{"id":8487,"date":"2024-02-23T09:35:51","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:35:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/?p=8487"},"modified":"2024-02-23T09:35:51","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T14:35:51","slug":"can-we-find-a-cure-for-alzheimers-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/2024\/02\/23\/can-we-find-a-cure-for-alzheimers-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"Can We Find a Cure for Alzheimer\u2019s Disease?"},"content":{"rendered":"

BU researchers are taking on this daunting question through a variety of approaches\u2014and studying how to care for a growing population of people with the disease.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

Perhaps it starts with a quick memory lapse\u2014a blank space where a loved one\u2019s name should be, or a mysteriously empty key hook right before heading out. These are normal moments of forgetfulness that accompany aging. But then maybe this forgetting gets more concerning: long-cherished memories suddenly disappear and don\u2019t come back easily (or at all), or behavioral changes cause unexpected hostility toward friends and family. By now, it\u2019s clear: this is no longer simple, age-related memory loss; this is something more complex. Something such as Alzheimer\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n

Around the world,\u00a0<\/span>more than 55 million people\u00a0<\/span>have dementia, the majority with Alzheimer\u2019s, a degenerative brain disorder that\u2019s the result of damage to the brain\u2019s nerve cells and causes memory loss, behavioral changes, confusion, and deterioration of language skills. In the United States, more than 6.7 million people over the age of 65 are living with Alzheimer\u2019s, according to the\u00a0<\/span>Alzheimer\u2019s Association<\/a>, and the likelihood of developing the disease only goes up with age. And, while there are a number of therapeutic treatments available to people with the disease, there\u2019s currently no cure.<\/p>\n

Will there ever be?<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the question a number of researchers at Boston University are tackling, and with vastly different approaches. Among many others, there\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Ann McKee<\/a>, the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor of Neurology and Pathology, who is searching for answers to Alzheimer\u2019s at a genetic level;\u00a0<\/span>Wendy Qiu<\/a>, a Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine professor of psychiatry who is exploring the causes of Alzheimer\u2019s; and\u00a0<\/span>Ioannis Paschalidis<\/a>, a College of Engineering Distinguished Professor of Engineering, who has developed an artificial intelligence\u2013powered program to detect the disease. The University is also home to the\u00a0<\/span>Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Research Center<\/a>, one of 33 such organizations in the US funded by the National Institutes of Health to advance research on Alzheimer\u2019s disease and related dementias. At the same time, other BU researchers are exploring ways to improve the quality of care for patients who currently have the disease, as well as\u00a0<\/span>build out resources<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>for their families and caregivers.<\/p>\n

Indeed, where some might see grim statistics and an uphill battle, dozens of geneticists, medical scientists, and other researchers at BU see opportunity\u2014a chance to take on one of society\u2019s greatest medical challenges. The Brink\u00a0explores three approaches, by three different researchers, aimed at improving treatment, diagnosis, and care for people with Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/span> Read the full article by Molly Callahan here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BU researchers are taking on this daunting question through a variety of approaches\u2014and studying how to care for a growing population of people with the disease. Perhaps it starts with a quick memory lapse\u2014a blank space where a loved one\u2019s name should be, or a mysteriously empty key hook right before heading out. These are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22308,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8487"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8487"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8487\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8503,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8487\/revisions\/8503"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/genetics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}