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Dr. Sanjay Asthana
When it comes to dementia research, UW-Madison is the new kid on the block. “But it is quickly reaching national status,” says Dr. Sanjay Asthana, who heads the UW’s Alzheimer’s research program. “Our young scientists are already leaders, and they are the future of the field.” Here’s a rundown of some of the their work:
Brain imaging in early detection of Alzheimer’s
Sterling Johnson
Dr. Sterling Johnson, a clinical neuropsychologist, is developing new ways to image the damage of Alzheimer’s in a living brain. Until recently, the only definitive way to diagnose Alzheimer’s was with an autopsy, which could identify abnormal growth called plaques and tangles.
“For the last eight years, we have been able to image the plaques, and now for the first time, just this year, we can image the tangles,” Johnson says. “Now that we can image both, we won’t have to wait for an autopsy.” UW-Madison is one of three sites in the country implementing this imaging technique.
4-D flow imaging
Johnson is also collaborating with researchers in Medical Physics to study flow in the brain’s blood vessels. “We’ve seen that people with Alzheimer’s have lower flow going to the head, and their vessels are stiffer. This was suspected from autopsies, but no one could show it in patients until we did. We are realizing that the pulsing action of these vessels helps clear material waste out into the spinal fluid. If the vessels aren’t flexible enough, they don’t provide the pumping motion to get the garbage down the path. It stays and forms the plaques.”
New treatments for Alzheimer’s
UW researchers are developing animal models to study Alzheimer’s treatments. There is no complete animal version of Alzheimer’s in the world, and that’s one of the reasons there’s been a delay in finding treatment.
However Dr. Luigi Puglielli has genetically engineered mice to express a human protein, APP, which is instrumental in developing Alzheimer’s, and the mice develop characteristics of the disease. They’re being used to better understand the molecular mechanism that triggers Alzheimer’s, so that the onset of disease can be delayed. “Within the cell, some proteins are made incorrectly. The good ones need to be marked as good to go, the others are toxic and need to be removed,” says Puglielli.
“We want to increase the natural machinery that disposes of the bad ones. Imagine that you have trash pickup once a week; as you grow older and produce more trash, you may need to remove it twice a week.”
Improved care for patients
Amy Kind
Dr. Amy Kind, associate professor in geriatrics in the UW School of Medicine, developed and piloted a Coordinated Transitional Care Program (C-TraC), to help hospitalized dementia patients return home by assigning a nurse to meet with the family and then following up with phone calls over the next several weeks. The program has reduced rehospitalization by one third and has been adopted by hospitals in Wisconsin and other states.
“We see patients and families in times of crisis,” Kind says. “And we can support them beyond their hospital stay.”
