University of Wisconsin–Madison

Month: August 2021

Bradley T Christian, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Adults with Down syndrome (DS) are predisposed to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and reveal early amyloid beta (Aβ) pathology in the brain. Positron emission tomography (PET) provides an in vivo measure of Aβ throughout the AD continuum. Due to the high prevalence of AD in DS, there is need for longitudinal imaging studies of Aβ to better characterize the natural history of Aβ accumulation, which will aid in the staging of this population for clinical trials aimed at AD treatment and prevention.

UW–Madison’s Ausderau is awarded COVID-19 Response grant from Wisconsin Partnership Program

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UW–Madison’s Karla Ausderau, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Kinesiology, has been awarded a COVID-19 Response Research and Education Award from the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) at the UW–Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

Christopher L. Coe, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Over the last decade, multiple studies have highlighted the essential role of gut microbiota in normal infant development. However, the sensitive periods during which gut bacteria are established and become associated with physical growth and maturation of the brain are still poorly defined. This study tracked the assembly of the intestinal microbiota during the initial nursing period, and changes in community structure after transitioning to solid food in infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta).

Sriram Boothalingam, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Hearing impairment (HI) is an epidemic affecting over 1.5 billion individuals of all ages. Globally, unaddressed HI causes losses of ~US$1 trillion each year. Addressing HI requires early detection which current hearing screening tools are inadept at doing efficiently. Specifically, current hearing screening tools can either only index the sensory cells in the inner ear or require measurement of brainstem electroencephalography (EEG) to index the sensory cells and the auditory nerve which require additional resources. 

Barbara B. Bendlin, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Alzheimer's disease is characterized by accumulation of amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles, and this pathology can be detected using neuroimaging or fluid biomarkers prior to the development of dementia. The Alzheimer's disease process also involves neurodegeneration which eventually leads to cognitive decline and dementia, however typical approaches for measuring neurodegeneration (such as T1-weighted imaging), may not be sensitive to neurodegeneration in the asymptomatic disease stage.

Anita Bhattacharyya, PhD – Slide of the Week

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Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21) is characterized by intellectual impairment at birth and Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology in middle age. As individuals with DS age, their cognitive functions decline as they develop AD pathology.