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.
04.14.2021Gary Kratina is a participant in the Clinical Core study and is passionate about brain donation.
04.06.2021 NUCATSMargaret Flanagan, MD, assistant professor of Pathology in the Divisions of Experimental Pathology and Neuropathology and Neuropathology Core Leader of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease, has received the inaugural Mark Rogovin Pilot Research Award in Neuroscience from the Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences (NUCATS) Institute.
04.05.2021More than 350 participants attended the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease’s virtual PPA Conference, which featured keynote speakers and group support sessions focused on Primary Progressive Aphasia.
03.26.2021 The AtlanticNeurologists, including Borna Bonakdarpour, MD, have reported a rapid decline in their memory-loss patients due to pandemic isolation. Some patients have become agitated and violent. Others have advanced quickly through the progressive stages of Alzheimer’s.
03.23.2021 Navigating Neuropsychology PodcastDr. Emily Rogalski studies “SuperAging,” which describes older adults who are seemingly resistant to the deleterious changes in memory associated with typical or atypical aging.
03.19.2021 Today ShowAccording to Dr. Borna Bonakdarpour, a professor of neurology at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, the feelings of brain fog can be caused by a wide range of factors, including isolation, anxiety, lack of sleep, a decreased level of exercise and more.- 03.18.2021
Sandra Weintraub, PhD, has always followed her passion. Now she’s a leader in the field of clinical neuropsychology.
- 03.12.2021
Larry Seiger participates in the SuperAging study. Nine years ago, an article in the Times about the Mesulam Center prompted Seiger to join the study.
03.12.2021What is the difference between normal aging, dementia, and SuperAging? There are no exclusive categories when it comes to aging, but here are some things to consider when thinking about a dementia diagnosis.
03.10.2021 News Medical Life SciencesA new Northwestern Medicine study showed cognitive SuperAgers have resistance to the development of fibrous tangles in a brain region related to memory and which are known to be markers of Alzheimer's disease.
- 02.23.2021 WebMD
For years, amyloid plaques have gotten most of the attention as a potential target for Alzheimer's treatment, said researcher Tamar Gefen, who led the new study. But a body of evidence tells a different story: It's the buildup of tau -- not amyloid -- that correlates with a decline in memory and thinking skills, said Gefen, an assistant professor at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in Chicago
- 02.11.2021
For 26 years now, the Mesulam Center and the Francis J. Atlas Center, a regional senior center located in the South Shore neighborhood of Chicago and serving a largely Black and African American population, have had a long and successful partnership.
- 01.13.2021 HealthDay
"While we knew that the memories of people with primary progressive aphasia were not affected at first, we did not know if they maintained their memory functioning over years," said study author Dr. M. Marsel Mesulam, director of the Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago.
- 12.06.2020 The Washington Post
One of the patients was a woman who explained that she was having “syntax errors and no articles.” They began collecting other patients with unusual language problems, or aphasia, with no evidence of stroke. Their first six patients were described in a paper published in 1982. That puzzle was the beginning for Mesulam, now at Northwestern University in Chicago and the director of the Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease.
11.19.2020Feinberg investigators are breaking down the mechanisms of aging and designing solutions to extend healthy living.
10.16.2020A rare genetic mutation found in patients with Alzheimer’s may provide further insight into the pathologic mechanisms that cause the disease.
10.02.2020A new study provides a missing link between inflammation and protein deposits that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
- 09.24.2020 MSN
Lead study author, Eileen Graham of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, says they found some people with cognitive resilience. They functioned well in life, but autopsy showed a diseased brain. They found some with the opposite: people who functioned poorly in life but whose autopsy showed very little neuro-degeneration.
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.
- 04.28.2020 U.S. News & World ReportAnother 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.
- 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.
- 11.08.2019 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.
- 10.14.2019 ESPNChronic 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."
- 10.09.2019 NBC NewsWhile 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.”
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).
- 08.13.2019 The Washington PostThe 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 ReutersThe 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 TribuneDr. 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.