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Brain cells
What this week’s Nobel Prize in Medicine announcement means for dementia research

What this week’s Nobel Prize in Medicine announcement means for dementia research

This year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to Japanese biologist Yoshinori Ohsumi for his discoveries on how cells eat themselves. That’s right – Ohsumi conducted experiments in the 1990s on how cells break down and recycle their components, literally eating themselves to remove damaged content and provide building blocks for cell regeneration. This process is called “autophagy”, a term that was actually coined in 1963 by Belgian scientist Christian de Duve, who also received a Nobel Prize for his work in this area….

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Make a difference on World Alzheimer's Day
Let’s make a difference on World Alzheimer’s Day

Let’s make a difference on World Alzheimer’s Day

Today we celebrate World Alzheimer’s Day, a perfect time to focus on the amazing work being done worldwide to conquer dementia. It is also a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness and show our support for those affected by the disease. Dementia affects everyone, whether we know someone living with the disease, volunteer, provide care or conduct research to uncover the cure – in one way or another, we are in this together. When the Alzheimer Society of Ontario was first…

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Donate to research today and double your impact!
“Back up” leading research and make double the impact

“Back up” leading research and make double the impact

Our minds are like our body’s computer – storing precious memories we’ve collected throughout our lifetime. Sadly, when you have Alzheimer’s disease, every memory, thought and feeling you’ve ever experienced is at risk of being lost. Your support of research will help “back up” these memories at risk. Currently, Alzheimer’s disease has no known cure, but great strides are being made into discovering what causes this disease, what types of medication or actions we can take to reduce our risk…

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Changing the way dementia research is done in Canada
Changing the way dementia research is done in Canada

Changing the way dementia research is done in Canada

Research is usually researcher-driven. We want to help change that. What do we mean? Researchers usually decide what work is important enough to be funded and then good enough to be published. But are researchers aware of the issues that matter most to those who can actually benefit from their work? Not always. That’s why we’ve created the Canadian Dementia Priority Setting Partnership, a study that will bring the voices of Canadians affected by dementia into the conversation about research.

Claiming Full Citizenship

Claiming Full Citizenship

The Centre for Inclusion and Citizenship at the University of British Columbia, together with a variety of partners, was pleased to host “Claiming Full Citizenship: an international conference on self-determination, personalization and individualized funding”, in Vancouver, BC October 15 – 17, 2015. Fifteen years after the landmark 2000 Seattle Conference on Self Determination and Individualized Funding, the desire for people living with dementia, intellectual, cognitive and physical disabilities to claim full citizenship and seek clarity on what that requires, remains. …

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Introducing the 2016 Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP) Community Representatives

Introducing the 2016 Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP) Community Representatives

This year the Alzheimer Society celebrates 28 years of funding research through the Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP). The peer review panel meetings were held in February 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, and included the role of Community Representatives. Community Representatives are members of the general public who are not currently involved with research who are given the opportunity to comment on the intent, purpose and on the clarity of the language used within the lay summaries of research applications that are received by the Society. Their involvement in peer review serves as a mechanism for public accountability by providing feedback on the ASRP peer review process.

Are dementia and head trauma linked?

Are dementia and head trauma linked?

Are dementia and head trauma linked? Substantial evidence exists linking moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) with increased dementia risk. The most recent estimates show people with a history of head trauma have greater odds, with estimates ranging 1.5 to 2 times more likely, of eventually being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, depression and other mood-related disorders, compared to those who have not experienced head trauma. When the head trauma is mild, it still contributes…

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If my mother had Alzheimer’s, should I go for testing?

If my mother had Alzheimer’s, should I go for testing?

This is a difficult question because while it is known that Alzheimer’s disease is highly inheritable, meaning that it can cluster in families, there are only a few gene abnormalities that definitively cause the disease (i.e., if you inherit it, it will be almost certain that you will get the disease). These are mutations in genes called Amyloid Precursor Protein, Presenilin 1 and Presenilin 2, with Presenilin 1 mutations being the most frequent. While these are important genes implicated in…

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Your research questions answered

Your research questions answered

During World Alzheimer’s Month, we invited people to tell us what they would ask an Alzheimer’s researcher if they bumped into one on the street. Now, we have answers from Dr. Melissa Andrew, MD, PhD, Dalhousie University, who chairs the quality of life panel for the Alzheimer Society Research Program. Stay tuned for more of your questions answered throughout the year. Are we any nearer to understanding the cause of this disease today than we were 20 years ago? A…

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Greetings from ASRP researchers visiting Dublin, Ireland!

Greetings from ASRP researchers visiting Dublin, Ireland!

We are three trainees supported by the Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP) – Emma is working on her PhD, and David and Jen are both postdoctoral researchers (they’ve finished their PhDs and are continuing on with their research training and careers). Most of the time, this means we are in our labs or offices, working on our research projects. However, this past week, we were fortunate to be among the handful of Canadians selected to take part in the Centre…

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