The eyes may be the windows to the soul, but new research indicates they also may mirror a brain ravaged by Alzheimer's disease. UC Irvine neuroscientists have found that retinas in mice genetically altered to have Alzheimer's undergo changes similar to those that occur in the brain - most notably the accumulation of amyloid plaque lesions. In addition, the scientists discovered that when Alzheimer's therapies are tested in such mice, retinal changes that result might better predict how the treatments will work in humans than changes in mouse brain tissue. These findings are key to developing retinal imaging technology that could help diagnose and treat people with Alzheimer's, which afflicts 5.3 million people in the U.S. and is the leading cause of elderly dementia. The study, led by neuroscientist Zhiqun Tan (pictured), appears in the November issue of The American Journal of Pathology.   More »

Five clinical trials, $12.7 million in grants and nearly a dozen major articles in scientific journals distinguish UC Irvine's research into Alzheimer's disease, much of it affiliated with the Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders (UCI MIND), directed by Frank LaFerla (pictured). Monday, Sept. 21, is World Alzheimer's Day, which focuses attention on a disease that's diagnosed every 70 seconds in the U.S., contributing to $148 billion annually in healthcare costs. More than 5 million Americans are living with it, according to the Alzheimer's Association, and as baby boomers age, patient ranks will swell. By 2050, the number of people 65 and older with Alzheimer's could reach 16 million – unless a way to prevent the brain disorder can be found.   More »

Nine paintings produced through the Alzheimer's Association's Memories in the Making program are on display at UCI MIND, in Biological Sciences III. UCI MIND advisory board member Jacque DuPont and local businessman Robert B. Rosenberg loaned the artwork to the institute. The public may view the paintings during regular business hours or at an open house Tuesday, Sept. 15; UCI MIND will provide docent tours beginning at 4:30 p.m. The event will also feature a lecture by Dr. Claudia Kawas on "How to Get Old: Lessons from 90-Year-Olds" at 3:30 p.m. in the Biological Sciences III Lecture Hall, Room 1200.   More »

A drug similar to one used in clinical trials for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis has been found to rescue memory in mice exhibiting Alzheimer's symptoms, finds a UC Irvine study by Andrea Tenner (pictured), molecular biology & biochemistry professor, and colleagues. The discovery offers hope that a new treatment may be on the horizon for people in the early stages of Alzheimer's, the leading cause of elderly dementia afflicting more than 5 million people in the U.S. and for which no cure exists. The drug, called PMX205, prevented inflamed immune cells from gathering in brain regions with Alzheimer's lesions called amyloid plaques. Cell inflammation in these areas accelerates neuron damage, exacerbating the disease. Study results are reported in the July 15 edition of The Journal of Immunology.   More »

UC Irvine scientists led by Frank LaFerla and Mathew Blurton-Jones (pictured) have shown for the first time that neural stem cells can rescue memory in mice with advanced Alzheimer's disease, raising hopes of a potential treatment for the leading cause of elderly dementia that afflicts 5.3 million people in the U.S. Mice genetically engineered to have Alzheimer's performed markedly better on memory tests a month after mouse neural stem cells were injected into their brains. The stem cells secreted a protein that created more neural connections, improving cognitive function. The study reporting these findings appears online the week of July 20 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.   More »

The UC Irvine Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia has a new name -- UCI Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, or UCI MIND. The change makes the institute's name more user-friendly and better describes its role in researching brain disorders beyond Alzheimer's disease, such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington's disease, inclusion body myositis, and Lou Gehrig's disease, director Frank LaFerla said. More than 60,000 Orange County residents suffer from Alzheimer’s, the leading cause of dementia among the elderly. In the U.S., 5.3 million people have the disease. Every 71 seconds, an American develops Alzheimer's, and by 2030, someone will develop it every 30 seconds. Other disorders, including Parkinson’s disease, also are expected to double in the next few decades.   More »

Chemistry professor James Nowick has been awarded more than $98,000 for a project that seeks to understand and control peptides and proteins that are involved in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. This work is supported by the National Institute of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences through the Recovery Act. Nowick's research interests include organic and bioorganic chemistry, chemical biology and biomolecular nanotechnology.   More »

A potential vaccine for Alzheimer's disease also has been shown in mice to slow the weakening of muscles associated with inclusion body myositis, a disorder that affects the elderly. The new UC Irvine finding brings new hope for IBM patients with weakness, inflammation or atrophy of muscles in their fingers, wrists, forearms or quadriceps. There is no cure for IBM, nor is there an effective treatment. "The immunization wasn't a complete fix, but it significantly slowed the deterioration of motor function in our IBM mice," said Frank LaFerla (pictured), director of UCI's Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia. Study results appeared Wednesday, May 13, in The Journal of Neuroscience.   More »

UC Irvine neuroscientists Frank LaFerla and Mathew Blurton-Jones (pictured) were awarded $3.6 million April 29 toward the development of an Alzheimer’s disease therapy involving human neural stem cells. LaFerla, director of the UCI Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia, and Blurton-Jones will use the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine grant to test in mice whether human stem cells can reverse dementia caused by Alzheimer’s. The project builds on their previous work showing that mouse neural stem cells can restore memory in mice with brain damage.   More »

An over-the-counter vitamin in high doses prevented memory loss in mice with Alzheimer’s disease, and UC Irvine scientists now are conducting a clinical trial to determine its effect in humans. Nicotinamide, a form of vitamin B3, lowered levels of a protein called phosphorylated tau that leads to the development of tangles, one of two brain lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease. The vitamin also strengthened scaffolding along which information travels in brain cells, helping to keep neurons alive and further preventing symptoms in mice genetically wired to develop Alzheimer’s. The study by Kim Green (pictured) and Frank LaFerla appears online Wednesday, Nov. 5, in the Journal of Neuroscience.   More »

Carl Cotman, director of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at UC Irvine, will receive a lifetime achievement award for his research on Alzheimer's disease Sunday, July 27, at the 11th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago. The award is given to outstanding scientists who have dedicated themselves to helping millions of people around the world through their research. Cotman, neurology and neurobiology and behavior professor, has authored or co-authored nine books and about 700 articles in the fields of neurobiology, memory and cognition, and the basic mechanisms causing brain dysfunction in aging and the development of Alzheimer's.   More »

A new UC Irvine study finds that lithium chloride, a drug used to treat bipolar disorder, can slow the development of inclusion body myositis, a skeletal muscle disease that affects the elderly. In the study by scientists Frank LaFerla (pictured) and Masashi Kitazawa, mice genetically engineered to have IBM demonstrated markedly better motor function six months after receiving daily doses of lithium chloride, compared with non-treated mice. The muscles in treated mice also had lower levels of a protein that the study linked to muscle inflammation associated with IBM. These data are the first to show that lithium chloride is a potential IBM therapy. Results of the study appear online this month in the journal Annals of Neurology.   More »

Frank LaFerla, professor of neurobiology and behavior at UC Irvine, has been appointed to the Alzheimer's Association Orange County Chapter board of directors. LaFerla, co-director of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia and a fellow of the Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, is a world leader in the field of Alzheimer's disease research.   More »

UC Irvine researchers have identified a new class of compounds that could be used for drugs to treat cognitive disorders that accompany schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease and ADHD, according to an article published today in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The compounds target receptors in the brain that are activated by nicotine. They impart the beneficial effects of nicotine – specifically enhanced cognition – without the health threats associated with smoking. "We’d like to see this lead to a drug that would address specifically the cognitive deficits found in schizophrenia,” said Kelvin W. Gee, professor in the Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine at UC Irvine.   More »