Twenty years ago, Columbia scientists created a way to make neurons in a dish, a discovery that has led to clinical trials of an experimental drug that may slow the progression of ALS.
Using EEG to identify covert consciousness in unresponsive brain-injured patients could help predict which ones may recover, find researchers at Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian.
Research from Scott Small's lab at Columbia University suggests a different approach to tackling the disease, and a new startup company is now trying to turn that approach into treatments.
A gene called FMNL2 may explain why people with hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, or obesity have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
African-Americans with Alzheimer’s disease were slightly more likely to have one gene, ABCA7, that is thought to confer risk for the disease. CUMC's Dr. Richard Mayeux led the study.
The largest genome-wide search for Alzheimer’s genes in African-Americans has found that African-Americans with a variant of the ABCA7 gene have almost double the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
CUMC's Dr. Eric Kandel (2000 Nobel Laureate) said the project may lead to an understanding of "who we are as human beings and how we function and how these terrible diseases arise, and what we might be able to do address them more effectively."
New evidence that chronic infection, known to be associated with vascular disease, is also associated with poorer performance on tests of mental ability.
Viruses and bacteria can trigger inflammation in blood vessels throughout the body, including the brain, said study author Dr. Mira Katan with CUMC's Northern Manhattan Study.
The virus that causes cold sores, along with other viral or bacterial infections, may be associated with cognitive problems; a new study from CUMC's Mira Katan and Mitch Elkind.