News
KSAT 12: San Antonio researchers examining COVID-19’s long-term effects on the brain
January 27, 2021
SAN ANTONIO – UT Health San Antonio researchers are trying to determine if COVID-19 will have long-term effects on older adults’ brains. San Antonio resident Robert Renteria is participating in the study. “I’m willing to do whatever I can to help in this research,” Renteria said. Last year in June, Renteria began feeling sick. “No sleep, […]
Strokes after TIAs have declined over time, study shows
January 26, 2021
But patients should be monitored for extended period after transient ischemic attacks. SAN ANTONIO and BOSTON – Study findings released Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) hold both good news and bad news about transient ischemic attacks (TIAs), which are harbingers of subsequent strokes. Sudha Seshadri, MD, professor of neurology at The University of […]
Journal article reviews century of data showing COVID-19 likely to impact the brain
January 5, 2021
International consortium funded by Alzheimer’s Association will study effects. SAN ANTONIO and CHICAGO – An article published Jan. 5 in Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association cites decades of published scientific evidence to make a compelling case for SARS-CoV-2’s expected long-term effects on the brain and nervous system. Dementia researchers from The University of […]
UT Health San Antonio, UT Southwestern get $1 million to establish brain bank program
December 3, 2020
UT Health San Antonio, through its Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases, along with UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, has received a nearly $1 million grant to establish the Texas Statewide Brain Bank Initiative. The $983,841 collaborative research grant is from the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium, or TARCC. Kevin Bieniek, […]
160 genes linked to brain shrinkage in study of 45,000 adults
September 25, 2020
A new study implicates 160 genes in brain shrinkage seen on MRIs of 45,000 healthy adults. The shrinkage is in the cortex, the dimply outer layer of the brain that gives rise to thinking, awareness and action, and largely consists of gray matter. The study, published Sept. 22 in the journal Nature Communications, examined 34 regions […]
Oral pill slows rate of decline in ALS patients
September 8, 2020
Although it’s not a cure for ALS, an oral drug slowed patients’ rate of functional decline in a clinical trial that included five patients at UT Health San Antonio. If the finding is repeated in larger trials, the drug could give families more time with their loved ones who have ALS. The New England Journal […]
Biggs Institute gains $2M to study rapamycin for Alzheimer’s
August 25, 2020
In the war on cancer and other diseases including COVID-19, old drugs approved for other conditions are being studied for new purposes. It’s a strategy that will now be tested in Alzheimer’s disease with a drug called rapamycin. A $2 million grant will enable a clinical trial in which 40 individuals with mild cognitive impairment […]
Genes, cardiovascular health each factor into dementia risk
July 20, 2020
Genes and cardiovascular health each contribute in an additive way to a person’s risk of dementia, researchers including Sudha Seshadri, MD, and Claudia Satizabal, PhD, of UT Health San Antonio reported July 20 in the journal Neurology. The study was conducted in 1,211 participants in the Framingham Heart Study and involved collaborators from Boston University. Participants […]
Synapse-saving class of proteins discovered, opening intriguing possibilities in Alzheimer’s, schizophrenia
July 17, 2020
UT Health San Antonio researchers have discovered a new class of proteins that protect synapses from being destroyed. Synapses are the structures where electrical impulses pass from one neuron to another. In Alzheimer’s disease, loss of synapses leads to memory problems and other clinical symptoms. In schizophrenia, synapse losses during development predispose an individual to […]
Data, lots of it, may detect who will have dementia and what type
July 6, 2020
What if, by inputting information about dementia and a patient into a supercomputer and crunching the data, a treatment team could quantify the individual’s risk of developing the disease? And what if, based on the results, the team could diagnose which type and subtype of dementia that the patient might develop? And what if the […]