9 Ways UT Is Advancing Dementia Research

From studying how technology can help treat memory problems, to developing therapies to remove abnormal brain proteins, to training the next-generation providers of memory care, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin are working to change the future of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

At an Oct. 31 panel discussion hosted by UT's Texas Aging & Longevity Consortium, four professors reviewed some of the wide-ranging UT research into dementia and aging. The event happened days before the Nov. 4 statewide vote on whether to allocate $3 billion in state funding over 10 years for the newly created Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT).

The panel's moderator, Karen Fingerman, professor of human development and family sciences, said more than 100 UT researchers are immersed in the study of dementia and aging across 12 colleges and schools. These include the College of Liberal Arts, College of Natural Sciences, Dell Medical School, McCombs School of Business and Moody College of Communication.

"We are truly interdisciplinary in our research," said Fingerman. "We're really in this together. We're going to conquer [dementia] together."

Fingerman is director of the Texas Aging & Longevity Consortium and research director of the Center for Aging and Population Sciences, both of which are based at UT. She's currently working on a study of caregivers for older adults with Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder.

Clinical neuropsychologist Jared Benge, a panelist who is associate professor of neurology at Dell Medical School, said he and other UT researchers aim to help dementia patients and caregivers meet myriad needs.

"To be able to do this meaningfully," Benge said, "we have to bring the best minds, the newest ideas, the most innovations in technology, and we have to have a platform for delivering care to the people who need that the most.

"We truly are a world-class institution that is able to rise to the challenge of helping real people in the real world right now," he added.

As laid out by the four panelists, here are nine ways UT is advancing research into dementia and aging.

1. Exploring the Connection Between Income and Alzheimer's

Clinical neuropsychologist Alexandra Clark, assistant professor of psychology, discovered that uneven distribution of residents based on income foreshadows a higher level of Alzheimer's disease pathology and predicts a lower level of brain thickness, which is associated with Alzheimer's and other dementia disorders.

2. Measuring Stress, Which May Be Tied to Cognitive Function

Elizabeth Muñoz, associate professor of human development and family sciences, and fellow researchers are monitoring people's day-to-day stress. "Our levels of stress may fluctuate … and may affect our cognition," said panelist Audrey Duarte, professor of psychology and associate chair of academic affairs.

3. Studying the Link Between Poor Sleep and Dementia

Duarte's lab at UT is trying to figure out why poor sleep quality is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia. "We have wearable electronics that measure brain activity while people are sleeping," she said. "Collectively, we can look at these measures of sleep and understand how it's impacting memory performance on an individual basis."

4. Looking Into the Ties Between Our Diet and Our Brain Health

Adreana Haley, professor of clinical psychology, has examined the relationship between liver fat and the risk of developing dementia. She was the lead author of a study that revealed a low-calorie or low-carbohydrate diet consumed by patients with early-stage fatty liver disease can lower the levels of brain chemicals associated with memory problems.

The study concluded that even a short-term dietary adjustment can protect brain and liver health.

5. Developing Therapies To Get Rid of Abnormal Brain Proteins

UT's Comprehensive Memory Center is a leader in developing therapies for removing amyloids, or abnormal proteins, from the brain, according to Benge. Amyloids accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's and can harm brain functions. Although these therapies don't cure Alzheimer's, they slow the progression of cognitive decline and mild dementia due to Alzheimer's, he said.

6. Training Future Providers of Memory Care

Benge said the Comprehensive Memory Center also trains next-generation providers of memory care.

"The need in Texas for specialists in Alzheimer's disease and aging-related disorders is immense. We're about 2,000 to 3,000 providers short of meeting the need for [this] care," he said.

7. Seeking Treatments for a Communication-Related Dementia

Maya Henry, associate professor of speech, language and hearing sciences, directs UT's Aphasia Research and Treatment Lab. She and Stephanie Grasso, assistant professor of speech, language and hearing sciences, are pursuing treatments for people with primary progressive aphasia (PPA). This condition, a form of dementia, hampers someone's ability to communicate.

PPA has been "a long-overlooked variant of dementia that robs language," Benge said.

8. Investigating the Juncture of Technology and Aging

Benge's own research focuses primarily on the ties between technology and aging. For example, he's studying how technology can help treat memory problems, how technology affects cognition across the spectrum of aging, and how smartphone data can pinpoint cognitive impairment.

"The future of dementia care will be digital," he said, "and that's one of the many things that we deal with here at UT Austin."

9. Scrutinizing Education's Role in Protecting Cognitive Abilities

One of Benge's fellow panelists was Chandra Muller, professor of sociology and a principal investigator with the Education Studies for Healthy Aging Research (EdSHARe) project. Among other subjects, EdSHARe researchers are analyzing the role of education in what's known as cognitive reserve. People with a healthy cognitive reserve develop a bank of thinking skills that shield them from cognitive losses associated with aging and dementia-related disorders.

"There is tremendous evidence that some people hold cognitive reserve," Muller said, "but we don't understand the key to how to unlock that."