News and Announcements
Read the latest news from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease. The links below take you to articles where you can learn more about our members' latest achievements, awards and honors.
06.25.2020Building equitable relationships with community leaders and framing research questions around residents’ priorities is the core principle of community-engaged research, and IPHAM, along with ARCC, have been leaders in the field.
- 06.17.2020 Violinist.comLeave it to Northwestern University to bring together talents from its music and medical schools in an effort to "convey the importance of collaborative work between musicians and health care professionals." V.com contributor and Bienen School of Music violin professor Desirée Ruhstrat, Northwestern Medical Orchestra conductor Taichi Fukumura, and pianist and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Feinberg School of Medicine Borna Bonakdarpour join forces for the second movement of W.A. Mozart’s Piano Concert No. 20.
- 06.13.2020 Northwestern MedicineDr. Borna Bonakdarpour led the virtual musical initiative with Northwestern Medical Orchestra and Northwestern University Bienen School of Music. The project united University musicians to support colleagues at Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, and all essential workers. The video performance seeks to provide comfort and healing through music during a difficult time.
- 06.12.2020 Northwestern Medicine
While the terms Alzheimer’s disease and dementia are often used interchangeably, the two conditions are not the same. Whereas dementia presents with memory loss, behavioral changes, language difficulties or disorientation which affects a person’s ability to function in daily life, Alzheimer’s disease refers to a specific brain pathology, explains Ian Grant, MD, assistant professor of neurology and director of clinical trial operations at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
- 06.11.2020 BlueJeans Network
The Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease is actively researching the rare form of dementia called Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA), which affects language. They began using BlueJeans, one of Northwestern University’s video software solution, to support their “Communication Bridge” study — a speech therapy clinical trial that connects individuals living with PPA and SLPs – and have found that participants living with PPA benefit from doing real-time video intervention sessions with SLPs.
- 04.28.2020 U.S. News & World Report
Another barrier to care exists for neurology patients with vision, hearing or cognitive issues. These technical challenges aren’t adequately addressed on our current platforms, and we need creative solutions now. Dr. Emily Rogalski in the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine successfully deployed telemedicine to improve language ability in patients with dementia. Many other groups are now employing similar techniques for their elderly neurological patients.
- 04.10.2020 Chicago Health
While people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia gradually lose the ability to speak and to remember, the arts can help ground them, keep them engaged and let them express themselves.
“The arts enrich the quality of life of individuals with memory loss and provide them with a sense of purpose and meaning,” says Darby Morhardt, PhD, LCSW, associate professor in the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University. “The arts are a mode of expression when cognitive abilities are declining.”
- 02.26.2020 ALZ Forum
New PET research done by Adam Martersteck, Northwestern Graduate Student and Emily Rogalski, PhD was featured at the Human Amyloid Imaging Conference 2020 "by combining data from multiple PET tracers in longitudinal study cohorts, they are beginning to decipher which regional pathologies provoke particular disease manifestations. The Human Amyloid Imaging conference, held January 15–17 in Miami, showcased the latest findings tying tangles, or plaques, to particular behavioral and cognitive impairments."
- 02.24.2020 The New York Times
Tamar Gefen, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, strongly suggests having an in-depth discussion with a genetic counselor if you’re considering a test. “Before you say ‘I have to know,’ really understand what you’re dealing with, how your life might be affected, and what these tests can and cannot tell you,” she advised.
- 11.15.2019 PEW
"In this final episode of the future of learning series, we explore the aging mind, including how brains change over the years, how to stimulate the mind, and which traits can be found in 'superagers.'" Featuring Emily Rogalski, PhD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University and associate director of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease.
- 11.08.2019 U.S. News & World Report
Partnering with Endeleo are groups such as Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the Alzheimer's Association, the American Heart Association and local medical centers, clinics, colleges and banks. The institute is establishing storefronts offering health information and will install a blood pressure measurement kiosk inside Trinity United Church of Christ. Under the leadership of Rev. Otis Moss III, the church encourages its congregation to explore beyond traditional favorite fried foods and try dishes like baked fish and vegetables.
- 10.17.2019
Emily Rogalski, PhD, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and associate director of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, studies a group of people who seem to be immune to the memory decline that typically comes with age. Dr. Rogalski and her team hope to identify what allows these “SuperAgers” to maintain outstanding memory performance into their 80s and beyond.
- 10.14.2019 ESPN
Chronic sleep loss has been associated with higher risk for cancer, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, heart attacks, Alzheimer's, dementia, depression, stroke, psychosis and suicide. As Phyllis Zee, chief of sleep medicine in the department of neurology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, says, "Sleep deprivation ... doesn't only affect the brain -- it affects all your other organs. ... Think about it as punching your other organs."
- 10.10.2019 Eczacibasi
On the 60th anniversary of the Dr. Nejat F. Eczacıbaşı Awards, the Eczacıbaşı Medical Award of Honor was presented to Prof. Dr. Marsel Mesulam, for his outstanding contributions to medical science and tremendous support of academicians and scientific events in Turkey.
- 10.09.2019 NBC News
While some people might not want to know about the early signs of Alzheimer's, the new findings could help more women when they can still make plans for the future, experts said. "As your memory becomes more impaired, you are less and less aware you are having memory problems," said Sandra Weintraub, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and the clinical board director of the Mesulam Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. "That is the worst time to plan.”
- Dr. Darby Morhardt and Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour receive Outstanding Teacher Award10.09.2019
Dr. Darby Morhardt and Dr. Bonakdarpour of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease were both recipients of the 2018-2019 Outstanding Teacher Award from the Office of Medical Education. Dr. Morhardt received her award for her role as an AOSC (Area of Scholarly Concentration) Research Mentor, and Dr. Bonakdarpour received his award for his student lecture on Dementia.
- 09.23.2019
The Alliance for Research in Chicagoland Communities (ARCC) at Northwestern University’s Center for Community Health has announced the recipients of seed grant funds that will support local research projects and community engagement initiatives.
09.13.2019Northwestern Medicine scientists have pinpointed the location of dysfunctional brain networks that lead loss of language in primary progressive aphasia, a form of dementia.
09.05.2019Two Northwestern University scientists have received a $3.1 million grant from the National Institute on Aging to collaborate and investigate drug therapies for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
- 08.22.2019 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Can understanding Super Agers help tell us what keeps our minds younger for longer? It's early days, but some clues are emerging from places like the Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. Ten years ago a team there led by neuropsychologists Sandra Weintraub and Emily Rogalski flipped its research paradigm on the head. Instead of looking at what was going wrong to give people Alzheimer's disease they started looking at what was going right for those whose brains weren't ageing the same way.
- 08.19.2019 Consultant360
Mesulam Center Director M. Marsel Mesulam recently had a Q&A discussion with Consultant360 about his research into primary progressive aphasia and its association with Alzheimer disease.
- 08.13.2019 The Washington Post
The new report offers “good news and bad news,” said Sandra Weintraub, a professor and clinical core director at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. The good news is that for most people the decline “wasn’t that great,” Weintraub said. “Having said that, it really puts patients between a rock and a hard place if they’re told they need surgery and worry about losing mental function,” Weintraub said.
- 08.07.2019 Reuters
The researchers don’t know exactly why there was a decline in cognition in the participants who had surgery. “It’s widely considered that anesthesia may affect long-term cognition, but this has not been strongly supported by the recent literature,” Sanders said in an email. The new report offers “good news and bad news,” said Sandra Weintraub, a professor and clinical core director at the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
- 07.24.2019 Chicago Tribune
Dr. Tamar Gefen, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University, said the results of Mayeda’s study align with existing research on factors that lower the risk of late-life cognitive decline. “There is evidence in the literature suggesting a limited number of factors that can perhaps lower the risk of developing cognitive impairment in later life. This includes aerobic exercise, healthy nutrition, mental activity and engagement,” Gefen said in an email interview.
- 04.30.2019 CNN
Still, the disease itself didn't come out of the blue. The evidence has been building for years, including reports of patients who didn't quite fit the mold for known types of dementia such as Alzheimer's. "There isn't going to be one single disease that is causing all forms of dementia," said Sandra Weintraub, a professor of psychiatry, behavioral sciences and neurology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She was not involved in the new paper. Weintraub said researchers have been well aware of the "heterogeneity of dementia," but figuring out precisely why each type can look so different has been a challenge.
04.09.2019Reduced blood capillaries in the back of the eye may be a new, noninvasive way to diagnose early cognitive impairment, a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease.
04.04.2019An experimental treatment originally intended to help patients recover from stroke may have beneficial effects for Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study.
03.06.2019Northwestern Medicine scientists have discovered that an existing therapy used to treat Alzheimer’s disease might also work on patients with Primary Progressive Aphasia, a type of dementia that destroys language and currently has no treatment.
11.15.2018The 8th Annual Les Turner Symposium brought together investigators, clinicians, patients and families to share the latest discoveries in ALS research, promote scientific collaboration and provide patient education.
- 09.12.2018 Chicago Tonight - WTTW
Despite decades of research and lack of a treatment to cure or slow the progression of the disease, researchers, caregivers and advocates are optimistic about the future. “I see a treatment, it’s going to happen. Scientists are very close,” said William Klein, a professor at Northwestern University. “I believe we’re on a positive path,” said Harry John, CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “We’ve got a lot to do but we’re on a positive path.”