ADRC News

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center hosted its annual Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders Research Day on March 5, 2020, at the Discovery Building on the UW-Madison campus. More than 220 scientists and researchers from across campus attended the half-day event. 

The research day poster session included more than 50 poster presentations. The following is a list of poster abstract award winners:

• Best Fellow, Post Doc, or Research Scientist Poster: Taryn James, PhD, “Effects of Menopausal Hormone...

In alignment with University of Wisconsin–Madison campus and U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines related to COVID-19 (coronavirus), the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center has canceled the Research Participant Appreciation Event, originally scheduled for April 25 in Madison, Wisconsin. Event cancelation is part of a larger proactive UW–Madison campus and University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health plan to minimize person-to-person spread of COVID-19 in our community.

In addition, all in-person research visits...

Nathaniel Chin, MD, director of medical services for the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC), shared with TMJ4 News Milwaukee and NBC 15 how NBC’s ‘This is Us’ character’s diagnosis affects his patients. In the show, Mandy Moore’s character Rebecca was diagnosed with MCI, and Chin is grateful that the show is putting a spotlight on this medical issue. 

“Think of MCI as the umbrella term that we will use for someone who has a...

Story updated March 11, 2020

Canceled: Solomon Carter Fuller Brain Health Brunch and Ecumenical Candlelight Service of Remembrance, March 13-14

In alignment with the UW–Madison and CDC guidelines related to COVID-19 (coronavirus), the Solomon Carter Fuller Brain Health Brunch and Ecumenical Candlelight Service of Remembrance, scheduled for March 13 and March 14, have been canceled. The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin, sponsors of the event, will be...

On camera for ABC27/WKOW and News 3/Channel 3000, Amy Kind, MD, PhD, and Barbara Bendlin, PhD, shared their findings from a new study recently published in JAMA Neurology. 

The study “Neighborhood disadvantaged is associated with cerebral and hippocampal volume,” looked at different brain regions associated with memory and compared across individuals without signs of cognitive impairment. The researchers used the Neighborhood Atlas tool to define and localize the relative advantage of different neighborhoods...

Physical exercise is a vital factor in maintaining and improving memory and cognitive performance, and a recent special issue of Brain Plasticity, “Exercise Effects on Cognitive Function in Humans,” explores this connection. Ozioma Okonkwo, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of geriatrics and gerontology, was guest editor for the special issue, and also co-authored an editorial about the published research. 

The issue editorial outlines four research papers and three reviews. Some of...

Megan Zuelsdorff, PhD, was a guest on Wisconsin Public Radio to discuss Alzheimer’s disease research at the UW and answer listener questions. Topics that were covered included dementia risk after surgery, early diagnosis, hearing and dementia risk, the MIND diet, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and more.

“Stress and Resilience in Dementia” aired on WPR’s “The Larry Meiller Show” on January 14, 2020. 

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center is now accepting abstracts for the 2020 Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders Research Day poster session. The call for posters is open to students of all levels, trainees, researchers, and faculty who are involved in research related to Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, aging, and related topics.

Poster abstracts are due Monday, February 3, and must be submitted online. Accepted poster presenters will be notified by February 10.

Members of...

A new study finds neighborhood disadvantage may negatively impact the brain in middle to older age.

The study “Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with cerebral and hippocampal volume,” was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology. The study was led by Barbara Bendlin, PhD, and Amy Kind, MD, PhD, associate professors of medicine (geriatrics), and Jack Hunt, a dual MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program in...

Dementia Matters is a podcast about Alzheimer's disease, hosted by UW Health geriatrician and memory care specialist Nathaniel Chin, MD. Listeners learn about research advances and caregiver strategies from local and national dementia experts.

In 2019, Dementia Matters released 24 episodes on topics ranging from battling health disparities in aging research to safety tips for the aging driver. Below is a list of the six most popular Dementia Matters episodes of 2019.

1. Understanding Behavioral and...