May 3, 2023–Eli Lilly and company announced today (https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-donanemab-significantly-slowed-cognitive-and-functional) the positive topline results from their Phase 3 clinical trial of donanemab, a monoclonal antibody that rapidly lowers beta amyloid levels in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease. The release indicated that patients treated with donanemab experienced significantly slower cognitive and functional decline, compared to those receiving placebo, over 18 months. The primary outcome was a composite measure known as the integrated Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale (iADRS, a tool that borrows pieces of other instruments to look at elements key in early disease) and was reported as demonstrating a 35%…
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New number crunching from the Alzheimer's Orange County estimates that the number of folks enduring this sort of heartbreak has essentially doubled since 2014 in the O.C. That’s a startling jump, from 84,000 to 164,000 people, which works out to about 5% of our total population. … “The new number is believable, especially if a difference from the previous estimate is the inclusion of mild cognitive impairment as a category,” said Dr. Joshua D. Grill, Professor of Neurobiology & Behavior and noted Alzheimer’s researcher at UC Irvine . Joshua Grill, PhD “Orange County is ‘grayer’ than the rest of the country,…
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On Monday, April 17th, 2023, the trainee led Research and Education in Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (REMIND) held its 14th annual Emerging Scientists Symposium. The event is designed to help early career scientists share their research and network with colleagues and mentors. Like previous years, this symposium included research talks from invited graduate and postdoctoral trainees, poster presentations, and a keynote presentation. The REMIND co-chairs were honored this year to welcome Rema Raman, PhD, Professor of Neurology at the Keck School of Medicine at USC, to speak on “Advancing Alzheimer’s clinical trials through a convergence of statistics, machine learning and Al”. Microglial replacement,…
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Dr. Frank LaFerla, Dean of the School of Biological Sciences and UCI MIND faculty member speaks at local educational event for the Alzheimer's Foundation of America. Frank LaFerla, PhD Read about the event and the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease in California here.
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UCI MIND faculty member and professor in the School of Public Health, Karen D. Lincoln, PhD, MSW, MA, FGSA, is featured in Authority Magazine as being one of the top inspirational Black women in medicine. Read the full interview here To learn more about Dr. Lincoln's research to address health disparities in Black communities, visit her faculty profile or her website: Advocates for African American Elders Dr. Karen D. Lincoln
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OC World produced documentary "Hope Dies Last", featuring UCI MIND faculty members, Drs. Joshua Grill and Leslie Thompson, wins the Golden Mike Award for best documentary. "Hope Dies Last" creates a narrative around the impact of Alzheimer's disease on California communities and the stories of families who find hope in the darkest of times. The documentary, produced by OC World, was awarded Best Long Form Programming or Documentary at the 73rd Annual Golden Mike Awards. Read the full article here. View the documentary here. https://youtu.be/wABhpdiZO0E
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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Advances in the field of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research and the contributions of UCI MIND investigators remain tremendously exciting. Two new drugs have been approved by the FDA (page 3). These approvals are believed by many to represent the dawn of a new age in AD research and treatment. Both drugs received accelerated approval and we await a decision from the FDA about “full approval” for lecanemab. If received, full approval could cause the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to revisit their previous coverage decision about anti-amyloid antibody therapies. These…
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The UC Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND) is pleased to announce that the inaugural recipient of the “UCI MIND Joan and Don Beall Scholar Award” is S. Ahmad Sajjadi, MD, PhD. Dr. Sajjadi is an Associate Professor of Neurology in the UCI School of Medicine. A clinician scientist with an established track record of studying different neurodegenerative pathologies across the aging spectrum, Dr. Sajjadi has demonstrated himself as an outstanding investigator and an important contributor to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) research and clinical care at UCI. He is an investigator in the UCI Alzheimer’s…
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The topline results for the Anti-Amyloid treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease (A4) study were released today (https://a4study.org). Unfortunately, the drug being investigated, solanezumab, failed to demonstrate a benefit in slowing memory changes in a population of individuals age 65-to-85 who met criteria for preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. Preclinical Alzheimer’s is a relatively new construct. It includes people who are older and have normal memory performance, but in whom biological tests suggest that the risk for Alzheimer’s disease dementia is high. The A4 study was among the first ever preclinical AD trials, boldly blazing a trail that has now been followed by…
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Dr. Joshua Grill and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh have been awarded a 3.5 million dollar grant by the National Institute on Aging to advance the field’s understanding of real-world patient and family member reactions to biomarker-informed Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders (ADRD) diagnoses and to provide critical information for directing post-diagnostic resources to monitor and support those most in need. Read the full news story about this important research here Joshua D. Grill, PhDDirector, UCI MIND; Professor, Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Neurobiology and Behaviorphoto: Steve Zylius/UCI
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