Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact our lives this fall, the fight to solve Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) must charge forward. This November, the U.S. FDA will convene an advisory committee to assess potential approval of Biogen’s aducanumab, a monoclonal antibody in development for treatment of early AD. We will watch closely as aducanumab could be the first new approved drug for AD since 2005. Regardless of the outcome of the meeting and subsequent FDA decision – anticipated in March 2021 – this represents a milestone for…
Read More
Many of us listened intently today as the US Food and Drug Administration convened a panel of expert members of an advisory committee to review the submitted materials for potential approval of Biogen’s candidate treatment for early Alzheimer’s disease, aducanumab. The meeting was notable on many levels. Advocates made clear and compelling demonstrations of why new therapies are so desperately needed for this disease. The experts, however, were equally clear that the available data from a still limited number of studies, only one of which was actually positive, do not meet the current standards for drug approval in the United…
Read More
ASK THE DOC! UCI MIND Facebook LIVE Video Series This monthly series features short talks and Q&A with experts from the University of California, Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND), 1 of 32 congressionally designated Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers in the nation. Join UCI MIND on Facebook (@UCIrvineMIND) to learn about advances in research to improve Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. How does heart health impact the brain? About the Speaker: Daniel Nation, PhD is an Associate Professor of Psychological Science in the UCI School of Social Ecology. He earned his PhD in clinical…
Read More
The FDA will today convene an advisory committee to review and discuss the application submitted by Biogen Inc. for aducanumab for the treatment of early Alzheimer's disease. Though mixed opinions remain about whether the FDA should approve aducanumab at this time, the submission of a new treatment entity for Alzheimer’s disease is nonetheless good news and an important milestone. It has been nearly two decades since a new drug was approved for Alzheimer’s disease and no approved drug can effectively slow or stop the debilitating progression of this fatal neurodegenerative disease. Regardless of the outcome of this specific submission, we…
Read More
Harriet Harris (second row center) and her family after receiving the UCI MIND Award at the 2019 “A December To Remember” gala event For the first time in the event’s decade-long history, the University of California, Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND)’s A December to Remember gala will raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s research in a digital setting. While many sectors remain at a standstill due to the pandemic, nonprofits like UCI MIND know that their mission must march forward. The virtual gala event will take place online on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 5:30-7 p.m.,…
Read More
Contributed by Alessandra C. Martini, PhD, Associate Project Scientist at UCI MIND Researchers have discovered that the majority of people with Down syndrome will have the pathology of Alzheimer’s disease – amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles - in their brains by 40 years of age. In this new study, conducted with colleagues at the University of Kentucky, we used autopsy tissue donated by research participants to analyze the role of microglia (the brain’s immune cells) in the development of Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome across different ages and disease stages. What we found is that people with Down…
Read More
“Our findings suggest that older individuals experiencing cognitive decline have relatively stable ideological preferences, but these preferences lose their connection to political policy details. Future studies conducted during an election year may shed additional light on how this group of Americans is casting their ballot,” said UCI MIND faculty member Mark Fisher, MD. Study participants were 190 members of The 90+ Study (LINK), a UCI-led longitudinal investigation of the oldest-old, who are those aged 90 and older.
Read More
Charles Limoli FLASH radiation therapy, also called FLASH-RT, can eliminate the debilitating side effects associated with traditional radiation therapy by delivering the same dose in tenths of seconds, and can remove tumors, according to a study published in Clinical Cancer Research. … Charles Limoli, PhD, a researcher and professor of radiation oncology at University of California Irvine It's not unreasonable to expect that in 10 years, this may become a widespread option for radiotherapy patients worldwide."
Read More
Amanda McQuade, graduate student in Mathew Blurton-Jones’ lab at UCI MIND, discusses findings from their new study using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), donated from participants at the UCI Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and CRISPR gene editing to improve understanding of the role of immunity in Alzheimer’s disease. Click below to view the video, and access the publication at this link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19227-5 Amanda McQuade, MS Amanda McQuade is a graduate student in the department of Neurobiology and Behavior working with Dr. Mathew Blurton-Jones. Her graduate work focuses on using CRISPR to study risk mutations for Alzheimer’s disease in human…
Read More
UCI MIND & UCI School of Nursing present a live Q&A panel: Caring for the Caregiver Tuesday, November 10, 2020 4:00 - 5:30 pm PDT Live on Facebook & YouTube Join us for a virtual discussion and Q&A with experts on the unique challenges facing dementia caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists include Dr. Joshua Grill, director of UCI MIND, Drs. Alison Holman and Jung-Ah Lee, faculty in the UCI School of Nursing, and Dr. Lisa Gibbs, medical director of UCI Senior Health Center. Register online to receive live viewing instructions.
Read More
