In the News

Healthline - “There is a lot of evidence that links sleep apnea to Alzheimer’s disease risk,” added Bryce Mander, Ph.D, assistant professor, Psychiatry & Human Behavior, School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine. “But there is limited data on the beneficial effects of sleep apnea treatment on risk for dementia.” He continued: “This study offers proof of concept evidence that treating sleep apnea may reduce Alzheimer’s disease risk. also offers potential novel molecular targets for future study for those where positive airway pressure treatment is not feasible.” Read more here >  

"Researchers are working hard to find a cure to Alzheimer's disease … Through their efforts, new research and studies have proven helpful in ways to prevent the disease and even possible treatments. We learn about these findings from our panel of medical experts …. We also discuss The 90+ Study, which studies people over the age of ninety, how they live to that age, and whether their minds show any signs of decline. … Guests: Dr. Ahmad Sajjadi, Cognitive Neurologist, Associate Professor of Neurology and Pathology, University of California, Irvine…." Learn more here >

Eat This, Not That! - Nov. 1, 2022 'An increase in dementia cases is alarming, especially since there's no cure and Dr. Michael Yassa, neurobiologist and director of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory at the University of California, Irvine shares why there's an uptick. "Remember that the biggest risk factor is age, and we are an aging population. Advances in medical care have managed to extend our lifespan beyond anything we could have ever imagined a hundred or two hundred years ago. So the prevalence of dementia is increasing because we have more and more people…

University of California, Irvine Chancellor Howard Gillman states: "Our faculty continues to do a tremendous job of winning research grants, the lifeblood of our research efforts. In just the last couple of months...our renowned Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, known as UCI MIND, received a grant of $47 million from the National Institute on Aging; an interdisciplinary UCI team will receive $10 million from the National Institutes of Health...Clearly, the future of science at UCI is very bright indeed." The UCI research team is directed by (seated, from left) Frank LaFerla, Andrea Tenner and Kim Green. Other investigators…

Responding to an article written in AlzForum on the future of Alzheimer's treatment and research from October 7th, Joshua Grill, PhD, from UCI MIND, and his colleague, Jason Karlawish, MD, from the University of Pennsylvania, write: Josh Grill, Professor, Psychiatry & Human Behaviorphoto: Steve Zylius/UCI "Anticipation that FDA will grant full approval of lecanemab (or another disease-modifying treatment) invites an exciting but challenging thought exercise: How will such treatments change research and practice for Alzheimer’s disease (AD)? We’ve considered some of the issues. Our top line point is that a new disease-slowing treatment is unlikely to make use of placebo…

UC Irvine, a longtime hub of Alzheimer’s investigation, has been awarded a $47 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to support a team developing next-generation mouse models for studying late-onset Alzheimer’s. … “It’s an incredibly exciting time, and there’s a lot of promise,” said Joshua Grill, director of UCI’s Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders. … The project’s next phase will be co-directed by Frank LaFerla, dean of the School of Biological Sciences; Andrea Tenner, a Distinguished Professor of molecular biology and biochemistry; and Kim Green, a professor of neurobiology and behavior. To learn more, click here >

Scientists will develop mouse models to help unravel most common form of disease The UCI research team is directed by (seated, from left) Frank LaFerla, Andrea Tenner and Kim Green. Other investigators include (standing, from left) Marcelo Wood, Arthur Lander, Grant MacGregor, Ian Smith, Vivek Swarup, Craig Stark, Andre Obenaus and Ali Mortazavi. UCI School of Biological Sciences What began with a $70,000 philanthropic gift 12 years ago has grown into the recipient of a $47 million National Institute on Aging grant for Alzheimer’s disease research at the University of California, Irvine. The funds will be parceled out over five…

Campus to receive $10 million over five years for role in Cell Atlas Network UCI research team members will manage brain sample acquisition, processing and characterization as part of the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network project. They are (from left) Ed Monuki, Elizabeth Head, William Yong, Xiangmin Xu, Craig Stark, Hannah Lui Park and Robert Edwards, along with Mari Perez-Rosendahl (not pictured). Steve Zylius / UCI The University of California, Irvine will participate in a five-year, multi-institutional, $126 million grant from the National Institutes of Health supporting the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network. The project aims to describe the cells…

UCI MIND's podcast, Spotlight on Care: Alzheimer's Caregiving, was featured in a list of the top Alzheimer's podcasts by Feedspot. The best Alzheimer podcast list is curated from thousands of podcasts on the web and ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority & freshness. Watch our latest episodes at spotlightoncare.com. 9. Spotlight on Care: Alzheimer's Caregiving  Irvine, California, US Welcome to Spotlight on Care, the podcast where we share stories, experiences, tips, and advice on caring for loved ones affected by Alzheimer's and other dementias. Spotlight on Care is produced by the University of California, Irvine Institute for Memory Impairments…

Illustration of SHQ. (a) Wayfinding level 6, where locations of three numbered checkpoints are first shown on a map. After the map disappears, participants have to navigate the boat to the numbered checkpoints in order, (b) Flare level 9, where participants navigate the boat from a starting location along the river, until they find a flare gun. Once found, the boat rotates by 180° clockwise and the participants are asked to shoot the gun in the direction of the starting location. Vaisakh Puthusseryppady, a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California, Irvine in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior writes:…

Early life adversities can have a lifelong impact. Tallie Z. Baram, distinguished professor in the Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Pediatrics, Neurology, and Physiology & Biophysics at the University of California, Irvine, determines why. Listen here > Prof. Tallie Z. Baram Prof. Tallie Z. Baram is the Danette Shepard Professor of Neurological Sciences, with appointments in several departments at UCI. Baram is a developmental neuroscientist and child neurologist and has focused her efforts on the influence of early-life experiences on the developing brain, and on the underlying mechanisms. She is studying this broad topic in two contexts: a) How early-life…

Findings show bone marrow transplantation may be a novel treatment approach July 12, 2022 Albert LaSpada, MD, PhD, distinguished professor of pathology, neurology and biological chemistry in the UCI School of Medicine, is one of the first researchers to examine whether some forms of ALS could be linked to the body's adaptive immune system, which builds up protection as it is exposed to foreign pathogens. Orange, Calif. — The immune system, along with the body's central nervous system, may play a fundamental role in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting that bone marrow transplants may be an effective new treatment for the…

Leslie Thompson discusses how UCI’s collaborative approach can help usher in the next great advancement in healthcare July 11, 2022 “I’ve been involved in many very meaningful research projects in my career, but to be perfectly honest, this is huge for me, as I feel it ultimately can help the families that I so passionately care about,” says Leslie Thompson. Steve Zylius / UCI In February, UCI launched the Institute for Precision Health, a campus-wide, interdisciplinary endeavor that merges UCI’s powerhouse health sciences, engineering, machine learning, artificial intelligence, clinical genomics and data science capabilities. The objective is to identify, create…

Multisite team included UCI, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wake Forest University July 13, 2022 “Our findings indicate that age-related increases in brain inflammation have a downstream effect on Alzheimer’s disease-related tau proteins and neuronal synaptic integrity,” says Bryce Mander, Ph.D., UCI assistant professor of psychiatry & human behavior and the study’s lead and co-corresponding author. “This results in deficits in the brain’s capacity to generate fast sleep spindles, which contribute to age-related memory impairment in older adults.” UCI School of Medicine Irvine, Calif., July 13, 2022 – A multisite research team from the University of California, Irvine, the University of Wisconsin–Madison and…

Contributed by Mark Mapstone, PhD UCI MIND faculty Mark Mapstone, PhD and Ira Lott, MD collaborated on research that was recently published in JAMA Neurology. Learn more about their findings: Studying Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome is a very important avenue for research because nearly all people with Down syndrome will develop the brain changes of Alzheimer’s disease. These changes include the abnormal accumulation of two proteins; amyloid and tau. In this study, we wanted to know if we could measure these changes in blood and if these changes accurately reflect the changes happening in the brain.  We…

DOTHAN, Ala. (WTVY) - Alzheimer’s and Dementia affect millions of people worldwide. Changes in the brains of people with the disease can start decades before the person actually experiences symptoms, that’s according to the AHEAD Study. With June being Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness month, doctors and researchers of the AHEAD study are urging people to be conscious about their health and their loved ones. Doctor Josh Grill, a University of California Irvine professor, shares tips to improve and become mindful of your brain health. He said taking part in physical exercise, eating a healthy diet, getting a good night’s sleep…

Image Credit: David Tett via Centre for Ageing Better Exercise could be a powerful defense against Alzheimer’s disease. Three dementia researchers explain how it works. NOVA - When it comes to dementia prevention, sleep and exercise may work together, says neuroscientist Miranda Chappel-Farley, a Ph.D. candidate at University of California, Irvine. … Together, they create a powerful bulwark against dementia and represent a lifestyle factor ignored at your peril, says Chappel-Farley, who cautions against “targeting exercise but not paying attention to sleep.” Read more here >

Contributed by David Sultzer, MD and Joshua Grill, PhD An FDA Advisory Committee met on June 17 to provide input to the Agency regarding the effectiveness of pimavanserin for the treatment of psychosis in Alzheimer’s disease.  The Committee voted 9 to 3, with the majority finding insufficient evidence of effectiveness in this population. This input comes on the heels of an FDA review last year that declined to approve pimavanserin for psychosis in a broad group of dementia syndromes, including Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, Lewy body and Parkinson’s disease dementia, and frontotemporal dementias.  At that time, the Agency felt that…

The multidisciplinary team will focus on participant recruitment and retainment for Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders research Josh Grill, left, and Daniel Gillen will examine what role recruitment registries for ADRD research can play in overcoming exclusions to improve research outcomes. What is the best way to recruit participants to join a clinical studies registry, and can such registries help better diversify clinical research samples? These are two critical questions that UCI researchers are tackling with a new National Institutes of Health grant, “Recruiting and Retaining Participants from Disadvantaged Neighborhoods in Registries.” The work will be led by Joshua Grill, professor…

Findings will advance development of better early diagnostic tools, new treatment strategies “This project will capture a composite of disease features to expand our understanding of the brain circuits susceptible to aging and Alzheimer’s. Our findings will facilitate the development of more effective early diagnostic tools and the discovery of new therapies,” says UCI’s Xiangmin Xu. Steve Zylius / UCI The University of California, Irvine has been awarded a five-year, $14 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study brain circuits that are susceptible to aging and Alzheimer’s disease. The research findings will advance the development of early…

In a blunt rejection of current norms, two leaders of biomarker disclosure research argue research participants should have the opportunity to know whether they have biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease . Biomarkers, or biological indicators of a disease, are essential to the study and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and other diseases that cause dementia. Clinicians use imaging such as MRI and PET scans to measure biomarkers and make accurate diagnoses. Blood tests are fast becoming available too. The tests also allow researchers to develop targeted drug therapies. But in both clinical care and research, biomarker results are infrequently disclosed. Insurers typically do…

Hope Dies Last - Alzheimer's: A Journey of Lost Memories, comes out TODAY at 3:30pm! Check out this clip of UCI MIND Director, Joshua Grill, Ph.D. discussing the impacts of Alzheimer's disease on Orange County residents. Tune in today at 3:30pm on KDOCTV for the full program!

After decades of research into the causes and treatment of Parkinson's disease, UCI Health neurologist Dr. Claire Henchcliffe is hopeful that a new cell therapy can finally bring meaningful relief to patients with the progressive neurodegenerative movement disorder. A national expert on Parkinson's disease, she is one of a small group of U.S. researchers conducting a first-in-human clinical trial of transplanted stem cells engineered to replace dopamine-producing neurons that are destroyed by the debilitating and incurable condition. As the brain loses its ability to produce the potent neurotransmitting chemical, that leads to the tremors, stiffness, slowness and lack of coordination seen in Parkinson's patients. The…

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

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.

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…