News and Announcements

Feinberg investigators are breaking down the mechanisms of aging and designing solutions to extend healthy living.

A new study provides a missing link between inflammation and protein deposits that contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.

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.

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.

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."

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.

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.”

Two 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).

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.

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.

An experimental treatment originally intended to help patients recover from stroke may have beneficial effects for Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study.