News Stories
9/2009 Oregon Roybal Center for Aging and Technology Funded
Jeffrey Kaye, M.D. awarded continuation funding of the Oregon Roybal Center for Aging and Technology (ORCATECH). This center will continue the development of new technologies to enhance quality of life and health of the elderly populations. The Center will address, particularly, issues of mobility and decline in cognitive function, and will continue its highly innovative approaches using unobtrusive home monitoring and translation of new technologies for improved health.
Budget Period: 09/30/2009 – 08/31/2010, Project Period: 09/30/2004 – 08/31/2014
For more information about technology research visit www.ORCATECH.org.
Oregon Partnership for Alzheimer's Research announces the recipients of the 2009 - 2010 OPAR grants.
Congratulations OPAR Grant Recipients!
The Oregon Partnership for Alzheimer's Research Committee is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2009- 2010 OPAR grants. These grants are made possible through the Oregon Tax Checkoff program. You can support this program when you file your state income tax. Support researchers who are entering the field of Alzheimer's disease research or who are pursuing new directions in Alzheimer's research.
Jadwiga M. Giebultowicz, Ph.D. – "The Role of the Circadian Clock in Alzheimer's Disease"
Humans and other animals have an internal clock system that regulates sleep-wake patterns. This internal system is called a circadian clock. Circadian clocks synchronize biological processes within an organism and coordinate them with the solar day/night cycle. Deregulation of circadian synchronization leads to sleep disturbances and age-related diseases. Recent data suggest that disruption of the circadian system and age-related pathologies are not understood. We recently showed that disruption of the circadian clock leads to increased levels of oxidative damage in the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster. Since impaired circadian rhythms and oxidative stress are linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD), we initiated a novel study aimed to decipher how the circadian clock protects against age-related oxidative damage.
Shawn K. Westaway, Ph.D. – "Genes and Variants Associated with late Onset Alzheimer's Disease"
Late onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex disease that occurs over age 65. Besides the association with the apolipoprotein E gene, little is known about genetic variation that contributes to this disease. AD is currently sixth in leading causes of death in the US. This very important health problem demands research into the genetic cause in order to unearth and exploit genetic variation which could provide signals for earlier diagnosis and intervention, and hints for dissecting the molecular pathology in the brain.
Beth Wilmot, Ph.D. - "Utilization of Genetic Architecture to Identify Candidate Genes for Alzheimer's Disease"
Another study has a goal to identify genes contributing to the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although it has been long established that there is a genetic component to AD, these factors have been difficult to identify. Recent genome-wide association (GWA) methods have identified possible candidates, but no gene other than APOE has been consistently associated with AD in multiple studies. We hypothesize that the constraints of the current analytic methods have limited our ability to identify AD disease genes. We propose new methodology that utilizes the underlying genetic architecture in a gene-centric manner to identify candidate genes and putative functional variants associated with AD.
National Institutes of Health – National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine announces study to build a platform toward an individualized nutritional therapy to prevent Alzheimer's disease
K23 AT004777-01: A platform for individualized nutritional therapy in Alzheimer’s disease
Funded: 2008-2013
Gene Bowman, ND (PI)
This study will examine the role of nutrition in cognitive decline prospectively in three elderly groups distinguished by baseline cognitive status. This study will enable identification and development of an individualized nutritional therapy to prevent or slow cognitive decline.
Lay summary:
Building a platform toward an individualized nutritional therapy to prevent Alzheimer’s disease
Despite the abundance of evidence indicating a nutritional role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), there are no precise and universally accepted recommendations for prevention. The specific nutrients and nutrient related compounds that have been implicated in Alzheimer’s have not performed well independently in preventing or slowing Alzheimer’s disease. Dr. Bowman’s research will emphasize more comprehensive and personalized nutritional therapy that appreciates interaction among nutrients and thus allow opportunity for amplifying therapeutic benefit. Individual nutrients may not function in isolation, but rather in synergistic fashion and therefore the first step is to develop a reliable test to measure nutritional status. Once this test is established it will be used to study how these nutrients interact and what combinations confer the most protection from cognitive decline. Finally, with this knowledge in hand we can formally test a personalized nutritional therapy in a clinical trial aimed at preventing or slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
