DUP Lecture will explore Alzheimer's advances

Could a vaccine slow or even prevent the devastating effects of a disease that has robbed 4.5 million Americans of memory and thinking ability—and also threatens the brains and lives of millions more?

(Photo by Gregory Fox)

Can advanced medical imaging techniques help detect Alzheimer's disease early and reveal which patients are responding to treatment and which need different options?

These exciting prospects, and others are much closer than ever before, says Dr. Sid Gilman, director of the Michigan Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (MADRC) and the William J. Herdman Distinguished University Professor of Neurology in the Medical School.

At 4 p.m. Jan. 31 in the Rackham Amphitheatre, Gilman will discuss promising recent findings in the field of Alzheimer's disease diagnosis and care, during his Distinguished University Professor lecture, titled "Toward a Cure for Alzheimer's Disease." A reception will follow in the Rackham Assembly Hall. Distinguished University Professorships are the highest honor accorded faculty members by the University.

Gilman is known internationally as a researcher and clinician in dementia—the term for brain changes that affect cognition, memory and other functions. In his lecture, he will describe current knowledge and MADRC research into protein and cell changes in the brain that are involved with Alzheimer's, and will identify specific risk factors that are associated with the disease, including the deposition of a protein called beta amyloid, disturbances in the biochemistry of a protein called tau, and the loss of nerve cells.

He'll also discuss how a medical-imaging technique called positron emission tomography scanning is being studied at U-M and elsewhere for its potential to reveal early signs of Alzheimer's, and to allow physicians to assess individual patients' response to treatment. If proven effective, such scans could be useful in judging the effects of currently available drugs, which temporarily can reduce patients' symptoms, and in monitoring response to future treatments that will attempt to slow disease progression.

Gilman's lecture also will include the latest update on immunotherapy strategies to vaccinate patients who have early memory loss and assist their immune systems in fighting back against Alzheimer's. Gilman participated in an international clinical trial of an approach called "active immunization" that yielded promising signs but was stopped early because of brain inflammation in a few participants. He now is the lead safety official on another international trial, supported by Elan Corp. and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, that seeks to avoid such problems through a technique called "passive immunization."

Gilman's talk will include many research findings from the MADRC projects, which are supported by a $10 million grant from the National Institute on Aging. For more information on Alzheimer's research, including studies currently seeking volunteers, go to www.med.umich.edu/alzheimers.