Alzheimer’s disease

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has boosted funding for the first large-scale clinical trial aimed at identifying drugs to stop or slow Alzheimer’s disease in people who are destined to get it. The trial is led by Randall Bateman, MD.

David B. Carr, MD, has been named the inaugural Alan A. and Edith L. Wolff Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the School of Medicine. He is pictured at his installation with Larry J. Shapiro, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, and Victoria J. Fraser, MD, head of the Department of Medicine.

Brain networks break down in a similar fashion in rare, inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease and much more common uninherited versions of the disorder, reveals a new study led by the School of Medicine’s Beau Ances, MD, PhD.

A new theory about disorders that attack the brain and spinal column has received a significant boost from scientists at the School of Medicine. The theory links these conditions to corrupted proteins known as prions, which appear bright green in this image of brain cells from a patient with Alzheimer’s disease.

Antidepressants can reduce production of the main ingredient of Alzheimer’s brain plaques, according to new research at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of Pennsylvania. The plaques are highlighted in red in this image of a mouse’s brain.

Three promising biomarkers being studied to detect Alzheimer’s disease in its early stages appear to undergo a surprising shift as patients develop symptoms of dementia, researchers led by Anne Fagan, PhD, at the School of Medicine report.

Increased brain cell activity boosts brain fluid levels of a protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research from scientists at the School of Medicine. Senior author David M. Holtzman, MD, said the findings should help advance efforts to treat Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disorders associated with the tau protein.​

A team led by researchers at the School of Medicine has identified variations in a gene that double a person’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Pictured are Carlos Cruchaga, PhD (left), and Alison M. Goate, DPhil, who led the research effort.

David M. Holtzman, MD, and Randall J. Bateman, MD, have been chosen as co-recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis.

A new discovery may help explain the surprisingly strong connections between sleep problems and neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Loss of a gene that helps keep track of time makes brain cells more vulnerable to damage from dangerous compounds known as free radicals.