By Xingran Weng, DrPH This article is based on the dissertation of Dr. Xingran Weng who defended his thesis at PSCOM on February 22, 2022. Let’s think about a tough situation Imagine an older individual has been diagnosed with cancer and moderate to severe Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (roughly 20% older persons with cancer diagnosed with … Continue reading How Aggressive and Costly is End-of-Life Care for Cancer Patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias?
neuroscience
Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease: The Rise of Novel Biomarkers
By Rebecca Fleeman Why are some diseases easy to diagnose and others aren’t? For instance, we can get a COVID rapid test and have a result in hours, whereas a disease like Alzheimer’s requires numerous tests over several months to make a diagnosis. Simply put, COVID is an infectious disease, caused by one single known … Continue reading Predicting Alzheimer’s Disease: The Rise of Novel Biomarkers
COVID-19 Causes Lingering Brain Fog: How Can We Combat The Effects?
By Laura Budurlean Are you a victim of “brain fog”? You can blame the pandemic. Individuals previously infected with SARS-CoV-2, resulting in COVID-19, sometimes experience lingering brain fog, one of the symptoms of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS or “long-COVID”). Brain fog is characterized by a general confusion, an inability to focus, and decreased mental clarity … Continue reading COVID-19 Causes Lingering Brain Fog: How Can We Combat The Effects?
Alcohol Increases Excitability in The Central Amygdala Through Neuroinflammation
By Mariam Melkumyan Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is highly prevalent, affecting around 15 million individuals annually in the United States1. The harmful effects of excessive alcohol use on the liver and other organs are well known, however, the exact effect of alcohol on the activity of the different regions and function of the brain is … Continue reading Alcohol Increases Excitability in The Central Amygdala Through Neuroinflammation
Does your brain know all your secrets?
By Victoria Vernail In 1986, geneticist Alec Jeffreys was the first to use DNA profiling techniques in a murder investigation. The use of DNA resulted in the release of an innocent suspect and eventual identification of the culprit.1 In the coming decades, DNA would become the backbone of forensic science, serving as evidence in over … Continue reading Does your brain know all your secrets?
From Bakery to Bench: How Scientists use Yeast for Biomedical Research
By Gaelyn Lyons Yeast has been an essential tool to our society since the beginning of time. Beer, bread, and wine all use yeast due to their ability to undergo fermentation.1 Not only does yeast contribute to creating yummy food, but it also plays an important role in biomedical research. Many scientists, including some at … Continue reading From Bakery to Bench: How Scientists use Yeast for Biomedical Research
How to Grow a 4th Stomach for Your Thanksgiving Feast
By Rebecca Fleeman As the sweet potato casserole gets passed down the table and you scoot your green beans over to make room, this Thanksgiving you may think “will I be able to finish all the food on my plate?”. By the end of the meal, you are absolutely stuffed, eating more than twice what … Continue reading How to Grow a 4th Stomach for Your Thanksgiving Feast
The Knee Jerk Reflex: More Than A Simple Medical Test
By Mariam Melkumyan If you have ever been to a primary care physician, they have almost certainly used a little hammer to tap your knee to test for your knee-jerk reflex. In response to this tap, your leg likely jerked a little, hence the name of the reflex. This simple test is used to assure … Continue reading The Knee Jerk Reflex: More Than A Simple Medical Test
Looking Past Amyloid-β: Emerging Alzheimer’s Disease Therapies
By Stephanie Baringer Medical history was made on June 7th, 2021, when the FDA approved aducanumab, an anti-amyloid-β (Aβ) monoclonal antibody for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a devastating neurodegenerative disease characterized by cognitive decline and memory loss1. Aducanumab is the first AD drug to be approved in nearly 18 years and is the first to target … Continue reading Looking Past Amyloid-β: Emerging Alzheimer’s Disease Therapies
The Most Contagious Non-Disease: Yawning
By Mariam Melkumyan Figure 1: Humans and animals alike yawn when they are tired, bored, or not stimulated enough. Figure from Doc & Phoebe’s Cat Co. After a long day of traveling to Maryland and back, I started yawning every few minutes, but I didn’t feel that sleepy yet, so I was confused as to … Continue reading The Most Contagious Non-Disease: Yawning
Lions Talk Science 