ADRC News

Physical exercise is a vital factor in maintaining and improving memory and cognitive performance, and a recent special issue of Brain Plasticity, “Exercise Effects on Cognitive Function in Humans,” explores this connection. Ozioma Okonkwo, PhD, an assistant professor of medicine in the division of geriatrics and gerontology, was guest editor for the special issue, and also co-authored an editorial about the published research. 

The issue editorial outlines four research papers and three reviews. Some of...

Megan Zuelsdorff, PhD, was a guest on Wisconsin Public Radio to discuss Alzheimer’s disease research at the UW and answer listener questions. Topics that were covered included dementia risk after surgery, early diagnosis, hearing and dementia risk, the MIND diet, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and more.

“Stress and Resilience in Dementia” aired on WPR’s “The Larry Meiller Show” on January 14, 2020. 

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center is now accepting abstracts for the 2020 Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Disorders Research Day poster session. The call for posters is open to students of all levels, trainees, researchers, and faculty who are involved in research related to Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, aging, and related topics.

Poster abstracts are due Monday, February 3, and must be submitted online. Accepted poster presenters will be notified by February 10.

Members of...

A new study finds neighborhood disadvantage may negatively impact the brain in middle to older age.

The study “Neighborhood disadvantage is associated with cerebral and hippocampal volume,” was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Neurology. The study was led by Barbara Bendlin, PhD, and Amy Kind, MD, PhD, associate professors of medicine (geriatrics), and Jack Hunt, a dual MD/PhD student in the Medical Scientist Training Program in...

Dementia Matters is a podcast about Alzheimer's disease, hosted by UW Health geriatrician and memory care specialist Nathaniel Chin, MD. Listeners learn about research advances and caregiver strategies from local and national dementia experts.

In 2019, Dementia Matters released 24 episodes on topics ranging from battling health disparities in aging research to safety tips for the aging driver. Below is a list of the six most popular Dementia Matters episodes of 2019.

1. Understanding Behavioral and...

In a new book, Geriatric Neurology, co-editors Sanjay Asthana, MD, and Steven T. DeKosky, MD, offer doctors, researchers, and advanced students comprehensive guidance on treating patients with age-related neurological changes and disease.
 
“The published book is among the first to bring the fields of geriatrics and neurology together targeting neurodegenerative disorders,” Asthana says. 
 
Geriatric Neurology covers the topics in two parts. Section 1, “Foundations and Principles of Geriatric Neurology,” includes chapters...

As individuals age, chronic diseases like high blood pressure, arthritis, and diabetes demand more medical attention, and getting the proper medical care can be a challenge. On a recent episode of "The Caring Generation Talk Radio," host Pamela D. Wilson discussed healthcare bias and neglect toward older patients with Dr. Mary Wyman, clinical psychologist at the University of Wisconsin and a member of the Gleason lab at the Wisconsin ADRC. Wyman talked about the possibility of implicit bias...

Insulin resistance is a condition where the hormone insulin is not effectively used by the body. This in turn causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood and puts individuals at increased risk for Type 2 diabetes. Previous research has shown that insulin resistance may be related to dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease; however, the linkage between insulin resistance and the underlying pathology of Alzheimer’s disease is not clear. The Alzheimer’s Association has just given...

Nathaniel Chin, MD, assistant professor of medicine (geriatrics) and Wisconsin ADRC director of medical services, was interviewed in Curb, a UW-Madison student magazine, for a feature about local resources and people living with Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Chin described how his father’s Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis impacted his decision to specialize in memory care. He also discussed his work at the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and said there has been a sharp acceleration in the...

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison completed a study that offers clues into how sleep and exercise affect Alzheimer’s disease risk. 

The study, “Cardiorespiratory Fitness Modifies Influence of Sleep Problems on Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers in an At-Risk Cohort,” was published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s disease. The research was led by Lena Law and members of the Ozioma Okonkwo lab, which studies exercise and Alzheimer’s disease risk. 

Law explains, “Alzheimer’s disease...