Wake Forest Alzheimer's Disease Research Center

05/25/2021

05/13/2021

In case you missed it, here is a recap of the wonderful discussion from the virtual Statewide Townhall that occurred on April 29th.

Join Us April 29th, 2021 6p - 8pThis Statewide Town Hall is designed to provide awareness, advocacy, and additional opportunities for those with an interest...

05/05/2021

MRI scans are common in many Dementia and Alzheimer's disease clinical trials. At the ADRC we use the findings of MRI scans to understand if someone has differences in their brain structure than what we expect to see for their age, and if so, the location of those changes.

These scans are similar to the type your doctor may order for a clinical evaluation. However, there are special sequences that we use for the research scans that give us the ability to gather information about things like blood flow and activity in the brain.

Learn more about how these scans are done and why they are important for research.

NIBIB's 60 Seconds of Science explains what is happening in the body when it undergoes an MRI. Music by longzijun 'Chillvolution.'For more information on MRI...

05/03/2021

Have you ever wondered what a PET scan is and how it works?

At our center, we are able to use PET scans to gain a window into whether or not we see abnormal accumulation of certain proteins, like amyloid and tau. This can help us learn about risk of future cognitive problems in people who do not have symptoms or to understand the type of dementia someone has when symptoms are present. Essentially, this lets us go a step beyond describing memory and thinking symptoms into understanding the biologic basis of the diseases that may be causing those symptoms.

NIBIB's 60 Seconds of Science explains what is happening in the body when it undergoes an PET scan. A PET scan uses radioactive tracers to create 3D images o...

04/27/2021

Don't miss this upcoming Statewide Town Hall on April 29th at 6pm.

This Statewide town hall is designed to provide awareness, advocacy, and additional opportunities for those with an interest around Alzheimer’s, Dementia, and Memory Loss Prevention. Experts in research, the medical clinic, spiritual, and care giving areas will provide up-to-date, current, and reliable information to help you and your family be better informed in your decision making.

It is estimated that 6.2 million Americans aged 65 and older have Alzheimer’s Disease, with that number to triple to over 14 million by 2050. We know that African Americans are two to three times more likely to develop Alzheimer’s Disease than any other subgroup. Alzheimer’s disease is the 4th leading cause of death among older African Americans and the 8th leading cause of death for black men.

Please click the link below to attend and register for FREE for this town hall.

bit.ly/BrainHealthTownHallRegister

04/23/2021

04/20/2021

Please join us for a VIRTUAL Statewide Town Hall to address the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, dementias and cognitive impairments. This event is hosted by Wake Forest Baptist Health, Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, US P.O.I.N.T.E.R, NAACP, the Alzheimer’s Association, and many other community partners. This event will be open to everyone and registration is encouraged. There will also be a special guest appearance by Governor Roy Cooper.

Please join us on April 29, 2021, at 6:00 pm.

To register please visit bit.ly/BrainHealthTownHallRegister

04/14/2021

There are several known risk factors that may increase your risk for developing memory loss. These include things like age, genetics and family history. Researchers have found that there are factors that can be modified that can lower your risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.

04/09/2021

"Over the past two decades, research into the degenerative dementia of Alzheimer’s disease has been building an interesting case: This crippling brain disease involves some of the same mechanisms and pathologies as Type 2 diabetes—and could in fact represent an insulin resistance of the brain. Even having Type 2 diabetes has been found in some research to increase your risk of Alzheimer’s."

Ira Flatow, host of Science Friday, speaks with Dr. Shannon Macauley of the ADRC at Wake Forest School of Medicine about how energy systems shape brain health.

This segment of Science Friday will air today at 2:40 pm (EST) on

New research finds that the brains of Alzheimer’s patients are less able to obtain energy from glucose.

04/02/2021

There are many reasons to participate in an Alzheimer’s clinical study. You may want to:

Help others, including your own family members, who may be at risk for Alzheimer’s disease.

Receive a thorough cognitive assessment and follow-up over time.

Learn more about memory and your health.

Be among the first to learn about promising interventions for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s.

Get information about local support groups and available resources.

Join a research family that cares about your brain health as much as you do.



Clinical trials and observational studies allow our researchers here at the ADRC to partner with you as a volunteer participant to work together to discover new and effective strategies to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s.

03/31/2021

Voluntary participation in clinical research studies is needed to help our researchers find better treatments and possibly a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. There are many reasons to participate in a clinical research study. Many of our research participants volunteer because they want to help others who may be at risk for Alzheimer’s disease or to learn more about their memory and health. When participants join our research family they each receive a thorough cognitive assessment and follow-up over time. Participants also learn about interventions for the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease that are being tested in clinical studies.

Here at our Center we are seeking all kinds of volunteers to participate in our research studies, including people who are concerned about their memory, are at risk of developing memory problems or have family members with memory problems, as well as people from different ethnic and racial background.

If you or someone you know is interested in participating in of our studies currently enrolling, please call 336-716-MIND (6463).