April 11, 2018
I will outline current knowledge of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and what we are doing at HMRI. The cause of AD is not known, so how can we treat what we do not even understand? The damage to the brain in AD is slow (called neurodegeneration) and starts decades before symptoms. We are studying what we think is the fundamental cause of AD. To do this includes developing tests to screen for AD damage in the pre-symptomatic stages, including a urine test. before symptoms are recognized. I will describe the stage of our ongoing work. I also invite anyone over 60 years young to join us.
Presented by: Michael Harrington, MD, Molecular Neurology Director, Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI)
About Michael Harrington, MD
Dr. Harrington joined HMRI and established the Molecular Neurology Program in 1998. He studies how the cerebrospinal fluid composition explains the intermittent disorder of migraine and the progressive neurodegeneration of Alzheimer’s disease. He also studies molecules that are transported to/from the brain in blood (including changes after mild traumatic brain injury), and those excreted in urine.
Mike enjoys collaborating with other clinical and scientific colleagues that apply complementary measures of brain function so as to gain as much information from the same study participants. This approach is important to understand what is causing brain disorder, develop tests that identify disease, and direct treatment to the underlying mechanism.
Dr. Harrington is also a research professor of psychology in the School of Psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary as well as an adjunct research professor of neurology at the University of Southern California.
Dr. Harrington received his medical degree in 1976 from Glasgow University, Scotland, and was awarded membership into the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1979. He was elected as a fellow in 1993.