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Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (ADRC)

Knight ADRC and the Memory & Aging Project

Mark Your CalendarThe 9th Annual Norman R. Seay Lecture will be held Tuesday, Oc-tober 7th at 4:15 pm in the Farrell Learning and Teaching Center’s Connor Auditorium on the cam-pus of Washington University School of Medicine.

The event will feature a keynote presentation by Goldie Byrd, PhD. Dr. Byrd is the Simms Endowed Professor of Biology and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at North Carolina A&T State University. Her re-search focuses on the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease in African Americans and has been rec-ognized both nationally and internationally. More details will be announced soon, but be sure to mark your calendar for Octo-ber 7th.

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sity School of Medicine in St. Louis.

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senior author David M. Holtzman, MD. “Un-derstanding this link should help advance our

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tau protein.Tau protein stabilizes microtubules, which are long columns that transport supplies from the center of the cell to the distant ends of the cell’s branches. Some tau in the cell is not bound to microtubules. This tau can become altered and clump together

inside brain cells, forming structures called

these clumps through brain networks in animal models.

So far, the researchers only have been able to measure single copies of tau in brain

cause previously normal tau in the receiving cell to become corrupted, fostering the spread of a form of tau involved in disease.

Inside this Issue

New NIH Progress Report ..... 2

Carr Honored ........................ 2

Honors. Awards, Funding ..... 3

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New Clinical Trials at ADRC ... 5

$122M for AD Funding .......... 5

Norman Seay Honored ......... 5

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The Memory and Aging Project appreciates all of the re-

Alzheimer Disease Research Center.

Featured speakers included David Holtzman, MD, who pre-sented an update on “Sleep and Amyloid-MD, who presented “Advances in Imaging of Alzheimer

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from the Disclosure Study, which concluded that research -

whelmingly interested in learning the results of their Memory and Aging Project research studies (such as bloodwork, brain

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home safety assessments for older adults living in the com-

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Lastest NIH Alzheimer Research Prog-ress Report AvailableA new online report from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) highlights recent progress in NIH-supported Alzheimer disease research. Prepared annually by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at NIH, the latest report—2012-2013 Alzheimer Disease Progress Report: Seeking the Earliest Interventions—discusses the National Plan to Address Alzheimer Disease, describes new investments and research priorities, and sum-marizes research in several areas:

biology of Alzheimer and the aging brain

biomarkers for Alzheimer progression

genes that may play a role in the disease

risk factors for cognitive decline and dementia

advances in detecting Alzheimer disease

translational research to identify and test new drugs

potential new therapies to treat, delay, or prevent Alzheimer

caregiving

gender and racial differences in the impact of AD

Other features include a primer on Alzheimer disease and the brain, tables listing NIA-funded clinical trials, and videos that further explain critical areas of study. Read the report online:

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Shown in the photograph above (clockwise from

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throughout the academic year; Dr. Danielle Cobbs

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Carr Honored as Endowed ProfessorDavid Carr, MD, on his upcoming

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directs the clinical program of the Division of Geriatrics and is the medical director of both Parc Provence, a de-

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Nigel Cairns, PhD, John Beale, PhD,from the St. Louis College of Pharmacy, was awarded $250,000 from CART (Coins for Alzheimer Research Trust) for the project

. The purpose of the CART Fund is to collect and provide dollars for leading edge research for the cure/preven-

, Melba and Forest Seay Professor of Clini-cal Neuropharmacology and The AIDS Clinical Trials Site at

of Medicine was awarded a

they cause. The grant, from

provide up to $4.9 million over the next seven years to the

-bilt University.

Brian Gordon, PhD, Research Instructor of Radiology in

Core, received the Research

American Society of Neu-roradiology for his project

.

Celeste Karch, PhD, Research Instructor in Psychiatry and

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Erik Musiek, MD, PhD

. The grant awards $100,000 over 2 years.

Awardees, who were recognized May 8th at the annual Friedman Lecture. Erik Musiek, MD, PhD, is the recipient of

and

recipients of the Dorismae and Harvey A. Friedman Award. Awardees contribute to the advancement of geriatric care

Pilot Grants. Awardees include:

Erik Musiek, MD, PhD,

Jonathan McConathy, MD, PhD,

Laura Piccio, MD, PhD,

David B. Carr, MD, Professor of Medicine and of Neurol-

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-standing achievements in clinical care, community service,

research and teaching.

, As-sistant Professor of Neurology, was selected to receive The Iowa State University Alumni

Alumni Award. The award recognizes ISU alumni, age 40 and under, who have excelled in their professions and provided

David Holtzman, MD, and Randall J. Bateman, MD

-rology, were co-recipients of the Chancellor’s Award for Innova-

award is given on an occasional basis to faculty members whose research has led to the success-

ful development of ideas or businesses that have brought

-zheimer Disease Research Center (ADRC) has given the world

B. Joy Snider, MD, PhD --

ogy.

Morris, MD; and Nigel Cairns were co-author on the ar--

2013;80(23):2121-2129) which was selected for inclusion

.

Marcus E. Raichle, MD Prize in Neuroscience for the discovery of specialized brain

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million award.

-datesTim Miller, MD, PhD, was pro-moted to Associate Professor of Neurology with tenure.

Dan Marcus, PhD, was promoted to Associate Professor of Radiology with tenure.

Suzanne Schindler, MD, PhD, com-pleted her AAN fellowship with the

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Gregory Day, MD, MSc, joined

Day will work in the Memory and Aging Project under the mentor-

will study immune-mediated encephalopathies in the laboratory

hails from Canada where he was most recently the Chief Resident of Adult Neurology at the University of Toronto.

MAP Nurse Clinician

MAP Psy-chometrician

Erika Key, MAP Scheduling Coordi-nator

Kyomi Hames, MD, MAP Clinician

Fond FarewellsBon Ku, MD, Foreign ScholarSue Leon, Nurse Clinician and ADNI Research Co-coordinatorTae Sung Lim, MD, Foreign Scholar

Memory and Aging Project Secretary.David Ruvolo, Memory and Aging Project Psychometrician Aihong Zhou, MD, Foreign Scholar

Alzheimer disease.

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adjacent to our 4488 Forest Park building.

are parked on our lot, even if it is while you are performing a Memory and Aging Proj-

please allow us to take care of that. You may

Costs of caring for people with dementia in the United States in 2010 were between $159 billion to $215 billion, and could rise dramatically in coming de-cades, according to estimates by researchers at RAND Corp. and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Researchers looked at care purchased in the health care market — costs for nursing homes, Medicare, and out-of-pocket expenses, which were estimated to be $109 billion in 2010, exceeding direct health costs for heart disease ($102 billion) and cancer ($77 billion) that same year. Adding informal, unpaid care to the equation as much as doubled the estimated national costs for dementia care. The study estimated full costs per case of dementia in 2010 at $41,000 to $56,000. The lower number accounts for foregone wages among caregivers, while the higher figure valued hours of informal care as the equivalent of formal paid care.

Researchers project skyrocketing costs as the baby boom grows older. Rates of dementia increase with age, and unless new ways are found to treat and ef-fectively prevent it, national health expenditures for dementia could come close to doubling by 2040, as the aging population increases and assuming the rate of dementia remains the same.

“These findings reveal that the enormous emotional and physical demands of caring for people with dementia are accompanied by the similarly imposing financial burdens of dementia care,” said Richard J. Hodes, M.D., director of the NIH’s National Institute on Aging. “The national costs further compel us to do all we can to find effective treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related demen-tias as soon as possible.”

Record $122 Million Increase Approved for Alzheimer FundingThe 2014 US federal budget approved the larg-est funding increase in history dedicated to Al-

and caregiver sup-port. Not only is there $100M more for NIA for AD research, there is also $3.3M for pub-lic health surveil-lance of AD care-

givers; $4M to train professionals; $10.5M to expand home and community caregiver ser-vices; and $4.2M for outreach/awareness.

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Two Clinical Trials Coming to Memory and Aging Project

The zheimer Disease Trial, or A4,will test the drug solanezumab

have enough of the amyloid protein in the brain to put them at risk for developing AD. Phase III clinical trials sponsored by Eli Lilly and Co. have shown that solanezumab helped clear amyloid from

people with mild AD, but it did it not help those who were more progressed. A4 Trial volunteers will undergo a positron emission tomogra-phy (PET) brain scan to see if they have elevated levels of amyloid. Researchers will determine if and how the

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-domly assigned to take either solanezumab or a placebo

volunteers without elevated amyloid will also be fol-

lowed without drug. ,

will test an insulin nasal spray to see if it improves or preserves memory in adults with memory-related mild

-tes drugs. Insulin, a hormone

-tribute to the development of AD. Insulin resistance, reduced insulin levels in cerebrospinal

signals in people with AD sug-gest that a therapy aimed at these problems may help. SNIFF

assigned to take insulin or a pla-cebo twice a day for 1 year, using a device that delivers insulin directly from the nose to the brain. They will also

samples) to help researchers learn more about how in-

-tors obtain more safety data.

History Museum Recognizes Seay

and current member is one of

Louis History Museum 250/250 exhibit. The exhibit, in honor of St. Louis’ 250th anniversary, tells the stories of 50 people, 50 places, 50 images, 50 mo-ments, and 50 objects that exemplify St. Louis. Mr. Seay

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NONPROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDSt. Louis, MO

PERMIT NO. 4453

HORIZONS

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and promotes interdisciplinary research on Alzheimer

John C. Morris, MD

Alison Goate, DPhilCore Leader

Eugene M. Johnson, PhD, Associate Director

David M. Holtzman, MD, Associate Director

Virginia Buckles, PhD

Krista Moulder, PhD

Jason Hassenstab, PhD, Psychometric Core Leader

Nigel J. Cairns, PhD, FRCPath, Neuropathology Core Leader

Tammie Benzinger, MD, PhD, Imaging Core Leader

Chengjie Xiong, PhD-

Anne Fagan, PhD

Andrea Denny, JD, MSSW

David Carr, MDLeader