The Collaborative Approach for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders Research and Education (CARE): A recruitment registry for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, aging, and caregiver-related research
Read More
Blood pressure variability is an emerging risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, but mechanisms remain unclear. The current study examined whether visit-to-visit blood pressure variability is related to CSF Alzheimer’s disease biomarker levels over time, and whether associations differed by APOE ϵ4 carrier status.
Read More
Join our team! Applications are now live for the Director of Scientific Communications. The University of California, Irvine’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) has an opportunity for a Project Scientist. The mission of UCI MIND is to engage in cutting edge, interdisciplinary research designed to discover the basic mechanisms of neurodegeneration and brain aging, characterize the transition from normal aging to Alzheimer’s disease, and develop new treatments to slow or eliminate cognitive impairment resulting from any etiology. Critical to this mission are dissemination of research findings to the community for the purpose of increasing public confidence…
Read More
Image Courtesy: AARP Through new developments in Alzheimer’s research, UCI scientists have uncovered evidence of P522R, a particular gene mutation that may aid in minimizing the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disorder that slowly deteriorates memory and thinking skills in the brain, eventually leading to a loss in the ability to complete simple tasks such as facilitating a conversation or responding to a stimulus in the environment. With the discovery of the disease in 1906 by Dr. Alois Alzheimer, its causes today are focused on two suspects: plaques and tangles in proteins. Beta-amyloid, fragments of…
Read More
Contributed by Joshua Grill, PhD: The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) recently released their final decision related to coverage for the monoclonal antibody against beta amyloid, aducanumab (Aduhelm®). The decision was expected by many and includes only a few changes from the preliminary decision announced January 11. The decision remains that CMS will pay for aducanumab under a coverage with evidence determination (CED). This means that the drug will only be covered when a person with Mild Cognitive Impairment or mild dementia is enrolled in a randomized controlled trial. Such trials will need to be approved by CMS…
Read More
The Washington Post - April 7, 2022 The FDA approval of Aduhelm ignited a raging debate, with many doctors saying they would not prescribe the drug and several insurers declining to pay for it. Yet even with the uncertainty surrounding the drug, said Elizabeth Head, , at the University of California, Irvine, it is understandable why some families, especially those in which a loved one with Down syndrome faces an all but certain fate, “might believe doing something is better than doing nothing.”
Read More
"Much of neuroscience and study of brain diseases has focused on the brain's neurons. This study highlights that in addition to neurons, other brain cells, and especially immune cells, play crucial roles in brain health and disease," said Tallie Z. Baram, distinguished professor in the Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Pediatrics, Neurology, and Physiology & Biophysics at the UCI School of Medicine. "Neuroimmune interactions are a novel, important avenue to understanding and treating several brain disorders and mental illness and have been linked by other UCI researchers to Alzheimer's disease."
Read More
First author Gianna Fote was recently interviewed by the Journal of Cell Science for a newly-published paper. She provided commentary on her team's new findings for UCI MIND: "In our recently published work we studied intracellular trafficking of Apolipoprotein E (APOE), a lipid-carrying protein. The APOE4 isoform of this protein is the biggest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. We found that that APOE can be degraded by a process called autophagy, a process in which cellular waste is transported to an acidic organelle called the lysosome. The APOE4 isoform accumulates in the lysosome and causes increased induction of…
Read More
Study reaching caregivers in underserved communities for education, coaching Associate Professor Jung-Ah Lee (right) and her caregiver study team. Caregiving is often called the invisible profession. It isn’t to Jung-Ah Lee. The associate professor at the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing has witnessed the burden caregivers carry, especially those caring for a loved one who has dementia. She has dedicated her career to alleviating it. With the help of a research team including community education specialists, also known as community health workers, Lee ensures that important culturally appropriate information about caregiving for someone with dementia reaches those who…
Read More
The Head lab celebrating World Down Syndrome Day with their crazy socks! Some of those featured include: Liz Head Lorena Sordo Elizabeth Andrews Jeremy Rouanet Cherie Lepe Lisi Flores-Aguilar Jesse Pascual Learn more about Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease at https://sites.mind.uci.edu/headlab
Read More
