Progress
The Zenith Society has played a direct and historic role in creating
the leadership necessary to advance
Alzheimer research.
Today, the Society is building on its legacy and expanding its support to other key initiatives, including quality care and advocacy.
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"Zenith has enhanced Alzheimer research by encouraging top investigators from different disciplines to take interest in the disease."
William Thies, Ph. D.
Alzheimer's Association
Vice President, Medical and Scientific Relations
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Below are some of the key areas of progress funded by the Zenith Society:
- Risk factors: Igmar Skoog, M.D., Ph.D., University
of Goteborg in Sweden, used insights from population-based research
to help identify risk factors for Alzheimer's. His research suggested
a potential link between vascular disease and dementia. His work
continues to inform how risk might be modified with treatment
or lifestyle changes.
- Genetics: Alison Goate, Ph.D., identified a
gene mutation on chromosome 14, which is responsible for an inherited
form of Alzheimer's. Today, Dr. Goate is a leader in Alzheimer
genetic research. Margaret Gatz, Ph.D., University of Southern
California, Los Angeles, reported that between 58 percent and
79 percent of Alzheimer cases could be attributed to genetic factors.
Her findings are based on data analysis from more than 11,000
pairs of twins in the Swedish Twin Registry. And Jonathon Haines,
Ph.D., Vanderbilt University at St. Louis, and Margaret Pericak-Vance,
Ph.D., Duke University, both reported finding a gene on chromosome
10, which may help determine the age at which the disease manifests
in people genetically predisposed to Alzheimer's.
- Inflammation: Joseph Rogers, Ph.D., Sun Health
Research Institute explored new ideas in the relationship between
inflammation and Alzheimer's. His work attracted new researchers
to study this area, helping lead to numerous potential treatments
for the disease.
- Pain management: Jiska Cohen-Mansfield, Ph.D.,
Research Institute of the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, D.C.,
developed and validated a pain assessment tool for older adults
who cannot communicate. Her findings may provide a critical resource
for pain management in people with dementia living in nursing
homes or receiving end-of-life care.
- Memory models: Frank LaFerla, Ph.D., University
of California, Irvine, is leading a project to characterize memory
impairments in a new transgenic mouse model and to correlate disease
pathology with cognitive decline. Todd Golde, M.D., Ph.D., Mayo
Clinic Jacksonville, is investigating a new experimental method
for developing animal models that may more closely replicate human
brain cell loss in Alzheimer's.
More information:
 Zenith
Award Recipients 1991-2007 (11 pages)
2007 Zenith Awards abstracts
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Learn more |
To
learn more, contact Claudine Larocque, Alzheimer's Association
Senior Director of Relationship Development:
312.335.5717
claudine.larocque@alz.org
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