Upcoming Webinars for Dementia and Alzheimer’s Researchers

Frontotemporal Dementia and Related Disorders PIA: Insights Into FTLD Neuropathology

April 21, 2021
10:30 a.m. CT

Is frontotemporal dementia a single disease or a heterogeneous collection of pathologies? What are the microscopic hallmarks of the main pathological classes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)? Why is the classification still evolving? How does pathology link to clinical syndromes? What is the relevance of understanding pathology for a better patient care and clinical practice?

Speakers:
Marta Scarioni, Edward B. Lee and Keith A. Josephs

Technology PIA: Virtual Reality for Dementia Assessment and Care: Current Practices and Future Directions

April 22, 2021
10 a.m. CT

Virtual reality has several potential applications in dementia assessment in care, from screening to cognitive training. In this ISTAART Technology & Dementia webinar, Felix Clay and Joe Strong will review the state of the evidence in the field of VR for dementia, highlight the benefits and limitations of current approaches, and discuss potential future application areas before engaging in a Q&A with attendees.

Speakers:
Felix Clay and Joe Strong

Health Policy PIA: Dementia, Caregiving and COVID-19

April 23, 2021
10:30 a.m. CT

Though much attention has focused on the impact of COVID-19 in long-term care facility settings, the majority of people with dementia and their caregivers live at home. Community-dwelling caregivers and people with dementia face unique challenges due to the pandemic. This webinar explores emerging research on policy considerations to help support caregivers of people with dementia in the community.

Speakers:
Kate Gordon and Clarissa Giebel

Diversity and Disparities PIA: Towards More Inclusive Alzheimer’s Research and Communication: Lessons Learned from Translational Research in Diverse Populations in Australia

May 4, 2021
8 a.m. CT

To improve research in diverse populations, it is vital to tailor communication strategies to these populations and engage them in the design and implementation of studies. In this webinar, Bianca Brijnath and Jo Antoniades (both with The National Ageing Research Institute, Australia) will present their work on the development of educational materials about dementia prevention, diagnosis and care, and will highlight methods promoting representation and inclusivity.

Speakers:
Bianca Brijnath and Jo Antoniades

Electrophysiology and Neuromodulatory Subcortical Systems PIAs: EEG and Neuroimaging Methods to Probe Ascending Neuromodulatory Systems in Alzheimer's Disease

May 4, 2021
11 a.m. CT

During this webinar, we will share and discuss methodologies at the intersection between electrophysiology and functional imaging that are widely used in neuropsychiatric research and bear major potential also in the Alzheimer’s field. These methods are highly promising but still little used in Alzheimer’s research so that we want to foster exchange and inspiration across the disciplines.

Speakers:
Lea Grinberg Christoph Mulert and Claudio Babilioni

Reserve, Resilience and Protective Factors PIA: Resistance Against AD Pathologies: The Role of Sleep, Exercise and Stress Management

May 5, 2021
10 a.m. CT

The focus of this webinar is to understand the role of three lifestyle factors (sleep, exercise and stress) in lowering the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. We have invited three expert panelists who will discuss the mechanisms through which these lifestyle factors can provide resistance to AD pathologies and discuss cutting-edge research in their areas of investigation.

Speakers:
Alessandro Bartolomucci, Bryce Mander and Henriette van Praag

Health Policy PIA: Detect Early, Treat Better, Live Better? Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Disease — From Technology to Policy

May 5, 2021
3 p.m. CT

Recent technological advances offer tremendous possibility to shift the detection of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias to its early stages. This webinar will provide an overview of novel technologies and emerging biomarkers for early disease detection. The panelists will also address issues around the value of early detection and practical considerations from the clinical perspective and health policy perspective.

Speakers:
Michelle M. Mielke, Gill Livingston and Darius Lakdawalla

Design and Data Analytics PIA: Longitudinal Primary Outcomes in Randomized Controlled Trials

May 13, 2021
11:30 a.m. CT

The primary outcome of Randomized Control Trials (RCTs) are typically dichotomous, univariate discrete, continuous or time-to-event. However, what if this outcome is a longitudinal sequence? That is, what if not only the amount or rate of change of a key quantity are important, but also subtle changes in the covariance structure? When the outcome is unstructured, it is unclear how to assess RCT success and how to compute sample size. We show that kernel methods (e.g. MMD tests) offer natural extensions to traditional biostatistics methods. We demonstrate our approach with the measurements of computer usage in a cohort of aging participants, some of which will become cognitively impaired. Simulations, as well as real data experiments, are presented.

Speaker:
Bruno M. Jedynak

Nutrition, Metabolism and Dementia PIA: Can We Combat Chronic Inflammation Through Nutrition to Decrease the Risk for Dementia?

May 18, 2021
10 a.m. CT

A healthy diet has been hypothesized to protect against chronic inflammation, which leads to the development of chronic diseases including dementia. This webinar will focus on findings from observational and intervention studies which investigated the anti- and pro- inflammatory potential of nutrients, foods, food groups, dietary indices and dietary patterns within the context of dementia research.

Speaker:
Debora Melo van Lent

Nonpharmacological Interventions PIA: The Forgotten Utility of Case Studies: Examining Non-Pharmacologic Interventions in Individuals with ADRD (Part 3: Managing Dementia Related Visual Impairment)

May 19, 2021
10:30 a.m.

Keir Yong will speak on developing non-pharmacological support for individuals living with dementia-related visual impairment, in particular posterior cortical atrophy (occasionally referred to as ""visual-spatial Alzheimer’s disease""). This presentation will feature cases who have advanced understanding of disabling visual and space perception deficits arising from neurodegenerative disease, and methodological considerations regarding informing and evaluating compensatory strategies supporting patient autonomy.

Part 1 was recorded on Oct. 27, 2020. Part 2 was recorded on Feb. 24, 2021. Both webinars are available on demand.

Speaker:
Keir Yong

DSAD PIA: Understanding Alzheimer’s Disease Development in the Context of Down Syndrome; Using Preclinical Models

May 26, 2021
11 a.m. CT

Individuals who have Down syndrome have a greatly elevated risk of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. We use Down syndrome mouse models to understand the combination of chromosome 21 genes that modulate aspects of AD pathogenesis when in three-copies, including the formation and accumulation of amyloid-β.

Speaker:
Frances Wiseman

Neuroimaging PIA: Software for Image Analysis

May 27, 2021
9 a.m. CT

This is the second of four webinars focused on image analysis in research on Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. This webinar will focus on the different softwares for structural image analysis. Five speakers from the software tools SPM, FSL, FreeSurfer and Nipy will provide an introduction to their specific software.

Speakers:
John Ashburner, Ludovica Griffanti, Eugenio Iglesias, Aakanksha Rana and Satrajit Ghosh

Nutrition, Metabolism and Dementia PIA: The MIND Diet to Prevent AD: An Overview of the Background and Current Evidence

June 15, 2021
10 a.m. CT

MIND is a hybrid of the Mediterranean and DASH diet. It is particularly tailored to brain protection based on the most compelling findings in the diet-dementia field. Research suggests it may indeed slow cognitive decline and reduce dementia risk. This webinar will review the compilation of the MIND diet and its components as well as the current scientific evidence.

Speakers:
Puja Agarwal and Ondine van de Rest