Alzheimer’s

Higher genomic levels of African ancestry are associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease, a consortium of investigators reported recently in Alzheimer’s & Dementia. Read More

Are you caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia? Have you ever wondered what life is like for him or her? If you’d like to learn more, sign up for the Vanderbilt Child & Family Center’s Virtual Dementia Tour on April 20. Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has received a $9.4 million grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to test the effectiveness of a transdermal nicotine patch in improving memory loss in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) has been awarded a four-year $660,633 grant from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Aging to study how psychophysical responses to acute experimental thermal pain differ between older adults with and without Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). Read More

In the latest VUCast: Learn how researchers behind a life-saving social media campaign are promising #WeWillNotGiveUp; find out how your brain "sees" in the dark; and hear about the No. 1 ranking that's making Vanderbilt students happy. Watch now! Read More

The Vanderbilt Child and Family Center partnered with Senior Helpers to sponsor the inaugural Virtual Dementia Tour April 22. Read More

A healthier heart could prevent Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Read More

Mitochondria not only are the cell’s main power producers, they are also the chief cooks and bottle washers. Read More

One of the most promising new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease may already be in your kitchen. Curcumin, a natural product found in the spice turmeric, has been used by many Asian cultures for centuries, and a new study indicates a close chemical analog of curcumin has properties that may make it useful as a treatment for the brain disease. Read More

Laura Dugan strives to bring breakthroughs in neuroscience research and the aging brain together. Read More

Find out what to expect when your loved one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Read More

Reporting last week in the journal Cell, researchers from Oregon Health and Science University, Harvard Medical School and Vanderbilt University describe the first “four-dimensional” picture of a brain receptor that plays a key role in learning and memory. Read More

Autopsies have revealed that some individuals develop the cellular changes indicative of Alzheimer’s disease without ever showing clinical symptoms in their lifetime. Read More

The Vanderbilt Child and Family Center will hold a lunch and learn for those with family members with Alzheimer's March 19. Read More

Researchers at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego and Vanderbilt University have discovered a “missing link” in the structure of a transmembrane receptor that could lead to new treatments for autism, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Read More

A recent Vanderbilt study shows a significant number of patients are entering I.C.U.’s throughout the world with no evidence of cognitive — brain related issues, but are leaving with symptoms associated with mild Alzheimer’s or Traumatic Brain Injury. Barb Cramer has more. Read More

When Todd Monroe’s grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer late in the course of her dementia, the nursing home staff caring for her struggled to assess her pain. Read More

The Vanderbilt Center for Quality Aging is taking the “bench to bedside” concept of translational research out into the community, forming partnerships with assisted living facilities to examine how evidence can be put into action to improve the care of elders. Read More

A study of cognitive complaints in older adults showed that memory concerns from both the patient and an informant was most predictive of converting to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia within three years. Read More

AstraZeneca and Vanderbilt University have signed a research collaboration agreement to identify candidate drugs aimed at treating psychosis and other neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with major brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia. Read More