Bringing hope to Alzheimer’s, other dementia patients

The overriding goal for Dr. Diamond and his CAND colleagues, including Sarah Shahmoradian, Ph.D., Pedro Rosa-Neto, M.D., Ph.D., and fellow researchers in the Diamond Lab, is to develop diagnostics and therapies to detect and treat Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias before they cause brain dysfunction. That includes working closely with clinician-investigators at UTSW’s Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology Clinic and beyond, using patient samples to test new ideas.

By focusing on the abnormal buildup of the tau protein that can transform into amyloids that damage and kill brain cells – leading to memory loss, personality changes, difficulty with language, and motor problems – Dr. Diamond is zeroing in on breakthroughs. Those include blood tests that are currently in clinical trials that can screen for dementia risk as well as new medications in development that are more effective than the handful now in use.

In addition, led by Professor of Neurology and OBI Investigator Ihab Hajjar, M.D., UTSW has recently received a $23 million, five-year Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center grant from the National Institute on Aging. It will fund the North Texas Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center and support research into the basic mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s and related dementias and clinical interventions for diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment.