ADRC News

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will host a free community event Monday, October 1 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. focused on recent findings in the study of healthy aging, brain health, and Alzheimer’s disease prevention. Topics for the evening will focus on the theme of Resilience in Brain Aging.

“There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but science has given us solid evidence showing healthy lifestyle changes and strategies can help us optimize brain...

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison recently published their study results in the journal Aging Cell. These results showed that the mice that were making an excess of a human protein called AT-1 displayed signs of early aging, as well as premature death. The researchers were able to reverse these signs by restoring a cellular function that appeared to be blocked in these particular mice. The researchers believe these findings may be related to the...

Alzheimer's disease researchers from UW-Madison presented a wide range of research at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) in Chicago this week, from results showing that mild sleep-disordered breathing in middle-aged adults may affect brain health to using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing tools to stop brain changes associated with Alzheimer's disease.

“UW-Madison Alzheimer's Disease Researchers Shine in Chicago” was posted on Thursday, July 26, 2018 to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Medicine news page. 

Prior to a 2003 study, scientists believed estrogen therapy was protective for both the brain and the heart. The results of the 2003 study, the Women’s Health Initiative Memory study, however, suggested that women were at increased risk for dementia if they participated in estrogen therapy. This led to questions in the medical field regarding the use of menopausal hormone replacement therapy.

This led Dr. Carey Gleason to review three studies, one of which she...

How tired are you?

This is the question asked of a group of people participating in a WRAP, or Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention, study. These people, aged 40-65 years old, did not have symptoms of dementia when they volunteered for the registry, but there is a strong prevalence of a family history of Alzheimer’s disease—occurring in 70% of the group.

Dr. Bendlin’s sleep study consisted of participants regularly being tested for memory loss, the...

Azura Memory Care recently helped Alzheimer's disease patient Bob Nolan enjoy a good day on the golf course, as part of the Azura MOSAIC Dreams "Best Day" program. The outing was highlighted in The Journal Times, where Dr. Nathaniel Chin comments on the importance of helping people with Alzheimer's disease live an active life and participate in activities such as golf, as one thing Chin and his fellow researchers have discovered is that staying physically active can delay...

Drs. Barbara Bendlin and Nathaniel Chin recently joined NBC15 Madison to talk about and explain Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. They also emphasized the importance of the center's need for volunteers for Alzheimer's disease studies; "we really appreciate when people volunteer for research because we can't really understand the disease—we can't understand mild cognitive impairment—unless people volunteer for research studies," said Dr. Bendlin. 

"Researchers ask for volunteers for Alzheimer's disease studies"...

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, led ADRC investigator Dr. Amy Kind, recently debuted a new, innovative tool to visualize neighborhood disadvantage. This tool is called the Neighborhood Atlas. It is free, accessible, and interactive, displaying a map of over 70 million Zip+4 zip codes. The tool quantifies the degree of disadvantage at the neighborhood level for all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, which will be critical in assessing...

A new study by Dr. Andrea Gilmore-Bykovskyi, professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing and ADRC investigator and pilot grant recipient (2017-2018), was published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. The recently published study was covered by the University of Wisconsin News, explaining how her research is giving healthcare providers better tools to recognize undiagnosed dementia in hospital patients. She identified certain keywords and phrases in patients' electronic health records, such as "forgetful at...

Dr. Nathaniel Chin, director of medical services at the Wisconsin ADRC, was a guest on Being Patient: Brain Talks, discussing the latest research on genetics and Alzheimer’s disease. His conversation with Being Patient founder, Deborah Kan, covered a wide range of topics, including genetic testing, personalized risk reports, protective genes, and the importance of a healthy lifestyle in reducing Alzheimer’s disease risk. 

Dr. Chin explained that while tests can identifying genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease, they do not necessarily mean a person will definitively...