Blood test detects Alzheimer’s damage before symptoms
A simple blood test reliably detects signs of brain damage in people on the path to developing Alzheimer’s disease – even before they show signs of confusion and memory loss, according to a new study from the School of Medicine and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Serving with a clear mission
Monique Williams, AB ’95, MD ’99, MSCI ’08, is a physician with expertise in geriatric medicine and an advocate for including underrepresented populations in medical studies.
Decreased deep sleep linked to early signs of Alzheimer’s disease
A new study from the School of Medicine has found that decreased deep sleep is associated with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Racial differences in Alzheimer’s disease unveiled
A new study at the School of Medicine finds disparities between African-Americans and Caucasians in a key biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease — suggesting that tools to diagnose the disease in Caucasian populations may not work as well in African-Americans.
Major Alzheimer’s study aims to predict who will develop the disease
A long-term study of adult children of Alzheimer’s patients — led by the School of Medicine — aims to define who is likely to develop the disease and when, and to establish a timeline for how quickly the disease will progress.
Lack of sleep boosts levels of Alzheimer’s proteins
Chronic poor sleep has been linked to cognitive decline. A new study from the School of Medicine shows that a sleepless night causes levels of the Alzheimer’s protein amyloid beta to rise faster than the brain’s waste-disposal system can remove it. Persistently high levels of the protein can set off a cascade of brain changes leading to dementia.
Brain imaging links Alzheimer’s decline to tau protein
Using a new imaging agent that binds to tau protein and makes it visible in positron emission tomography (PET) scans, scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown that measures of tau are better markers of the cognitive decline characteristic of Alzheimer’s than measures of amyloid beta seen in PET scans.
Rhesus monkey genome reveals DNA similarities with chimps and humans
An international consortium of researchers, including scientists at the Genome Sequencing Center, has decoded the genome of the rhesus macaque monkey and compared it with the genomes of humans and their closest living relatives – the chimps – revealing that the three primate species share about 93 percent of the same DNA. Washington University scientists also recently completed the raw sequences for the orangutan and marmoset genomes.