Find out more about the ageing brain and dementia: Video of this year's public lecture

See the video of this year's public lecture by Prof Srikanth
on dementia and the ageing brain: Youtube 58:28mins

Central Clinical School (CCS), Monash University's annual public lecture in 2022 was presented by Professor Velandai Srikanth, Director of the National Centre for Healthy Ageing, Director of Research, Peninsula Health and Professor of Medicine at CCS. 

Professor Srikanth explores why the brain ages and what causes dementia. Importantly, he asks, what can we do about it? 

The video of the presentation is now published:

World first midlife twin study reveals simple eye test could predict dementia

L-R: Dr Chris Karayiannis, Prof Velandai Srikanth and A/Prof
 Chris Moran from the National Centre for Healthy Ageing with
study participants Paul Carton and Gerry Carton.

A world first study mapping the thickness of the layers of the retina in 18 pairs of twins at midlife has found that it could be a marker of future dementia risk.

The paper, led by Associate Professor Christopher Moran and Professor Velandai Srikanth, from the National Centre for Healthy Ageing in Australia, and published in the journal, Scientific Reports, tested 18 pairs of twins recruited from Twins Research Australia, average age of 64 years and two thirds female.

See Faculty story

Slowing of gait and cognitive decline together is a predictor of dementia

A landmark study of more than 16,800 older people has found that a decline in both walking speed and cognition is a strong predictor of future dementia. The authors of the study, published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Open, suggest simple memory and walking speed testing, done in health clinics, may allow early preventive measures to be put in place to prevent the individual and global cost of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Read the full story on the faculty news feed and see also JAMA invited commentary by Joe Verghese.

CaRE webinar video featuring dementia researchers and advocates now published

The webinar featured short presentations followed by a panel discussion.
L-R: (Top row) David Derby, Lucy Vivash, Tara McDonald; (Bottom
row) Juliana Silva, Nadine Andrew, Malcolm Johnson. See video.

The Community and Researcher Engagement (CaRE) committee hosted a webinar on 18 May 2022, "What we know about the brain and how it changes with dementia", which covered a range of relevant topics and perspectives relating to dementia, from the perspectives of those affected by the disease, clinicians, and researchers.

With dementia being one of the leading cause of death and a significant cause of disability in Australia, particularly in older populations, most of us will—at some stage, and in some way—be touched by the disease.

See:

• Webinar recording (1:30:20 hrs)
• Program (pdf, 3.2 mb)
• CaRE news and events web page
  

Diabetes and dementia: exploring the links

Professor Velandai Srikanth and Associate Professor Chris Moran
tease out the connections between type 2 diabetes and dementia in
their recent review. See also a recent video presentation from them.

by Anne Crawford

Studies have linked type 2 diabetes with dementia in later life for some years but the connection between the two conditions, causal or otherwise, is still to be clarified.

A review by researchers from the Department of Geriatric Medicine, Peninsula Health and Medicine, Central Clinical School has highlighted the need to further explore the potential mechanisms and pathways linking the two conditions.

Monash clinical trials of new drug shows promise for Alzheimer’s disease and dementia

A Monash University-led study has found a promising new treatment for patients with the second-most common form of dementia in people under 60, resulting in a stabilising of escalating behavioural issues, and a reversal of brain shrinkage due to the disease.

Find out more

Uncovering the mechanisms linking epilepsy and Alzheimer’s Disease with computational genetics

Study overview

by Dr Loretta Piccenna, Department of Neuroscience

People living with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) have an increased risk of developing seizures, in fact a 10-fold risk which grows higher in people with early onset or familial AD. Conversely, people with epilepsy have a high risk of developing dementia*, suggesting a bidirectional relationship between the two neurological diseases.

Researchers from the Kwan group within the Department of Neuroscience have found two synaptic signalling-associated modules driven by the SCN3B and EPHA4 genes and and two neurogenesis-associated modules driven by the GABRB3 and SCN2A to be dysregulated in brain tissue samples of people with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), indicating similar rewiring that may be involved in the molecular mechanisms.

What we know about the brain and how it changes with dementia

MRI scan image showing change in volume over 12 months.
Image: Dr Lucy Vivash, CCS

With dementia being one of the leading causes of death and a significant cause of disability in Australia, particularly in older populations, most of us will—at some stage, and in some way—be touched by the disease. 

The Consumer and Researcher Engagement (CARE) Committee in the Central Clinical School is offering a webinar on Wednesday 18 May at 5.30-7.00 pm which will cover a range of relevant topics and perspectives relating to dementia, from the perspectives of those affected by the disease, clinicians, and researchers. Register here

Elderly people with Type 2 diabetes are at higher risk of cognitive dysfunction

Elderly people with diabetes are more prone to cognitive decline
than those without diabetes. Image: NIH-NIA

An ageing population with diabetes suffers from a variety of problems, very often simultaneously.

Professor Velandai Srikanth and Dr Chris Moran are Geriatricians with expertise in diabetes and dementia research based at Peninsula Health, and are part of its Academic Unit. They see elderly people with what clinicians call 'comorbidities' - that is, two or more coexisting conditions - on a regular basis.

In a recently published Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology paper, they and colleagues explore the intersection of two common disorders, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cognitive dysfunction. They have found that people with diabetes tend to also have reduced cognitive performance, and a high proportion - one fifth - of those over 60 with T2D might have dementia.

Gait and dementia: There's far more to the way we walk than we thought

This article was published on Monash Lens 25 October 2019. See also our 19 June 2019 story featuring the research.

Dementia is the main cause of disability in older people all over the world. About 47 million people are affected, with estimates this will reach 140 million by 2050. In Australia, dementia is the leading cause of death for women and the second-leading cause of death for men. Approximately 415,000 people currently live with dementia in Australia; this is expected to rise to an estimated 1.2 million by 2056.

Study links nocturnal blood pressure with diabetes and dementia

Dr Chris Karayiannis

by Anne Crawford

Monash University researchers investigating the association between Type 2 diabetes and dementia have found an interesting factor linking the diseases: the dipping of nocturnal blood pressure.

Dr Chris Karayiannis said the Peninsula Clinical School researchers were investigating the poorly understood mechanisms behind the increased risk of cognitive impairment and dementia faced by people with type 2 diabetes.

Walking the walk: using gait to gauge dementia

by Anne Crawford

Monash University Central and Peninsula Clinical School researchers have shown that a person’s gait can predict whether they are headed for dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, and which specific brain functions are involved in this cognitive decline.

Associate Professor Michele Callisaya and Professor Velandai Srikanth, supervising first author PhD student Ms Oshadi Jayakody from the University of Tasmania, investigated whether variability from one step to the next during walking, and gait speed, were related to cognitive decline over time. Their study was published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

MRFF funding allows testing of frontotemporal dementia drug

Tony Hughes and his wife Ann, who shared their story about
frontotemporal dementia with The Age

The Department of Neuroscience featured in The Age recently following funding for a phase II trial to explore the efficacy of sodium selenate at slowing the progression of dementia. The trial is funded by a Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF) grant that was announced as part of a $1.6 million suite of grants from the Federal government.

Sodium selenate is a relatively inexpensive drug that Professor Terence O'Brien believes may help slow the progression of frontotemporal dementia, which can cause behavioural and personality changes.

Research suggests diabetes may affect brain atrophy earlier than thought

Prof Velandai Srikanth

by Anne Crawford

Studies by Monash University’s Peninsula Clinical School researchers have deepened knowledge about the link between type 2 diabetes and dementia, and suggest that the effect of diabetes on brain atrophy may begin in middle rather than old age.

The studies were conducted by researchers led by Professor of Medicine, Velandai Srikanth, who are considered international leaders in the field of diabetes and dementia.

Although it has been known for some years that having type 2 diabetes increases the risk of developing dementia, the mechanisms underlying that link have not been clear nor have many studies looked at changes in the brains of people with type 2 diabetes over time.

Dementia project wins grant and advocate's vote

Congratulations to newly arrived A/Prof Michele Callisaya from Peninsula Clinical School, who has received the coveted Dementia Advocates’ Award, including funding from Dementia Australia. Her project will focus on a cognitive-mobility stress test to detect mild cognitive impairment and risk of developing into dementia.

In a show of how greatly this research is valued by the community, Michele’s project was chosen by a Dementia Australia Advocates group, who evaluated the applications according to which was most likely to yield important outcomes for people impacted by dementia. Dementia Advocate Sarah Ashton said she chose this project as more research in this area could help to understand early indicators of dementia and create a more timely diagnosis for people in the future.

“Dementia turns your life upside down, and anxiety can become a huge factor as life becomes much more uncertain. I hope this study can help to provide more clarity to those going through cognitive decline,” Ms Ashton said.

Adapted from the Dementia Australia media release accessed 14th February 2019: https://www.dementia.org.au/research/news/supporting-expression-of-sexuality-one-area-of-1-million-of-dementia-research-grants

Unlocking the brain with new stimulation technologies

Associate Professor Kate Hoy

Brain connectivity and neuroplasticity are increasingly investigated and becoming better understood, and the insights are being employed with new technologies for treatment of cognitive disorders and brain injuries.

In this article, Elouise Brennan interviews A/Prof Kate Hoy of the Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre on how the techniques of transcranial direct current stimulation and transcranial magnetic stimulation are being used for schizophrenia, Alzheimer's and depression. Link to full story.