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Mission
The mission of the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research (CNDR) is to promote and conduct multidisciplinary clinical and basic research to increase the understanding of the causes and mechanisms leading to brain dysfunction and degeneration in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Lewy body dementia (LBD), Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Primary lateral sclerosis (PLS), Motor neuron disease (MND), and related disorders that occur increasingly with advancing age. Implicit in the mission of the CNDR are two overarching goals: 1.) Find better ways to cure and treat these disorders, 2. Provide training to the next generation of scientists.
“My goal for CNDR is not only to collaborate with researchers at Penn and from institutions across the globe with the mutual goal of finding better ways to diagnose and treat neurodegenerative diseases, but also to inspire and encourage the next generation of scientists on the importance of investigating these disorders that occur more frequently with advancing age.” – Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD, Director, CNDR
John Q. Trojanowski, MD, PhD | 1946 - 2022
February 8, 2022
We are sad to announce the passing of our colleague and friend, John Q. Trojanowski, who we all regard as a larger than life leader in neurodegenerative disease research. We will miss his probing intellect, limitless enthusiasm and energy, and ever present personality. He passed away peacefully with Virginia, his partner in every aspect of his life, by his side. I know the thoughts of our entire community go out to Virginia and her family. While today is a difficult day for so many of us, we do look forward to finding ways to celebrate his remarkable life in the future.
Latest Research
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"I'm not a risk taker": Risk Perceptions of Nursing Home Residents With Dementia
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
BACKGROUND: Persons living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) in nursing homes (NH) are often excluded from conversations about their health/safety. These omissions impinge on personhood and the rights to have care preferences heard and honored. While persons with ADRD maintain the ability to communicate their preferences long after their decision-making abilities are affected, little is known about how persons with ADRD understand the risks associated with their preferences.
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Sleep macro-architecture in patients with Parkinson's disease does not change during the first night of neurostimulation in a pilot study
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
CONCLUSIONS: These objective measures suggest that one night of intermittent subthreshold stimulation appears insufficient to impact sleep macro-architecture.
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Pathologic and cognitive correlates of plasma biomarkers in neurodegenerative disease
Monday, April 22, 2024
INTRODUCTION: We investigate pathological correlates of plasma phosphorylated tau 181 (p-tau(181)), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and neurofilament light chain (NfL) across a clinically diverse spectrum of neurodegenerative disease, including normal cognition (NormCog) and impaired cognition (ImpCog).