Genomic medicine: The science speeds up
Newsweek Magazine
Dec. 21,
2005 -- When the Human Genome Project completed the first directory of all human genes, the stage was set for the dream of "personalized medicine." But linking a gene to a disease can take years by conventional techniques, and decoding one person's entire genome would still be a multimillion-dollar endeavor. This fall, researchers unveiled a pair of new technologies that could boost the speed of gene sequencing tenfold, while greatly reducing the cost.
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Brain scan may spot Alzheimer's progression
ABC News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
and 37 others
Nov. 16,
2005 -- Newly developed brain-scanning technology may help identify how Alzheimer's disease progresses and who is likely to get the disease, two new studies suggest.
In the second study, researchers used a combination of PIB/PET scans and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis to find markers that can predict Alzheimer's disease.
WUSTL neurology professor and lead researcher Anne Fagan Niven comments.
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