Alzheimer’s disease

May 30, 2024

Study to prevent Alzheimer’s disease in people with Down syndrome seeks participants

Participants may be able to join this study if they have Down syndrome, are between 35 and 50 years old and have a study partner willing to attend all study visits.

Brina Ratangee talks about her poster during Alzheimer's Disease Research Day. (photo by Susan Urmy)
April 17, 2024

Event highlights Alzheimer’s disease research

The 5th Annual Vanderbilt Alzheimer’s Disease Research Day, sponsored by the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center (VMAC), was held April 10 at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing.

By Paul Govern
February 26, 2024

Study finds a role for AI in drug repurposing pipeline

Vanderbilt researchers are using artificial intelligence to search for existing drugs used for other problems that might help patients Alzheimer’s Disease.

By Paul Govern
October 25, 2023

Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine named Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium Member Site

The Vanderbilt Center for Cognitive Medicine has been named an Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium Member Site.

By Danny Bonvissuto
July 17, 2023

Alzheimer’s genetic risk tracked across sex, race

A Vanderbilt study of genetic risks for cognitive impairment later in life uses data from 32,426 research participants ages 60 and older to elaborate these risks across sex and across the intersection of sex and race.

By Paul Govern
June 12, 2023

Images predict functional decline

MRI brain scans at baseline for study participants 60 and older — who were free of clinical dementia at study entry — predicted a decline in independent function five years later.

By Paul Govern
May 22, 2023

Neurofluid flow and Alzheimer’s disease

Vanderbilt researchers used novel MRI methods to noninvasively quantify measures of neurofluid circulation and found that hypertrophy of a site of cerebrospinal fluid egress may be related to amyloid-beta retention in Alzheimer’s disease.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 9, 2023

Neural networks probe proteins

A machine learning method based on neural networks outperformed a mutational scanning model at identifying disease-causing mutations in an Alzheimer’s disease protein, suggesting the method could be useful for facilitating therapeutic design.
By Leigh MacMillan
November 8, 2022

Alzheimer’s risk factor and cognition

Vanderbilt researchers found that a protein with roles in innate immunity worsens memory at baseline in carriers of APOE-e4, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, further implicating neuroinflammation in cognitive decline.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 3, 2022

Minority patients less likely to have amyloid plaques necessary for Alzheimer’s treatments

Fewer Black, Hispanic and Asian patients meet biomarker qualifications for landmark treatments that may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by targeting amyloid plaques, according to new findings published in JAMA Neurology.
By Holly Fletcher
September 15, 2022

Gifts bolster otolaryngology, Alzheimer’s disease programs

Herbert Christopher, a grateful Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery patient who received cochlear hearing implants from David Haynes, MD, has funded the training of otolaryngology fellows and leaders in Alzheimer’s disease care through several outright endowed gifts and additional gift planning with his estate.
By Emily Stembridge
June 21, 2022

Today Show: Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center makes national push for clinical study enrollment. You can help.

The Today Show’s Maria Shriver spotlighted a landmark, years-long study into the connection between heart health and Alzheimer’s disease, and the urgency to boost study enrollment—particularly among people of color who are disproportionally impacted yet historically underrepresented in research.
By Holly Fletcher
April 26, 2022

New Clinician Spotlight: Aaron McMurtray

Specializing in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, neurologist Aaron McMurtray, MD, PhD, recently joined Vanderbilt University Medical Center as associate professor of Neurology.
By VUMC News and Communications