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Steven DeKosky, M.D. and William Klunk,
M.D.
Drs. DeKosky and Klunk both work at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center,
one of the nation's top institutions for diagnosing, treating and studying
Alzheimer's. Together, they recently celebrated success on their latest
research breakthrough: the so-called "Pittsburgh Compound." Painstakingly
engineered to harmlessly cross the intricate barrier that guards the brain, the compound allows scientists to see the plaques that build
up
in the brain of someone living with Alzheimer's. Until their incredible
breakthrough, this hallmark physical sign of Alzheimer's could not be seen
until after death. Now that researchers will be able to watch the progress of
Alzheimer's in the brain of living patients, DeKosky and Klunk believe
it will be much easier to test the effectiveness of new drugs engineered to slow
or stop the formation of the toxic plaques and, they hope, Alzheimer's
itself. As a practicing clinician, DeKosky also works with patients
to
diagnose
and treat Alzheimer's, and leads a team that meets regularly to discuss
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Professor Rudolph Tanzi
As one of the first researchers to map chromosome 21, Dr. Tanzi has been a
leader in the search for genetic causes of Alzheimer's disease. The smallest human chromosome, number 21, has long been associated with Down Syndrome. When
researchers discovered that the brains of Down Syndrome patients often contained
the same amyloid plaques characteristic in Alzheimer's, Tanzi began
to search the chromosome for a genetic connection. That search led to the isolation
of the amyloid precursor protein (APP) gene, mutations of which cause a rare
early-onset form of Alzheimer's that is passed from generation to generation
in affected families. Now
a Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of The Genetics
and Aging Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital, Tanzi works with families
like the Noonans and continues to identify other genes connected with Familial and Sporadic Alzheimer's. He is the author of Decoding Darkness: The Search for the Genetic Causes of Alzheimer's Disease.
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Bradley Hyman, M.D.
A practicing neurologist, Dr. Hyman and his team use imaging, genetic research and patient
test results to try to unravel some of Alzheimer's biggest mysteries.
Why do some people get it faster than others? Why do some have symptoms, such
as hallucinations, that others never get? Like other researchers, Dr. Hyman
and his colleagues at
Harvard University's Center for Aging, Genetics and Neurodegeneration saw
the potential benefits of seeing amyloid plaques in a living brain. Using mice
injected with a human gene that would stimulate plaque growth, Hyman used a powerful
new microscope to see deep into the brains of living genetically modified mice.
Combining this new method with the Pittsburgh Compound allowed scientists to
safely see, for the first time, the location of plaques in a living brain,
a practice now successfully duplicated with human Alzheimer's patients.
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John Growdon, M.D.
Dr. Growdon is the chief clinician for Alzheimer's at Massachusetts General
Hospital, and treats patients like Isabel McKenna. Many of the patients he
sees have the opportunity to become involved with research on
possible new treatments. He runs a multidisciplinary team of doctors and researchers
that focuses on accurate diagnosis of the disease, the effectiveness of certain
drugs, and medical treatments that can improve functionality and quality of life
for people with Alzheimer's. Dr. Growdon also specializes in treating and
researching another degenerative neurological ailment: Parkinson's Disease.
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