Courses

Gen Xers, millennials, and boomers cite Alzheimer's disease as an overriding concern—a tsunami that affects over six million Americans. Large declines in memory and cognition are referred to as dementia, and the leading cause is Alzheimer's disease. Although Alzheimer's is largely an illness of old age, biochemical changes precede clinical symptoms by well over a decade. Featuring faculty from the Stanford Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, this course provides an overview of cognitive changes over the normal lifespan and reviews evolving concepts of mild cognitive impairment and dementia. We will look at what Alzheimer's disease is and is not, what parts of the brain are affected, and why the disorder sometimes runs in families. We will compare and contrast Alzheimer's disease with other disorders that cause dementia, such as Lewy body disease, frontotemporal dementia, vascular dementia, and traumatic brain injury, and address diagnosis, treatment, new therapies, and prevention strategies. The course will include a live demonstration of diseased brain specimens.