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News

• Drs. Wai Haung Yu and Jessica Wu of the Taub Institute received awards from the American Health Assistance Foundation for "Tau Homeostasis Via Proteasomal & Autophagic Activity" and "Conformation-Dependent Uptake and Secretion of Tau," respectively.
• Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is a group of poorly-understood, frequently misdiagnosed brain diseases that can result in drastic personality changes in affected individuals. Columbia Neurology FTD expert Dr. Edward Huey and Genetic Counselor Jill Goldman were recently featured in an in-depth New York Times article titled, "When Illness Makes A Spouse A Stranger," which chronicles one couple's courageous battle with this devastating neurological disorder.
• A new study by Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas has found that consumption of omega-3 fatty acids, plentiful in fish and nuts, is associated with lower blood levels of beta-amyloid protein… read more in The New York Times.
  
• Dr. Scott Small and colleagues from Neurology and the Taub Institute examined the association of depressive symptoms, antidepressant use and brain volumes on MRI, in a large cohort of nondemented, elderly individuals from the Washington/Hamilton Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP). Their results, currently published online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, suggest that late life depression is associated with more global brain atrophy, more atrophy of the hippocampus, and more white matter lesions, mainly driven by antidepressant use.
• Drs. Roy Alcalay, Nikolaos Scarmeas, and others from Neurology and Taub Institute found Mediterranean-style diet adherence to be associated with reduced odds for Parkinson's disease (PD). Their study, currently published in an online version of Movement Disorders, also suggests an association between higher MeDI adherence and later PD age at onset.
• Dr. Scott Small on recent developments in Alzheimer's, featured on Charlie Rose.
• Dr. Adam Brickman on "Silent Strokes Tied to Memory Loss Among Older Adults," featured on Voice of America, USA Today.
• Drs. Karen Duff, Scott A. Small, and Li Liu on "Path Is Found for the Spread of Alzheimer's," featured in The New York Times.
• Dr. Jennifer J. Manly on "US wants effective Alzheimer's treatment by 2025," featured in the Associated Press.
• The work of Dr. Scott Small and colleagues from Neurology and the Taub Institute, that implicated the polyamine pathway in Parkinson's disease pathogenesis, was highlighted in Chapter 1 of the NIH's Clinical and Translational Science Awards Progress Report 2009 – 2011. [read report]
• Dr. Adam Brickman, was selected to receive the Early Career Award from the International Neuropsychological Society. He will be delivering an award address titled "Reconsidering the Role of White Matter Disease in Cognitive Aging and Dementia" at the 40th annual meeting of the Society next month in Montreal.
• Bernadette Boden-Albala, DrPH, Department of Neurology, and Jose Luchsinger, MD, Taub Institute, have received $3.9 million over five years from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities for "Northern Manhattan Initiative for Minority Involvement in Clinical Trials (NIMICT)."
• Eric A. Schon, PhD, Lewis P. Rowland Professor of Neurology in Genetics and Development has received an award from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation for his project, "Mitochondria-Associated Membranes in the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease: A New Target for Drug Discovery."
• Dr. Adam Brickman, has been selected to receive the 2011 Margaret M. Cahn Research Award, for his research on white matter hyperintensities in aging and Alzheimer's disease, from the Alzheimer's Association Hudson Valley/Rockland/Westchester, NY Chapter.
• Elan Louis, MD, MS, Professor of Neurology and Epidemiology answers questions on "the essentials of essential tremor" in the most recent P&S Five in Five series. [watch the video]
• Yaakov Stern, PhD, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology in the Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Psychology has been awarded a new RO1 and two 5-year renewals from the NIH for his projects: "Exploring Cognitive Aging Using Reference Ability Neural Networks"; "Predictors of Severity in Alzheimer's Disease"; and "Imaging of Cognition, Learning, and Memory in Aging."
• Edward Huey, MD, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neurology and Jill Goldman, MS, MPhil, Genetic Counselor, both in the Taub Institute, are co-directing a CME program, "Is it Alzheimer's Disease or Frontotemporal Degeneration? An Update on Diagnosis, Management, and Research," on Monday, December 12, 12:15-4:45 PM, in the NI Auditorium.
• Scott Small, MD, Professor of Neurology in the Taub Institute and Sergievsky Center and colleagues have reviewed recent neuroimaging findings that indicate common brain disorders, from Alzheimer's disease and cognitive ageing to schizophrenia and depression, differentially target distinct functional and molecular subregions of the hippocampus, suggesting a unified pathophysiological framework of hippocampal dysfunction.
• Karen Marder, MD, MPH, Sally Kerlin Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry was appointed as one of three site investigators to serve on the Executive Committee of the NINDS NeuroNEXT project. The NeuroNEXT network of 25 sites nationwide, including Columbia in partnership with Weill-Cornell, will provide a standardized, accessible infrastructure to facilitate rapid development and implementation of protocols in adult and pediatric neurological disorders.
• Edward D. Huey, MD, joined the geriatric psychiatry division in the Department of Psychiatry in July 2010 as assistant professor of psychiatry and of neurology. His primary academic appointment is in the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain. Dr. Huey comes to Columbia from the Feinstein Institute at North Shore/Long Island Jewish Health Care System. He graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine, where he completed a residency in adult psychiatry before pursuing a fellowship in geriatric psychiatry and neuropsychiatry at the NIH.
• Taub Institute Co-Director Richard Mayeux, MD, MSc, is participated in the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Ride, a journey from coast to capital to raise awareness and funds for the fight against Alzheimer's disease. His team, the CUMC Blue Streak, rode from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia (~300 miles) to collect signatures in support of the Alzheimer's Breakthrough Act, legislation that calls for a significant increase in funding for Alzheimer research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), bringing total funding up to $2 billion. [more information]
• Researchers in the Taub Institute have found that a simple blood test to detect whether a person might develop Alzheimer's disease is within sight and could eventually help scientists in their quest toward reversing the disease's onset in those likely to develop the debilitating neurological condition.
• Elan Louis, MD, MS, professor of neurology and epidemiology, has been awarded a $500,000 extension of funding from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to continue work on studies of the brain metabolism and neuropathology of essential tremor
• Dr. Scott Small discusses Alzheimer's vaccine on NBC Nightly News [watch the video]
• Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas talks about link between dementia and weight on CBS Evening News [watch the video]
• Jose A. Luchsinger, MD, has received a one-year, $100,000 research grant from the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation for pilot testing of the diabetes drug Metformin as a preventive measure against cognitive decline.
• Taub Researchers are featured in HBO's 'The Alzheimer's Project': The Alzheimer's Project website.
• For more on these and other Taub news items, go to News Archive.