ADRC News

As the Wisconsin State Journal reported in a 3-day investigative series about dementia, the role of physical activity in maintaining brain health is investigated in the lab of Ozioma Okonkwo, PhD, Wisconsin ADRC investigator and a clinical psychologist at UW-Madison. A study Okonkwo presented at a conference in August 2019 involved 23 middle-age adults in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention (WRAP) who weren’t physically active. For six months, 11 of them exercised regularly and other study...

Sterling Johnson, PhD, Barbara Bendlin, PhD, and Brad Christian, PhD, were interviewed in the Wisconsin State Journal as part of a 3-day investigative series titled “Fading away: Wisconsin’s dementia crisis.” The article included updates on how Wisconsin ADRC researchers use brain imaging and fecal samples to help answer questions about brain disease progression.

Dr. Johnson and Dr. Christian use brain imaging scans to pinpoint signs of Alzheimer’s disease, sometimes many years before symptoms develop...

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will host a free community event Wednesday, October 23, from 5 p.m.to 8 p.m., to share recent findings in the study of healthy aging, brain health, and Alzheimer’s disease prevention. Keynote speaker, Dr. Neil Henderson, will examine the connections between diabetes and dementia among American Indian people and share his research on prevention and community health interventions. Additional topics for the evening will focus on the event theme of New...

Cynthia Carlsson, MD, MS, has been selected by the U.S. Secretary for Health to serve as a member of the prestigious Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care and Services. Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the council advises the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) to address numerous issues related to Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders.

A maximum capacity crowd of nearly 700 people gathered at the Health Science Learning Center in Madison, Wisconsin, on September 18 for the third and final Mini Med School of 2019. Presenters showcased the cutting-edge Alzheimer’s disease research taking place at the UW. Emcee for the evening was Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center director, Sanjay Asthana, MD. Asthana guided attendees through four presentations that offered a glimpse at the hope on the horizon for...

Madison-Based Precious Memories Choir

The Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) invites people to join the Precious Memories Choir, a musical group for people with memory loss and their caregivers who enjoy African American gospel music. Rehearsals are held one or two Saturdays a month from 1:30 to 3 p.m. at St. Paul A.M.E. Church, 4235 Diamond Drive, Madison, Wisconsin.

Interested choir members should meet some of these criteria:

• Be willing and able to sing...

By Art Walaszek, MD

One of the greatest challenges for patients with dementia and their caregivers is addressing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). BPSD are nearly universal, with around 90% of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other causes of dementia experiencing BPSD at some point in their illness. These symptoms — depression, anxiety, insomnia, apathy, aggression, and hallucinations, among others — can be very distressing to patients and can even pose dangers to patients and...

About 90% of people with dementia suffer from behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) at some point in their illness. These symptoms include aggression, hallucinations, paranoia, depression, anxiety, irritability, apathy, and sleep disturbance, among others. 

Caring for these patients – as a primary care physician, spouse, child, or other caregiver – can be challenging, and for some, overwhelming, but a new book by geriatric psychiatrist and dementia care expert Art Walaszek, MD, aims...

The Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) and its Research Education Component (REC) are pleased to announce the inaugural group of REC Scholars, exceptional junior investigators who will be supported in their development into independent Alzheimer’s disease researchers.

The REC Scholars will participate in a rigorous two-year mentored training program designed to ensure research proficiency in broad-based Alzheimer’s disease research. The program will offer specific training in the Wisconsin ADRC’s theme of preclinical biomarkers of...

The UW-Madison Neuroscience & Public Policy Program (N&PP) named Barbara Bendlin, PhD, director of its program. Dr. Bendlin is associate professor in the Department of Medicine Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and an investigator in the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and the Waisman Center.

Dr. Bendlin collaborates with researchers from various disciplines, including key Wisconsin-based projects, to ask a variety of questions about Alzheimer’s...