This International Women's Day, UCI MIND remains committed to understanding why almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women. Research conducted in partnership with Maria Shriver’s Women's Alzheimer's Movement, whose organization has awarded $500,000 to UCI MIND since its launch in 2017, seeks to answer that question. Show your support by advocating, donating, and participating in research today!
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The Winter 2022 edition of UCI Magazine features UCI MIND researchers, including David Sultzer, MD, Michael Yassa, PhD, and more! Read the latest edition of UCI Magazine here >
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Contributed by Elizabeth Head, Josh Grill, and Ira Lott A diagram depicting trisomy-21 - Source: LuMIND People with Down syndrome are at high risk for developing Alzheimer disease beginning after the age of 40 years. This is due, in part, to the extra copy of chromosome 21, which contains the amyloid precursor protein gene and leads to higher production of beta-amyloid with age. Indeed, there is evidence that the overproduction of amyloid in Down syndrome is a strong driver of Alzheimer disease, which is why treatments targeting beta-amyloid could be impactful for this group of adults. In our current exciting…
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Discover Magazine: Aging dogs can develop canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD), sometimes known as “doggie dementia.” The brains of dogs with CCD show only amyloid beta plaques, not tau tangles, but their symptoms are similar to the symptoms of dementia in humans, explains Elizabeth Head, director of the graduate program in experimental pathology at the University of California, Irvine. “They’ll forget how to signal that they need to go out,” Head says. “In the more severe stages of the disease, they can become incontinent and may not recognize people.” She points out that because dogs live closely with humans, any behavioral changes…
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Contributed by Christian Salazar, PhD Source: National Institute on Aging Black Americans are more likely than White Americans to be afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease. This may be of no surprise considering that some of the same risk factors of heart disease that disproportionately affect African Americans in midlife- obesity, type-2 diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertension- can also impact brain health later in life. Black Americans can therefore benefit from participating in clinical trials like the AHEAD 3/45 study, which aims to test whether an investigational treatment can slow or stop the earliest brain changes due to Alzheimer’s disease in people with a…
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Contributed by Hayk Davtyan, Ph.D. and Christel Claes, Ph.D. While the word “mutation” may conjure up alarming notions, a mutation in brain immune cells serves a positive role in protecting people against Alzheimer’s disease. Now UCI MIND biologists have discovered the mechanisms behind this crucial process. Their paper appears in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia. The investigation centered on a variant of the PLCG2 gene, which makes the instructions for producing an enzyme important to brain immune cells called microglia. “Recently the mutation, which is known as P522R, was shown to lower the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s,” said Hayk…
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Renewal recognizes UCI's dedication to patient care and active engagement in research to develop new therapeutic approaches February 15, 2022 “Renewal of certification as a Huntington’s Disease Society of America Center of Excellence is very exciting, as this will help us expand our patient care and research. HD was one of the first diseases for which a genetic cause was determined and serves as a paradigm for research into other such diseases,” says Leslie Thompson, Ph.D., Donald Bren and Chancellor’s professor in the departments of psychiatry and human behavior and biological chemistry at the UCI School of Medicine. UCI has…
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In a scientific first, UCI researchers have discovered fundamental mechanisms by which the hippocampus region of the brain organizes memories into sequences and how this can be used to plan future behavior. The finding may be a critical early step toward understanding memory failures in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Norbert Fortin (right), UCI associate professor of neurobiology and behavior, is corresponding author on the study, while Babak Shahbaba, UCI Chancellor’s Fellow and professor of statistics, is senior co-author. UCI
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UCI MIND #InTheNews: Forbes: "According to UCI, the new center will involve collaborations across seven areas: SMART (statistics, machine learning-artificial intelligence) designs software to integrate and analyze health records, molecular data, and observation. This unit will be led by Daniel Gillen, professor and chair of statistics, and Zhaoxia Yu, associate professor of statistics... Precision omics generates, analyzes, and administers genomic, proteomic, and chemical data. It’s led by Suzanne Sandmeyer, professor of biological chemistry, and Leslie Thompson, the Donald Bren and Chancellor's Professor of psychiatry & human behavior at UCI... The institute will take special aim at diseases that heretofore have lacked effective treatments. “For many…
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UCI MIND #InTheNews @Seniors Matter - Feb. 9, 2022 “People who engaged in more healthy behaviors had a lower risk than people with fewer because all of these things matter, and when it comes to brain-healthy behaviors, more is more!” said Joshua Grill, PhD, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at the University of California, Irvine. “So, we should all try to adopt as many brain-healthy behaviors as we can.”
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We are pleased to announce that the in-person support group meetings for families who are caring for individuals living with Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease are resuming next month in March. All details may be found in the flyer linked here and below. These meetings are co-sponsored by The Down Syndrome Program at UCI MIND, The Regional Center of Orange County, and Alzheimer's Orange County, in collaboration with the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County.
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"The university already has well-established and influential centers for Alzheimer’s disease and #dementia (UCI MIND)...that are potentially poised to benefit from Burnand’s philanthropy. ...During her lifetime, she supported #Alzheimers disease research at UCI MIND"
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Our memories are imperfect treasures – dear to our hearts, but not necessarily accurate snapshots of reality. CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks to neurobiologist Michael Yassa about how memories are stored in the brain, why we forget, and what we’ve gotten wrong about how it’s supposed to work. To help understand the mechanisms of memory, we meet a woman who remembers absolutely everything... and a man who can’t even recall what he ate for breakfast. Plus, actionable tips for how we can keep our memories sharp at any age.
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Originally posted by Orange County Aging Services Collaborative (OCASC): We now have Mastering the Master Plan translated into Spanish, English, Vietnamese, and ASL! Please see below links to share with everyone you know. This event was hosted by the collaborative and the County of Orange on Nov 5th, 2021 to educate everyone about the CA Master Plan for Aging. It also included a town hall with elected officials. This is an important topic and this plan needs to be implemented at the local level. Do YOU know about the CA Master Plan for Aging? What are your elected officials doing…
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UCI MIND’s partner and sponsor of the Research And Mentorship Program (RAMP) HFC, led by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, has announced their annual convention for caregivers, CareCon. Learn more here >
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Originally posted on The Company of Biologists "First Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Journal of Cell Science, helping early-career researchers promote themselves alongside their papers." UCI MIND trainee Gianna Fote was recently selected for an interview to discuss her latest publication. Read the full interview here, and learn about her publication here.
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Residential households in the U.S. can order one set of 4 free at-home tests from USPS. Here’s what you need to know about your order: Limit of one order per residential address One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests Orders will ship free starting in late January Fill in this form with your contact and shipping information to order your tests: https://special.usps.com/testkits
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Congratulations to UCI MIND member Dr. Claudia Kawas, who was just announced as the recipient of a UCI Academic Senate 2021-22 Distinguished Faculty Award. Dr. Kawas, who is a Professor of Neurology, will receive the Academic Senate Better World Award. To learn about her research studying longevity in the oldest-old, visit 90study.org.
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Contributed by Joshua Grill, PhD January 11, 2022 — Today the U.S Centers Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced their decision to cover monoclonal antibodies against the beta amyloid protein that accumulates in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease only in the setting of randomized controlled trials (read the announcement here). This Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) decision is open to public comment for 30-days before taking effect. The decision, if finalized, will to limit access to the one approved monoclonal antibody, Biogen’s drug aducanumab (Aduhelm), and any subsequently approved monoclonal antibodies, to Medicare beneficiaries who are participating in…
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Gianna Fote's work in the lab of Drs. Leslie Thompson & Joan Steffan, supported by the ADRC, was accepted to the Journal of Cell Science. Congrats to the entire team of researchers! Read more here >
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Here's to a great year of podcasting with our new series for caregiver stories, Spotlight on Care! Let's take a look at 2021: Top Episode Recognizing the Early Signs of Alzheimer's Disease with Bill Edwards was the most popular episode of Spotlight on Care in 2021. It was published on February 02 and has been downloaded 186 times. Listen to it here! 19 Episodes In 2021, Spotlight on Care published 10 hours of new content across 19 episodes. That’s 587 minutes or 35,256 seconds to be more precise. 2,311 Downloads In 2021, Spotlight on Care episodes were downloaded 2,311 times thanks…
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❄️Wishing you a joyous holiday season with our sincere appreciation for your trust & confidence in us as we research ways to make memories last a lifetime We wish you a New Year filled with Peace, Happiness & Hope Joshua D. Grill, PhD & the Faculty & Staff of UCI MIND
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In January 2022, the NIA’s Spanish language materials email list will officially launch with monthly emails on staying healthy as you age entirely in Spanish. The list will also highlight NIA’s Spanish resources, including print publications, videos, and web articles. If you signed up for the list in August, there is no need to subscribe again. If you haven’t signed up, you can subscribe here. Other new resources and materials from NIA that may be of interest to you and the communities you serve: Now in Spanish: Get Fit for Life Exercise and Physical Activity Guide for Healthy Aging. New videos on Healthy Aging…
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As a child in the early 1980s, I was enamored with My Little Pony, the colorful plastic horse figurines with long manes. I also had the brand’s Show Stable, which was parked in our TV room and filled with my beloved ponies. But as I progressed through grade school, I eventually packed up my stable and forgot about the toys I once loved. By late 2003, I hadn’t thought about my ponies for over 15 years. Then, VH1 ran a 1980s nostalgia show in which celebrities reminisced about bygone pop culture. An actress held up a My Little Pony figurine…
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Overactivity in the hippocampus, likely tied to lack of inhibition, underlies some age-related cognitive decline. Targeting those circuits shows early promise in slowing memory loss. By Emily Singer December 9, 2021 As we get older, our memory begins to fail in predictable ways. We’re more likely to confuse similar memories, for example, forgetting whether it was little Tim or Samantha who threw the turkey leg across the room at Thanksgiving, and whether that happened the same year the dog snatched the sweet potato pie. In experiments in the lab, old people can easily remember very different objects but have a…
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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) clinical trials require the enrollment of two people: a participant and a study partner. Study partners play critical roles for trial success. Yet, little is known about the impact of study partners, especially in trials that enroll individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). At this year’s Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference in Boston, Navneet Hakhu from the Grill/Gillen lab presented data about who study partners are in these important clinical trials. He showed that the prevalence of adult child and other dyads was much lower than that of spousal dyads. But importantly, these adult child and other dyads were much more likely…
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Cognitive assessments are a crucial part of Alzheimer’s disease studies as these help track cognitive decline; however, these assessments may be subject to a practice effect, an improvement in scores due to familiarity with the assessment. Practice effects can mask cognitive decline, so it is important to understand whether these exist in commonly used assessments. At this year’s Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference in Boston, Michelle Nuño in the labs of Drs. Joshua Grill and Daniel Gillen, presented the group’s work investigating whether the letter fluency test, a commonly used assessment, is subject to a practice effect. Through…
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UCI MIND In The News: Dec 3 is International Day of Persons with Disabilities. So congratulations to Dr. Elizabeth Head of University of California, Irvine -- Recognized as an Expertscape World Expert in Intellectual Disability: https://expertscape.com/ex/intellectual+disability
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UCI MIND's podcast, Spotlight on Care, just hit 2,000 downloads! Subscribe today wherever you get your podcasts, and you'll hear our hosts and special guests share stories, experiences, tips, and advice on caring for loved ones affected by Alzheimer's and other dementias. Learn more at mind.uci.edu/podcast
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TODAY is #GivingTuesday – a day that celebrates generosity in all its forms! In honor of this global generosity movement, make a gift today to UCI MIND. We hope you will expand our capacity to conduct promising research and advance progress toward ending Alzheimer’s disease by supporting the UCI MIND Alzheimer’s Disease Excellence Fund. GIVE NOW
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Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday – a day that celebrates generosity in all its forms! In honor of this global generosity movement, consider making a gift today to UCI MIND. We rely on the support of people like you in our community to advance life-changing research and accelerate the fight against Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating illness that impacts more than 6 million Americans and their families. GIVE NOW We hope you will support us by Giving Tuesday, November 30th, 2021 #GivingTuesday
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This month is #NationalCaregiversMonth – a time to recognize and honor family caregivers across California and raise awareness to increase support for caregivers. Many caregivers work and provide care which can make it challenging to maintain their own well-being. . As a caregiver, it’s essential to take care of yourself, too. The California Department of Aging has compiled a list of resources to assist you in this role. https://bit.ly/ALZDcare
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Often people do not realize that they are considered a caregiver, but if you are providing care or assistance to a family member or a friend, YOU are a caregiver. The California Department of Aging has compiled a list of resources to assist you in this role. Whether you are a new or seasoned caregiver, protecting the health and safety of you and your loved ones is always a top priority. https://bit.ly/ALZDcare
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One in five people will develop dementia. Keep your body and brain healthy. Learn more about the facts and figures of Alzheimer’s disease: https://bit.ly/ALZDaware
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One in six baby boomers who live to be 65 years of age and older will develop Alzheimer’s disease. Keep your body and brain healthy. For healthy lifestyle tips and resources, see https://bit.ly/BRAINhealth
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November is Alzheimer's Awareness Month. Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and causes problems with memory, thinking, and behavior. Alzheimer's disease is not a normal part of aging. Someone with Alzheimer's disease may show signs of: Memory loss that disrupts daily life, such as getting lost in a familiar place or repeating questions. Difficulty completing familiar tasks. Confusion with time or place. Change in mood, personality, or behavior. If you or a loved one shows signs listed above, consult your health care provider. For more information on Alzheimer's disease and dementia, see https://bit.ly/ALZD10
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On Friday September 10th, 2021, UCI MIND and Alzheimer’s Orange County held their annual Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease Research Conference. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event, which was titled “Alzheimer’s From All Angles,” was held virtually on Facebook and YouTube. This year’s conference was moderated by Dr. Joshua Grill and included talks from esteemed experts in the field of Alzheimer’s research. The day kicked off with a presentation from Dr. Sid O’Bryant, Professor of Pharmacology and Neuroscience from the University of North Texas, on the current state of diagnostic blood biomarkers. He explained the process needed to get a blood-based biomarker accepted for use…
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New training grant to attract nation’s brightest scientists UCI MIND’s Drs. Elizabeth Head and Joshua Grill and a core group of faculty members were recently awarded a prestigious National Institute on Aging T32 training grant to help recruit and prepare the next generation of predoctoral and postdoctoral scientists to study Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. The training grant will support several promising early-stage scientists for a renewable one-year appointment, as they learn from UCI MIND’s renowned faculty. This collaborative opportunity for UC Irvine bridges scientists from the Schools of Medicine, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Information and Computer Sciences, and Social Ecology…
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It has been my privilege to volunteer for UCI MIND’s annual gala planning committee since 2015. The A December to Remember Galas have offered an opportunity for friends of UCI MIND to come together for a festive evening to raise vital support for Alzheimer’s research. This year, facing uncertainty about what the winter months would bring amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and after giving thoughtful consideration for the health and wellbeing of our community and our supporters, UCI MIND has cancelled the 2021 Gala. As you think about your end-of-year giving, please consider making a gift to UCI MIND. It is important to…
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Dr. Elizabeth Chrastil is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at UC Irvine.Dr. Chrastil’s lab studies the learning and memory processes related to spatial cognition and navigation.In 2019, she was awarded a UCI MIND / Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement grant to better understand how sex, spatial navigation and Alzheimer’s disease interact. What is spatial navigation? Spatial navigation is the ability to understand where you are on the planet and then how to get to other places. How do you measure a person’s ability to navigate? We use several methods in the lab. For our virtual reality tests,…
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In 2020, Dr. Lindsay Hohsfield, a UC MIND scientist in Dr. Kim Green’s lab studying the role that microglial cells play in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), started a non-profit organization to provide support to patients and families affected by the early onset inherited form of Alzheimer’s Disease, Autosomal Dominant Alzheimer’s Disease (ADAD), also known as Early Onset Familial Alzheimer’s Disease (EOFAD). Although rare, ADAD is devasting. Dementia-related symptoms begin when people are in their 30s and 40s. Those affected face a unique set of challenges including difficult decisions about genetic screening, family planning, and financial considerations. The genetic nature of the…
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Autosomal Dominant Neurodegenerative Diseases (ADND), like Huntington’s disease and the rare form of inherited early onset Alzheimer’s disease, are particularly challenging brain disorders, in part because they begin to show symptoms when people are mid-career and parenting younger children. ADND are caused by inherited genetic mutations and researchers can test for these mutations at any age, creating an opportunity to test interventions as possible preventative therapies before even the earliest signs of brain changes. Yet, many people who are at risk to inherit these mutations choose not to undergo testing and, while there is critical need for these at-risk individuals to participate in prevention trials, significant scientific and ethical complications are brought to bear…
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While aging is typically associated with cognitive decline, some individuals are able to diverge from the characteristic downward slope and maintain very high levels of cognitive performance. Prior studies have found that cortical thickness in the cingulate cortex, a region involved in information processing, memory, and attention, distinguish those with exceptional cognitive abilities when compared to their cognitively more typical elderly peers. Others major areas outside of the cingulate, such as the prefrontal cortex and insula, are also key in successful aging well into late age, suggesting that structural properties across a wide range of areas may better explain differences…
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A blood test may be able to identify individuals at increased risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, according to research presented at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease conference. The results came as part of the AHEAD study. Joshua D. Grill “The goal of this study is to stop Alzheimer’s disease before it begins — delaying or preventing symptoms in people at increased biological risk,” Joshua D. Grill, PhD, recruitment unit co-chair for the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium, which helps oversee the AHEAD Study Recruitment and Retention Working Group, told Healio Psychiatry. “The latest advance is to use a blood test to improve the…
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Overall, this nice series of experiments identifies yet another component of the sleep/wake regulatory system—the TRN—that is disrupted by Aβ and degenerated in AD. It is interesting that stimulating the TRN can impact Aβ. It is unlikely, however, that the TRN is the only stimulation target necessary, and that stimulating it would address all the sleep disruptions caused by Aβ and also tau pathology. AD pathophysiology impacts multiple different systems regulating sleep, including brainstem and hypothalamic nuclei, cortical nodes regulating slow wave expression, and even the hippocampus that regulates ripples, and coupling of slow waves, sleep spindles, and ripples. This…
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Message from the Director Dear Friends of UCI MIND, Fall is here and the COVID-19 pandemic is still with us. Though we are seeing signs of improvement, life is not yet back to normal. This fall, the pandemic once again forced us to move several of our major annual activities to a virtual format (page 7) or to cancel them entirely (page 5). But it has not slowed the important work happening at UCI MIND. In this issue, you will learn about funded work from Dr. Liz Chrastil (page 4). She studies the hippocampus, a part of the brain affected…
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Certain antihypertensive medications, particularly diuretics, are linked to lower Alzheimer's disease neuropathology (ADNP) and other brain disease processes, new research shows.
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Drs. Jean Ho (left) and Daniel Nation (right)Photo: Steve Zylius/UCI Continuing all this week, National Public Radio's “Academic Minute” series features a UCI expert. This Friday, tune in to hear Jean K. Ho, postdoctoral scholar at the UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, who studies how hypertension medications help ward off memory loss. Learn More At NPR's Academic Minute: https://www.npr.org/podcasts/564572329/the-academic-minute You Can Also Listen On Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/1060078714
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Autosomal Dominant Neurodegenerative Diseases (ADND) like Huntington’s disease and the rare form of inherited early onset Alzheimer’s disease are particularly challenging brain disorders, in part because they often begin at an early age. Sarah Hernandez, PhD Lindsay Hohsfield, PhD UCI MIND researchers, Drs. Sarah Hernandez (Thompson Lab) and Lindsay Hohsfield (Green Lab) recently published a perspective article in the Journal of Translational Medicine on the added scientific and ethical issues that should be considered when enrolling participants of child-bearing potential into ADND prevention clinical trials. To better understand their unique perspective on this topic read their paper > To learn…
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