Research shows that depression is linked to a faster decline into dementia. The mechanisms connecting the two are still a mystery, but this month’s Alzheimer’s Talks guest, Dr. Scott Mackin, is one of the researchers working to shed light on the link. Dr. Mackin joined us on our August Alzheimer’s Talks to share his work on a new study, the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative - Depression Project. He discussed the challenges of studying depression and cognitive decline and the hope that by treating depression symptoms we can reverse some cognitive declines.

During this special edition of Alzheimer’s Talks presented by UsAgainstAlzheimer's, award-winning author Jonathan Kozol shared his experiences caring for his father and discussed his new book, The Theft of Memory: Losing My Father, One Day at a Time. Some people say once a person has Alzheimer’s, he or she becomes a stranger, losing the pieces of his or her personality we knew and loved before. But when Dr. Harry Kozol, a respected psychiatrist and neurologist, was diagnosed, his son Jonathan Kozol was struck by his father’s resilience and learned to connect with him during the various stages of decline.

In USAgainstAlzheimer's July Alzheimer’s Talks, Dr. Michael Rafii – Medical Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS), Director of the Memory Disorders Clinic and Assistant Professor of Neurosciences at the University of California, San Diego and Attending Neurologist at the Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center – joined us to discuss his exciting work on the NOBLE and A4 studies, coordinated by the ADCS. With new imaging technology and a greater understanding of the progression of Alzheimer’s guiding clinical trials, there’s hope on the horizon for Alzheimer’s treatment and prevention.

In June’s Alzheimer’s Talks, presented by UsAgainstAlzheimer's, we were joined by Dr. Katrin Andreasson, Professor of Neurology at University of Stanford, who has led groundbreaking research investigating the role of microglia, the brain’s immune cells, in Alzheimer’s disease.

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For May’s Alzheimer’s Talks, USAgainstAlzheimer's partnered with The National Endowment for the Arts and its Interagency Task Force on the Arts and Human Development to examine how the arts, and specifically poetry and storytelling programs, can help improve quality of life for those with Alzheimer's disease. 

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