UCI MIND investigators Mathew Blurton-Jones, PhD, Assistant Professor of Neurobiology & Behavior, Wayne Poon, PhD, Director of UCI MIND Tissue Repository, and Edsel Abud, MD/PhD student, have created a method to generate brain cells called microglia using human skin cells. Here, they discuss their findings and what it means for Alzheimer's disease research in an interview with Chelsea Cox, Associate Director of Education: What is microglia and what role does it play in Alzheimer's disease? Poon: Microglia are the immune cells of the brain. They play a big role in the inflammation of the brain that occurs in Alzheimer’s disease. How can…
Read More
UCI-led study to advance understanding of the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s disease Using human skin cells, University of California, Irvine neurobiologists and their colleagues have created a method to generate one of the principle cell types of the brain called microglia, which play a key role in preserving the function of neural networks and responding to injury and disease. The finding marks an important step in the use of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells for targeted approaches to better understand and potentially treat neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. These iPS cells are derived from existing adult skin cells and…
Read More
"UCI MIND, Orange County’s only state and federally funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, is calling on Orange County residents age 65 to 85 who have normal memory function to help in meeting its urgent need for study participants in an active clinical study now underway. The researchers are hoping to find new ways to prevent, slow, and/or stop Alzheimer’s disease before it begins..." read more>
Read More
by Joshua Grill, PhD April 12, 2017 On April 6, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) partially reversed an earlier decision to halt direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing by the company 23andMe, a personal genomics company based in Silicon Valley. The new decision approves the company to provide “genetic health risk reports” for 10 diseases, including 8 rare disorders—Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, Celiac Disease, Early-Onset Primary Dystonia, Factor XI Deficiency, G6PD Deficiency, Gaucher Disease, Hereditary Hemochromatosis, and Hereditary Thrombophilia—and two common age-related neurological disorders—Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). After age, the strongest risk factor for AD is genetics. The e4…
Read More
by Mary Rechtoris - April 5, 2017 Researchers spanning the nation are working to employ analytics to drive real changes for patients with various conditions. Joshua Grill, PhD, co-director of the Memory Impairments Neurological Disorders Institute at University of California Irvine, details how he and fellow researchers are using analytics systems for clinical trials on Alzheimer's disease research and how data may shape trials moving forward...
Read More
