Neurosciences:
Protecting Life’s Precious Memories
What are we but a collection of memories? Unfortunately, Alzheimer’s disease erases those precious mental snapshots of yesteryear, as well as the ability to work, function or interact with others. In the end, the seventh-leading cause of death in the United States slowly and methodically leaves sufferers with nothing. At UC Irvine, our dedicated researchers have made considerable progress in understanding and treating this fatal brain disorder. Their pioneering work has given hope to the estimated 5.3 million Americans afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, along with the millions of Baby Boomers and others expected to develop the condition in the future.
.jpg) Andrea Tenner and colleagues identified a drug that reduces damaging inflamed immune cells (red, background) and Alzheimer's lesions called amyloid plaques (green, background) from gathering in brains of mice, preventing the loss of cognitive abilities. |
Our Alzheimer’s disease specialists include:
- Researchers who demonstrated for the first time that neural stem cells can rescue memory in mice with advanced Alzheimer’s, raising hopes for a potential treatment for humans with the disease
- Scientists who are conducting clinical trials on humans to test whether Vitamin B3 can help reduce Alzheimer’s symptoms and lesions in humans
- A researcher who was the first to engineer mice that develop the tangles and plaques in the brain that characterize Alzheimer’s disease, providing scientists around the world with an invaluable “living laboratory” of the disorder
Every day, our scientists make inroads against Alzheimer’s disease. With your help, we might one day find a cure for this scourge.
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