Alzheimer’s disease

When those with advanced dementia are receiving care that’s meant to maximize comfort, what should be avoided? Transferring them to a hospital, tube-feeding them, and testing or treating them for a bacterial infection, a U.S. geriatrics expert has told a JGH audience.

In 2005, the world adopted the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, a simple, yet refined, questionnaire that had been developed by Dr. Howard Chertkow, founding director of the JGH Memory Clinic.

Dr. Andréa C. LeBlanc, Senior Investigator in the Lady Davis Institute at the JGH, has been awarded the 150th Anniversary Medal by the Senate of Canada.

Researchers in the Lady Davis Institute are among investigators from across Canada who will share in new federal funding of $2.5 million for research into various types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Roderick McInnes, Director of the Lady Davis Institute at the JGH, has received the 2015 Award for Excellence in Human Genetics Education from the American Society of Human Genetics.

Elevated levels of a particular protein, known as Capase-6, in a specific area of the brain can serve as an early indicator for the onset of the type of cognitive impairment that is characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Canadian Institutes for Health Research, in collaboration with a network of public and private partners, has established a Canada-wide network of researchers—with headquarters in the Lady Davis Institute at the JGH—to tackle dementia and related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.