In the News

San Antonio Express News: Studies of Alzheimer’s and brain diseases vital for Texas

January 14, 2019

“The brain is the organ of destiny. It holds within its humming mechanism secrets that will determine the future of the human race.” Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian neurosurgeon (1891-1976) The healthy brain solves problems, triumphs over adversity, paints works of art and composes sonatas. When the brain is diseased or injured, by contrast, the toll is […]


Study finds association between vascular factors and brain shrinkage

December 19, 2018

Tiny blood vessels carry life-sustaining nutrition to the deepest recesses of the brain. How early in life do these small, but essential, tributaries begin to lose their function? This decline might start in middle age, and a subset of people may be more at risk for it than others, suggests a study published by faculty […]


Announcing occupational therapy services for people with dementia and their caregivers

December 3, 2018

By Kate Hunger New Department of Occupational Therapy clinical faculty member Laura Novak, OTR, is developing the new occupational therapy services program at the UT Health San Antonio Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Laura Novak, OTR Nova joined the department in July. She has 18 years’ experience as a clinician, primarily within […]


Dr. Parker and Dr. Gonzales receive Texas Alzheimer’s consortium funding

November 19, 2018

Alicia Parker, M.D., and Mitzi Gonzales, Ph.D., of UT Health San Antonio will receive grant funding from the Texas Alzheimer’s Research and Care Consortium (TARCC), the organization recently announced. Alicia Parker, M.D. Dr. Parker is assistant professor in the Department of Neurology and staff physician with the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases. [...]

Dr. Seshadri receives nearly $2 million STARs award

November 14, 2018

Sudha Seshadri, M.D., professor of neurology at UT Health San Antonio, recently received a $1,991,114 Translational STARs award from the UT System to address research and treatment needs in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. Dr. Seshadri, who joined UT Health San Antonio in December 2017, is the founding director of the Glenn Biggs Institute for […]


San Antonio Express-News: We must end the Alzheimer’s tsunami

November 8, 2018

We must end the Alzheimer’s tsunami By Sudha Seshadri, For the Express-News, Nov. 7, 2018   On Nov. 5, 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed a joint resolution passed by Congress that designated November 1988 as National Alzheimer’s Disease Month. The resolution referred to the “two and one-half million Americans” affected by Alzheimer’s disease and the $25 […]



TIME: Stressed-Out People May Have Smaller Brains, Study Says

October 24, 2018

  By Jamie Ducharme October 24, 2018   You already know that stress is bad for your health, but according to a new study published in Neurology, it may also be bad for your brain. The new study found that middle-aged adults with the highest levels of cortisol had lower brain volume and cognitive functioning […]




Forbes: Senolytic Therapies Seem to Stop Alzheimer’s Disease In Its Tracks

October 12, 2018

Scientists at the University of Texas have implicated a type of cellular stress for the first time as a player in Alzheimer’s disease. And their discovery could lead to treatments for more than 20 human brain diseases including Alzheimer’s and traumatic brain injury. One author of the study went as far as to say the […]



San Antonio Express News: Leaders push to make San Antonio a better place for people with dementia

October 5, 2018

When Mary Lou Rodriguez tells people she has Alzheimer’s disease, she has come to anticipate a common response. Often, they will turn to her husband, or her daughter, and talk with them instead. “It’s like all of a sudden, I’m not there,” said Rodriguez, 75. “They stop looking at you. It’s like you become a […]



KSAT 12: Alzheimer’s disease approaching status of health crisis, researchers say

September 5, 2018

More than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s but now, researchers at the Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases at UT Health San Antonio, are working to find warning signs for the disease. Read the full story