New drugs targeting Alzheimer’s Disease have hit the market recently, after decades of the status quo. How effective are they? Are claims that we’re at a turning point in the search for a cure overblown? Since more than 7 million Americans are afflicted (one in nine over 65), we need to talk. This discussion explores the aging brain’s biology, and the symptoms and stages of brain diseases burdening the elderly. What are today’s scientific “knowns”; what are the “known unknowns”? We’ll focus on treatment options, prospective therapies and current strategies for aging populations and patients with neurodegenerative disorders. Finally, we’ll address actions that positively impact brain health and maintain good cognitive functions.
Paola Sacchetti, born in Italy, earned a bachelor's degree in Biology from Wayne State University in Detroit. She then earned a PhD in Cellular and Clinical Neurobiology at Wayne State’s School of Medicine, studying the regulation of neuron-specific genes. She continued her research as Postdoctoral Fellow at INSERM U459 in Lille, France; the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm; and on the faculty at UConn and Mount Holyoke College. She is currently associate professor and co-chair of the Biology Department at the University of Hartford. She continues her research on the effects of dietary regimens on brain metabolism and cognitive functions in Alzheimer’s Disease animal models.
Tuesday, April 7 | 2:30 p.m.–4 p.m. | KF Room/Harrison Libraries | $20
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Monday, April 20 | 2 p.m.–3:30 p.m. | McLean (off-campus/Simsbury) | $20
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