Katherine Du/NPRThe first time Kit Parker’s phone rang, everything seemed fine. It was January 2006, and Parker’s old Army buddy Chris Moroski was calling to say hi. Parker and Moroski had jumped out of airplanes together in the 1990s when they were paratroopers in the National Guard. But after the attacks on Sept. 11, Parker […]
About 100 times rarer than Parkinson’s, and often mistaken for it, progressive supranuclear palsy afflicts fewer than 20,000 people in the U.S.—and two thirds do not even know they have it. Yet this little-known brain disorder that killed comic actor Dudley Moore in 2002 is quietly becoming a gateway for research that could lead to […]
Tau is better marker of progression to Alzheimer’s disease than amyloid beta A buildup of plaque and dysfunctional proteins in the brain are hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. While much Alzheimer’s research has focused on accumulation of the protein amyloid beta, researchers have begun to pay closer attention to another protein, tau, long associated with this […]
Navigation skill test could diagnose brain changes long before memory fails Long before Alzheimer’s disease can be diagnosed clinically, increasing difficulties building cognitive maps of new surroundings may herald the eventual clinical onset of the disorder, finds new research from Washington University in St. Louis.“These findings suggest that navigational tasks designed to assess a cognitive […]
Several Washington University in St. Louis faculty will be featured in a new NOVA special on the science of human memory scheduled to air Wednesday, Feb. 10, on PBS stations across the nation. In the program, titled “Memory Hackers,” NOVA explores the cutting edge frontiers of cognitive science and molecular biology, where neuroscientists are probing […]
891 patients with mild or moderate Alzheimer’s disease participated in study By Susan Scutti CNNPOSTED: 8:27 AM PDT July 27, 2016 UPDATED: 10:47 AM PDT July 27, 2016Health, medical research(CNN) –The latest round of testing for a new Alzheimer’s drug didn’t produce the results researchers hoped for, but a small number of patients did see […]
More and more doctors are writing an unusual prescription for their patients withParkinson’s disease: Go out dancing and call me in the morning. A growing body of research suggests that dance, notably the tango, can improve balance, strength and walking ability in people with neurological disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, […]
The greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is advancing age. After 65, the risk doubles every five years, and 40 percent or more of people 85 and older are estimated to be living with the devastating condition. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified some of the key changes in […]
Physician-scientist is fifth School of Medicine winner Randall J. Bateman, MD, the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor of Neurology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, received a MetLife Foundation Award for Medical Research on July 20 in Washington. Bateman and this year’s other honoree, German researcher Christian Haass, MD, have […]