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Some people in their 80s and 90s show shockingly little decline in their brainpower. Scientists are beginning to understand what makes them different and how the rest of us might benefit You can find Vernon Smith hard at work at his computer by 7:30 each morning, cranking out 10 solid hours of writing and researching every day. His job is incredibly demanding — he is currently on the faculty of both the business and law schools at Chapman University. But the hard work pays off: Smith’s research is consistently ranked as the most-cited work produced at the school — a…

The post Celebrating What’s Right With Aging: Inside the Minds of Super Agers appeared first on UCI MIND.

More than 6 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, and the CDC expects that number to double in the next three decades. The first drug fully approved by the FDA for Alzheimer’s has been on the market for 10 months. Now, researchers are looking at testing it to prevent Alzheimer’s. A shot that could one day prevent Alzheimer’s disease — that’s the potential future for lecanemab, or Leqembi. […] Researchers are studying to see if the drug can prevent the disease. “We hope [to] make breakthroughs in discoveries that change our ability to help people in their lives, prevent them from getting…

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On Friday October 13, 2023, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced a formal change to their coverage policy for amyloid PET imaging. Previously, with limited exceptions, patients were required to be enrolled in a clinical study known as “Coverage with Evidence Determination” for the scan to be reimbursed. Now, that requirement has been removed and the door has been opened for more patients to get the scan and result in savings of thousands of dollars for patients and their families. In fact, patients may have the opportunity to receive multiple covered scans as part of their routine care…

The post More good news from CMS appeared first on UCI MIND.

Most Americans favor an age limit for the president and other politicians. But some ethicists and scientists argue that’s ageist and scientifically unsound. Barring a considerable shift in the political winds, the next US president will be either 82 or 78 years old on Inauguration Day. Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who twice froze in front of cameras and was unable to speak for several agonizing moments, is 81. His Democratic counterpart, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, is a comparative spring chicken at 72. Senator Dianne Feinstein died last month at age 90, after months of frequent absences from the chamber…

The post How Old is Too Old to Govern? appeared first on UCI MIND.

Neurologist [and professor] Dr. Claudia Kawas has been tracking the habits of the “oldest old,” those older than 90, in Southern California since 2003, as part of a study at the University of California, Irvine. She and a team of researchers have found links between longevity and even short amounts of exercise, social activities such as going to church, and modest caffeine and alcohol intake. [Subscription required, campus-wide access provided by UCI Libraries. Sign-up here: https://guides.lib.uci.edu/news/wsj]

The post The Secret to Living to 100? It’s Not Good Habits appeared first on UCI MIND.

Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s. Nearly 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible and devastating form of dementia that gradually breaks down memory and thinking skills. But not everyone is equally at risk. Hispanic people are 1.5 times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease than white people, according to data from the Alzheimer’s Association. “Our America: Unforgettable” is an hour-long special produced by ABC Owned Television Stations in partnership with ABC News that takes a look at the alarming data of Alzheimer’s disease through a Hispanic and Latino lens. It’s important for groups at higher risk…

The post Hispanic Americans are at higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, research shows appeared first on UCI MIND.

This summer, UC Irvine was again one of only 10 universities in the U.S. to host a free six-week program to train undergraduate students in the fundamentals of biostatistics, data science and computing. For the second year in a row, the Irvine Summer Institute in Biostatistics and Undergraduate Data Science (ISI-BUDS) brought students to UCI from across the nation and, as part of the training, offered hands-on experience conducting cutting-edge biomedical research. […] The ISI-BUDS Program Of the more than 150 applicants, 15 students were selected for the highly competitive program, which includes up to $500 in travel expenses, free…

The post UCI Summer Institute Trains Undergraduates in Biostatistics and Data Science appeared first on UCI MIND.

Whatever keeps the community up at night – or makes them pull the covers over their head to not face the day – probably won’t surface for years to come, but Dr. Karen Lincoln sees where it starts in the early stages through brain imaging. In and of itself, she said it’s not so much about sleep, but rather why advanced aging disproportionately impacts the Black community. Two of her landmark studies, Sleep Tight and Express Yourself, show how and why everyday discrimination and microaggressions are taking a dramatic toll on health. Earlier this year, Dr. Lincoln joined UCI faculty…

The post OC Racism: Bad for Brain Health appeared first on UCI MIND.

No cause of death has been disclosed for Dianne Feinstein, the longtime California senator who struggled with evident health problems in her final years before her death Friday. She was absent from the U.S. Senate for nearly three months earlier this year while recovering from a case of shingles that led to encephalitis, a rare complication that causes inflammation and swelling in the brain. She was briefly hospitalized in August after falling at her home and was often seen in a wheelchair in public. Indications that Feinstein, 90, was struggling with memory problems have persisted for years, even before the acknowledged health crises in the last year of her…

The post Dianne Feinstein’s cause of death hasn’t been disclosed, but it likely wasn’t dementia appeared first on UCI MIND.

UCI MIND Director, Dr. Joshua Grill was recently interviewed by the OC Register about the Institute’s role in being a reliable source of information about Alzheimer’s disease. Read the full article here
The post UCI MIND Featured in the OC…