What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a brain disorder that develops over a period of years and often starts with short-term memory impairment. Initially, people experience memory loss, and they may eventually develop difficulties with decision-making, language, recognizing family and friends. They may gradually develop behavior and personality changes. These losses are related to the death of neurons in the brain. AD is one of a group of disorders called dementias that are characterized by cognitive and behavioral problems. AD is by far the most common form of dementia, being the cause of approximately 75% of dementia cases either by itself or in combination with other disorders. The overall prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease in the community is estimated at about 10% in population-based studies. Alzheimer’s disease becomes more prevalent with age, with most cases being diagnosed after the age of 65.

Key Research Publications on Alzheimer’s disease:

Pekkala S, Wiener D, Himali JJ, Beiser AS, Obler LK, Liu Y, McKee A, Auerbach S, Seshadri S, Wolf PA, Au R. Lexical retrieval in discourse: An early indicator of Alzheimer’s dementia. Clin Linguist Phon. 2013 Aug 28. [PDF]

Augustinack JC, Huber KE, Stevens AA, Roy M, Frosch MP, van der Kouwe AJ, Wald LL, Van Leemput K, McKee AC, Fischl B. Predicting the location of human perirhinal cortex, Brodmann’s area 35, from MRI. For the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. Neuroimage. 2013 Jan 1;64C:32-42. [PDF]

Carreras I, McKee AC, Choi JK, Aytan N, Kowall NW, Jenkins BG, Dedeoglu A. 1.R-flurbiprofen improves tau, but not Aß pathology in a triple transgenic model of Alzheimer’s disease. Brain Res. 2013 Dec 6;1541:115-27. [PDF]