Enlarged perivascular spaces, which are commonly seen on brain MRIs in older adults, have important associations with worse cognitive performance, particularly information processing speed and executive function, according to a new study that challenges historical consideration that perivascular spaces are a harmless imaging marker.

Greater aortic stiffness is related to lower cerebral blood flow, especially among individuals with an increased genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s disease, according to research from Vanderbilt University Medical Center. The study, published recently in Circulation, supports emerging evidence that arterial stiffness, a hypertension-related factor, may play a role in cognitive decline, said Angela Jefferson, PhD, professor of Neurology and director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center.

The APOE gene, the strongest genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease, may play a more prominent role in disease development among women than men, according to new research from the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center.   The research confirmed recent studies that carrying the APOE ε4 allele has a greater association with Alzheimer’s disease among women compared to men, and went one step further by evaluating its association with amyloid and tau levels.   The study published May 7 in JAMA Neurology adds to mounting evidence

Research by a team of Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) scientists suggests that older people whose hearts pump less blood have blood flow reductions in the temporal lobe regions of the brain, where Alzheimer’s pathology first begins.   The brain, which accounts for only 2 percent of total body weight, typically receives 12 percent of blood flow from the heart — a level maintained by complex,   Angela Jefferson, Ph.D., director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center, and colleagues investigated whether lower card

The Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center would like to announce our March lecturer in our VMAC Guest Lecture Series, Dr. Jason Hassenstab.

The Vanderbilt Memory & Alzheimer's Center would like to announce our January lecturer in our VMAC Guest Lecture Series, Dr. Rachel Whitmer.