Medicine & Health

Alzheimer’s researchers David M. Holtzman, MD, and Celeste Karch, PhD, at the School of Medicine, have been recognized by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation for scientific achievements that could lead to new, effective treatments for neurodegenerative diseases associated with the accumulation of tau protein in the brain. Alzheimer’s is the best known such disease.

Researchers at the School of Medicine have identified an antibody that, in mice, removes amyloid plaques from brain tissue and blood vessels without increasing the risk of brain bleeds.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have discovered a protein that links the amyloid-removal process to the circadian clock. The protein, YKL-40, could help explain why people with Alzheimer’s frequently suffer from sleep disturbances — and provide a new target for Alzheimer’s therapies.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have found a novel form of the Alzheimer’s protein tau in the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord. This form of tau — known as MTBR tau — indicates what stage of Alzheimer’s a person is in and tracks with tangles of tau protein in the brain.

Washington University School of Medicine is one of four institutions to receive a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to study how to improve emergency care for adults with dementia. For the project, experts in emergency medicine, geriatrics and dementia will identify and address gaps in emergency care.

People with Down syndrome nearly always develop signs of Alzheimer’s as they age. School of Medicine researchers are taking part in a multisite study to understand how Alzheimer’s develops in this population, with a long-term goal of finding ways to prevent or treat the disease.

A new grant for research at the School of Medicine focuses on brain scans and other markers of Alzheimer’s. The aim is to establish whether early markers of disease in white populations also apply to African Americans.

Older people without cognitive problems who experience a fall may have undetected neurodegeneration in their brains that puts them at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia, according to a study from Washington University School of Medicine.

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine have shown that levels of a specific protein in the blood rise as amyloid plaques form in the brain. The discovery could pave the way toward a blood-based test to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms appear.

Lack of sleep could help promote the development of Alzheimer’s disease, according to two studies from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The studies could help identify people at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia and point to strategies for prevention.