News
- 05.07.2013 Chicago Health CNADC and Lookingglass use Improv to Help Alzheimer's Patients
Physicians encourage Alzheimer’s patients to stay intellectually stimulated and socially connected, but when they are no longer working and have trouble attending their favorite leisure-time book club or volunteer activity, they have a hard time following the doctor’s orders. An improvisational theatre class called The Memory Ensemble, developed by the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and Lookingglass Theatre Company, fills that gap. - 04.15.2013 www.npr.org Inside The Brains Of People Over 80 With Exceptional Memory
Most research on memory loss in the elderly focuses on dementia, Alzheimer's disease or other brain diseases. But neuroscientist Emily Rogalski from Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine knew there is great variation in how good memory is in older people. Most have memory loss to varying degrees, but some have strong memories, even well into old age. Rogalski wanted to know just how good. So she began recruiting volunteers age 80 and up from the Chicago area to test their memories. The study appeared in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society. The volunteers came into Rogalski's memory lab and were given a barrage of tests. Rogalski says she told the participants: "We want individuals who are over age 80 to perform on memory tests like 50- to 60-year-olds, or better." - 04.08.2013 www.nwi.com Lookingglass Theatre adaptation of 'Still Alice" Inspired by The Memory Ensemble
Dunford's adaptation of the novel 'Still Alice' was inspired, in part, by her longtime work with The Memory Ensemble, which she co-founded with The Northwestern Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center (CNADC). The Memory Ensemble is an improvisational theater intervention designed to improve the quality of life for persons with early stage Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD). It uses improvisational theater to provide a unique therapeutic intervention for people in the early stages of ADRD. - 03.30.2013 NY Times CNADC Life Enrichment Program, The Memory Ensemble, featured in the New York Times Health Blog
This spring the Alzheimer’s Association will help expand similar “social engagement” groups nationwide for people in the early stages of dementia. The association will also help chapters launch peer-to-peer programs in which a person with early-stage Alzheimer’s counsels those newly diagnosed or already living with the condition. - 03.27.2013 www.hhs.gov CNADC honored by HHS for Connecting to Combat Alzheimer's
Connecting to Combat Alzheimer’s brings together National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Centers (ADCs) that conduct research with the Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) aging services agencies, which annually reach over 10 million older people and family caregivers. - 03.27.2013 Northwestern University Dr. Cynthia Thompson, Affiliated Faculty Member of CNADC, Recieves $12 Million for Aphasia Research Center
Northwestern University has received a $12 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to establish a center devoted to research on aphasia, a devastating language disorder that essentially robs the brain of language. The grant is the largest ever awarded to a School of Communication researcher. - 03.18.2013 Office of Research Marsel Mesulam, MD, and Alfred Rademaker, PhD, named as part of Northwestern's 50 most influential researchers
Alfred Rademaker and Marsel Mesulam named as Northwestern's most influential researchers. - 03.13.2013 www.alforum.org First Plaque-Based GWAS Revives Enzyme Link
In the first genomewide association study (GWAS) based on amyloid imaging, researchers have uncovered single nucleotide polymorphisms near the genes encoding butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) and ApoE, the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic AD. The two loci account for 15 percent of the genetic risk for amyloid deposition. “For a genetics study, that’s a pretty powerful effect,” said Andrew Saykin, Indiana University School of Medicine, senior author on the paper, which was published online February 19 in Molecular Psychiatry. The results reveal clues about the genetics behind plaques specifically, and may point to future therapeutic targets, Saykin told Alzforum. - 03.11.2013 www.the-sbcn.org M.-Marsel Mesulam, MD, to be honored by the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology
M.-Marsel Mesulam, MD, to be honored by the Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Neurology for significant contributions to the field. - 03.11.2013 www.aan.com M.-Marsel Mesulam, MD, chosen for the 2013 Presidential Plenary Session by the AAN.
M.-Marsel Mesulam, MD, chosen by peers as lecturer for the 2013 Presidential Plenary Session held on Tuesday, March 19, during the 65th AAN annual meeting in San Diego. - 08.17.2012 Feinberg School of Medicine Secrets of Superager Brains
- 08.16.2012 CNN 'Super brains' in old folks identified
A group of 80-year-olds is making scientific waves because of an uncanny ability to age gracefully, from a cognitive standpoint. The moniker they've been given by scientists is "SuperAgers," because as they age, their brains seem immune to typical declines in thinking and memory. - 08.16.2012 Chicago Tribune Researchers tracking some particularly sharp seniors
Northwestern study finds that brains of 'superagers' look those of most people in middle age. Log in required. - 06.18.2012 CharlotteObserver.com Charlotte man runs to raise money for dementia research
More than 900 marathon runners started the race along the wall, but only 570 crossed the finish line. Charlotte’s Jason Boschan was among those who can say they conquered 5,000-plus stairs, miles of dirt roads, rocky terrain and heat while staying ahead of dehydration, physical and mental exhaustion. Boschan, 33, ran the Great Wall Marathon May 19 as the culmination of a year-long fundraising and awareness initiative he created called “Run4Papa.” - 04.10.2012 CNN.com Building relationships amid memory loss
Rethinking and adjusting relationships is one of the often overlooked parts of being a family caretaker, aging experts said. - 03.21.2012 Chicago Tribune Little-known type of dementia strikes at behavior
A little-known form of dementia called frontotemporal dementia, or FTD. It's estimated that about 250,000 Americans have FTD, believed to be the second leading cause of dementia for people in middle age. - 02.11.2012 Chicago Sun-Times Why are some 80-plus-year-old seniors as sharp as people 30 years younger?
“As you age, things change,” said Emily J. Rogalski, an assistant research professor at the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer’s Disease Center of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “Your memory gets worse, your muscles decline. What we noticed is that sometimes people don’t fit this criteria. They are over 80 and still cognitively sharp.” - 01.29.2012 Daily Herald Schaumburg man doesn’t let his loss of speech crush his spirit
In 2007, Steve had just been diagnosed with Primary Progressive Aphasia, a rare, incurable form of dementia that strikes people as young as in their 40s and destroys the brain’s ability to communicate. - 09.21.2011 Chicago Tribune Health Younger onset Alzheimer's patients stay active
Alzheimer's can progress at different rates, with many younger onset patients remaining engaged and enthusiastic for years after the diagnosis, experts say. That message got a major boost when Pat Summitt, 59, the University of Tennessee's legendary women's basketball coach, recently announced that she had symptoms of Alzheimer's but pledged to continue coaching.
This page last updated Mar 27, 2012