Science Talk: Slow Walking Speed and Memory Complaints Can Predict Dementia

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., and colleagues have engineered the first antibodies that can potentially neutralize the two deadliest strains of the virus that causes Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The findings were published online January 13 in the journal Scientific Reports. Dr. Lai, associate professor of biochemistry at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and John Dye, Ph.D., branch chief of viral immunology at USAMRIID, were co-leaders on the study.

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - New research on sickle cell disease by Paul Frenette, M.D., has found that using antibiotics to deplete the body’s microbiome may prevent acute sickle cell crisis and could offer the first effective strategy for warding off the disease’s long-term complications, such as organ failure. The findings were published online on September 16 in the journal Nature. Dr. Frenette is professor of medicine and of cell biology and chair and director of Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - Results of a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. adults has found that misperceptions about miscarriage and its causes are widespread. Results of the survey, conducted by Dr. Zev Williams show that guilt and shame are common and fewer than half of respondents say they received adequate emotional support from the medical community. The findings were published online on May 11 in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology. Dr. Williams is director of the Program for Early and Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (PEARL) at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System and is assistant professor of obstetrics & gynecology and women’s health, and of genetics, at Einstein.

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., explains the novel strategies he and his colleagues are using to develop treatments for Ebola viral infections. Watch 3-D animations showing how Ebola enters a cell and delivers its payload in order to replicate and spread throughout the body. Dr. Chandran is associate professor of microbiology & immunology at Einstein. Major funding for this research is provided by the NIH, U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Chan Family Foundation, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - With the help of animations, Betsy Herold, M.D. shows why some drugs that prevented HIV and herpes transmission in the lab failed to protect women in clinical trials. See how proteins in semen act as an “invisibility cloak” for HIV and herpes viruses allowing them to bypass drugs and infect cells. Using lab techniques informed by clinical results, Dr. Herold conducts translational research on the next generation of drugs to prevent HIV and HSV infection. She is professor of pediatrics and of microbiology and immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and chief, division of pediatric infectious diseases at The Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - A new study by Dr. Sophie Molholm suggests that measuring how fast the brain responds to sights and sounds could help in objectively classifying people on the autism spectrum and may help diagnose the condition earlier. The paper was published today in the online edition of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities. Dr. Molholm is associate professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and the Muriel and Harold Block Faculty Scholar in Mental Illness in the department of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Read full press release:http://dev.einstein.yu.edu/news/releases/1041/brainwave-test-could-improve-autism-diagnosis-and-classification/

http://www.einstein.yu.edu - Using animations and a walk through his lab, Dr. Steven Almo explains in lay terms why protein structure and shape are important in developing drugs to fight disease. See how proteins are turned into crystals, how X-ray crystallography works and how an immune cell’s ignition, accelerator and brakes can be manipulated to fight cancer or autoimmune disease. Dr. Almo is professor of biochemistry and Wollowick Family Foundation Chair in Multiple Sclerosis and Immunology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Learn more about Dr. Almo's research at: www.einstein.yu.edu/faculty/almo

https://www.einstein.yu.edu - Dr. Joe Verghese has found that nearly 1 in 10 met criteria for pre-dementia based on a simple test that measures how fast people walk and whether they have cognitive complaints. People who test positive for pre-dementia were twice as likely as others to develop dementia within 12 years. The paper was published online on July 16 in Neurology. Dr. Verghese is professor in the Saul R. Korey Department of Neurology and medicine at Einstein, chief of geriatrics at Einstein and Montefiore, and senior author of the Neurology paper.

https://www.einstein.yu.edu - Determined to find a treatment for children with the degenerative brain disease Niemann-Pick Type C, Steven Walkley, D.V.M., Ph.D., turned a serendipitous laboratory discovery into a successful national research collaboration with other academic institutions and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences' program for rare diseases (Therapeutics for Rare and Neglected Diseases). These efforts led to an NIH Phase 1 clinical trial testing cyclodextrin as a therapy for children with this disease. Dr. Walkley is a professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and director of the Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

https://www.einstein.yu.edu/cerc - Pediatrician Lisa Shulman shows the motor milestones expected in typically developing babies, from head control to walking and what pediatricians look for during a well-baby visit. She also explains the specific types of motor control a baby must master before the next milestone can be achieved. Dr. Shulman is associate professor of clinical pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and an attending physician in pediatrics at The Children's Hospital at Montefiore. She is also director of the RELATE program for the diagnosis and treatment of autism and related disorders at Einstein's Children's Evaluation and Rehabilitation (CERC).