Clinical Research Summary:

1- A primary area of research involves studying the interface between depression and cognitive impairment (DEP-CI) in the elderly from both a treatment and pathophysiological perspective. The work includes both NIH funded and investigator initiated, industry sponsored clinical treatment trials. Prospective studies, both active and recently completed in patients with DEP-CI, but not dementia, include examining: i) acute antidepressant treatment effects on mood and cognitive performance, ii) long-term antidepressant treatment effects on mood and likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD), iii) both acute and long-term effects of antidepressants alone or in combination with the memory enhancing medication donepezil or memantine, on mood, cognitive performance, and likelihood of developing AD.

2- As a co-investigator: i) evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of clinical features, neuropsychological test results, and brain imaging abnormalities in predicting the development of AD in cognitively impaired patients who do not initially meet criteria for dementia; ii) evaluating both the acute and long-term usefulness of atypical antipsychotic medications in patients with behavioral dyscontrol and/or psychotic symptoms associated with AD; iii) evaluating [11C]-6-OH-BTA-1 (Pittsburgh compound B) during PET in patients with AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and healthy control subjects: to determine if CNS amyloid load correlates with cognitive performance at baseline and cognitive decline during follow-up.

3- Examining the role of the immune system in affective and neuropsychiatric disorders, including: i) examining the interface between peripheral catecholamines and the immune system by measuring cytokine plasma levels during an IV epinephrine challenge in healthy and depressed individuals; ii) Using O15 PET functional brain imaging, examining the effect of peripherally stimulating the immune system with IV Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the nature and time course of CNS blood flow changes.

4- Clinical psychopharmacology practice

Education and Training:

Undergraduate: University. of Pittsburgh, B.S., 1982
Medical School: Columbia University, M.D., 1990
Internship: Yale University, Psychiatry, 1990 - 1991
Residency: Yale University, Psychiatry, 1991 - 1994
Fellowship: Yale University, Neuroscience, 1994 - 1996
Post-Graduate: New York State Psychiatric Institute GERIATRIC Psychiatry, Fellowship, 1999 - 2001
Board Certifications: American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
Subspeciality Certifications: Behavioral Neurology and Neuropsychiatry

Specialties:

• Geriatrics
• Behavioral Neurology
• Psychopharmacology
  

Publications:

1. The impact of anxiety on conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. Devier DJ, Pelton GH, Tabert MH, Liu X, Cuasay K, Eisenstadt R, Marder K, Stern Y, Devanand DP. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2009 Mar 24. [Epub ahead of print]
2. PMID: 19319929 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

3. Combining early markers strongly predicts conversion from mild cognitive impairment to Alzheimer's disease. Devanand DP, Liu X, Tabert MH, Pradhaban G, Cuasay K, Bell K, de Leon MJ, Doty RL, Stern Y, Pelton GH. Biol Psychiatry. 2008 Nov 15;64(10):871-9. Epub 2008 Aug 23. PMID: 18723162 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

4. Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled donepezil augmentation in antidepressant-treated elderly patients with depression and cognitive impairment: a pilot study. Pelton GH, Harper OL, Tabert MH, Sackeim HA, Scarmeas N, Roose SP, Devanand DP.
5. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2008 Jul;23(7):670-6. PMID: 18088076 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

6. Hippocampal and entorhinal atrophy in mild cognitive impairment: prediction of Alzheimer disease. Devanand DP, Pradhaban G, Liu X, Khandji A, De Santi S, Segal S, Rusinek H, Pelton GH, Honig LS, Mayeux R, Stern Y, Tabert MH, de Leon MJ. Neurology. 2007 Mar 13;68(11):828-36.

7. Neuropsychological prediction of conversion to Alzheimer disease in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Tabert MH, Manly JJ, Liu X, Pelton GH, Rosenblum S, Jacobs M, Zamora D, Goodkind M, Bell K, Stern Y, Devanand DP. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2006 Aug;63(8):916-24. PMID: 16894068 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

8. PET network abnormalities and cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment. Devanand DP, Habeck CG, Tabert MH, Scarmeas N, Pelton GH, Moeller JR, Mensh BD, Tarabula T, Van Heertum RL, Stern Y. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2006 Jun;31(6):1327-34. PMID: 16292330 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

9. A 10-item smell identification scale related to risk for Alzheimer's disease. Tabert MH, Liu X, Doty RL, Serby M, Zamora D, Pelton GH, Marder K, Albers MW, Stern Y, Devanand DP. Ann Neurol. 2005 Jul;58(1):155-60. PMID: 15984022 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

10. Predictive utility of apolipoprotein E genotype for Alzheimer disease in outpatients with mild cognitive impairment. Devanand DP, Pelton GH, Zamora D, Liu X, Tabert MH, Goodkind M, Scarmeas N, Braun I, Stern Y, Mayeux R. Arch Neurol. 2005 Jun;62(6):975-80. PMID: 15956169 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

11. Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of fluoxetine treatment for elderly patients with dysthymic disorder. Devanand DP, Nobler MS, Cheng J, Turret N, Pelton GH, Roose SP, Sackeim HA. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2005 Jan;13(1):59-68.
12. PMID: 15653941 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

13. Altered PET functional brain responses in cognitively intact elderly persons at risk for Alzheimer disease (carriers of the epsilon4 allele). Scarmeas N, Habeck C, Anderson KE, Hilton J, Devanand DP, Pelton GH, Tabert MH, Flynn J, Park A, Ciappa A, Tycko B, Stern Y. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2004 Nov-Dec;12(6):596-605. PMID: 15545327 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]