From left to right the Quilter family: Chris, Patrick, Charlie, Ann, Matt, and Patty Quilter UCI MIND is proud to celebrate a historic philanthropic gift from a local family whose commitment and generosity have transcended a traditional donor relationship with Orange County’s only Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Guided by the visionary leadership of Professor and Director, Joshua Grill, PhD, the long-held goal of bringing UCI MIND’s entire research enterprise under one roof has now become a reality. On Sunday, December 7th, The Orange County Register, recognized the tremendous gift that the Quilter family has given to UCI MIND towards dementia…

Ann and Charlie Quilterphoto: Steve Zylius/UC Irvine With a $50 million lead gift from the Quilter family and approximately $30 million in new commitments, the University of California, Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders will begin planning to build a state-of-the-art research and care facility to enhance its position as a global leader in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research and patient care... UC Irvine announced to the campus community Monday that $80 million dollars have been raised to build the Ann Hutchinson Quilter Hall for UCI MIND. To learn more about the the lead gift from the…

Research on limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy (LATE), a type of dementia that is distinct from but can mimic Alzheimer's disease, is ramping up as signaled by a recent New York Times article. Compared to someone living with Alzheimer’s disease, a person diagnosed with LATE has more memory problems and trouble with their words but experiences a slower decline in thinking. People with LATE are also more likely to be over the age of 80. More patients want to discuss LATE with their neurologists and members of the general public are paying attention. The article features interviews with several individuals diagnosed…

Novo Nordisk today announced disappointing topline results for two clinical trials, EVOKE and EVOKE+, of their  GLP-1 agonist semaglutide for Alzheimer’s disease. Semaglutide is approved for treatment of diabetes and obesity and there were mixed signals in the literature for this drug and other drugs like it as to whether they could offer benefit to people with Alzheimer’s disease. The 18-month trials included a combined 3808 participants, suggesting they should have been well-powered to show a benefit of treatment if one existed. The press release indicates that effects of treatment were observed on Alzheimer’s biomarkers, but it doesn’t say which…

In the heart of Orange County beats a source of strength, compassion, and transformation — Latino Health Access (LHA). For more than three decades, this extraordinary organization has been a beacon of hope, empowering Latino families to take charge of their health and well-being. At the center of it all stands Dr. America Bracho, whose vision, courage, and love for her community have inspired generations. A physician from Venezuela with a master's in public health from the University of Michigan, Dr. Bracho founded Latino Health Access on a simple yet profound belief: health equity begins with the people themselves. Under…

When dementia begins, it doesn’t always start with memory loss. Sometimes the first thing to change is the person’s motivation, patience, humor, or mood. Families may sense these changes long before tests can measure cognitive ones. “He just isn’t himself anymore,” they may say. The mind is shifting because the brain already has. Neuroscience is catching up to what caregivers have noticed for decades. Late-life changes in mood, drive, or social instinct can be early footprints of the same biological processes that will, years later, erode memory. This idea now has a formal name: Mild Behavioral Impairment, or MBI. It…

Photo credits: Steve Zylius / UC Irvine Email Communication from Hal Stern - Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and Michael J. Stamos - School of Medicine Dean: Dear colleagues, We are pleased to announce that Cameron Carter, Distinguished Professor and Chair, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. He is one of 100 new members announced this week. The academy selected Professor Carter for his fundamental contributions to our understanding of the role of the prefrontal cortex in supporting human higher cognitive functions and his pioneering contributions to characterizing how prefrontal cortical…

  New Hope Presbyterian Church Congregation/members There's something powerful about gathering on a Saturday morning—sharing a warm breakfast, good conversation, and a collective purpose to learn and grow. That's exactly what happened at New Hope Presbyterian Church in Anaheim, where parishioners and community members came together to talk about something often left unspoken: brain health and Alzheimer's disease. A Partnership Rooted in Care With the Programs in Medical Education (PRIME) Leadership Education to Advance Doctoring - African, Black and Caribbean (LEAD-ABC) program at the UC Irvine School of Medicine as a partner, the event created space for honest dialogue, curiosity, and…

Anyone who’s worried about Alzheimer’s disease should know about Doug Whitney. Doug is what researchers have coined an “escapee” of familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD), the rare hereditary form of Alzheimer’s caused by inheriting mutations in one of three genes (APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2). But to many in the disease community Doug represents hope, hope brought through research participation. FAD mutations lead to an aggressive buildup of amyloid plaques in the brain. People with these mutations typically develop Alzheimer’s disease between the age of 30-50. People with FAD also have a 50% chance of passing the disease on to each of…