Thursdays in January, the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center will host Alzheimer's Disease Research Updates on Facebook Live. Presenters will offer short presentations and answer questions in a Q&A session in the comments. "Like" the Wisconsin ADRC Facebook page to receive notifications when the page goes live, or view archived Facebook Live presentations.

The following is a list of presenters and their topics:

Megan Zuelsdorff, PhD, was a guest on Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) where she discussed recent developments in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias research. Zuelsdorff is assistant professor in the UW School of Nursing and an Alzheimer's disease researcher. 

With the holiday season upon us, it is important to keep in mind the risks of COVID-19 and the threat it has on our elderly population. To put in perspective the amount of risk it has on elderly people, a Wisconsin statistic estimates that about 77% of all those who have died from the virus are over the age of 70. With this in mind, Dr. Nathaniel Chin, UW Health geriatrician and Wisconsin ADRC investigator, gave recommendations in order to protect elderly loved ones during this season in the following UW Health video update:

Investigator Nicole Rogus-Pulia, PhD, CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, specializes in a subset of swallowing disorders known as dysphagia. Additionally, her work focuses on how dementia and related cognitive decline comes hand-in-hand with symptoms of dysphagia. She suggests that cognitive impairments and attention deficits can negatively impact swallow functioning.

An emerging field in Alzheimer's disease research is focused on the role of location in disease risk. Using government and medical data, researchers are looking for patterns that may affect risk in counties and neighborhoods with increased and reduced rates of Alzheimer's disease. This line of work looks at Alzheimer's disease beyond the context of biological roots and looks for answers about the disease related to social determinants of health. 

Penn Park on Madison’s South Side was abuzz on Saturday, November 14, with a socially distanced drive-through resource fair focused on healthy aging and winter safety. Nearly 200 people attended “Keeping Families & Elders Safe this Winter.” Event staff reported serving visitors who arrived via various transportation methods, including 80 cars, one motor scooter, and three walk-ups.

Cairasu Alzheimer’s and Dementia Center Inc. will host the Aging Well Summit: Healthy Brains, Healthy Caregivers November 21-22, 2020. The free, online, two-day event is designed to support caregivers with brain health information and caregiver education and resources. Several Alzheimer's disease and caregiver experts from UW-Madison are scheduled to present at the event.

The event will take place November 21, 10 a.m. - 1:15 p.m. and November 22, 11 a.m. - 2:50 p.m.

Barbara Bendlin, PhD, joined "Being Patient," an online news source for Alzheimer's disease and brain health research, for a video interview with host Deborah Kan. In the interview, Bendlin discussed how gut microbes can play a critical role in our overall health and the links between microbiome and neurodegeneration. As an Alzheimer’s disease researcher, Bendlin’s focus is on analyzing brain health trajectories through exercise, diet and gut microbiome and other modifiable risk factors.

The University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health is one of four sites awarded a total of $7.5 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct research that could lead to improved care in emergency departments for people with dementia.

The effort aims to leverage expertise in emergency medicine, geriatrics and Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias to identify gaps in emergency care for people with dementia and address those gaps, according to Manish Shah, MD, MPH, professor of emergency medicine and co-principal investigator.