Decoding Dementia
From: Communications of the ACM - 03/2013
By: Neil Savage

There is, as yet, no cure for Alzheimer's disease, and little in the way of
treatment. But computer models that can predict the course of the illness,
which gradually destroys memory and other cognitive functions, might allow
doctors to manage the disease and perhaps help scientists to better
understand it. Computer modeling might, in fact, lead to clearer prognoses
and better treatment for a whole range of brain disorders, from Parkinson's
disease to brain cancer. 

One group of scientists, from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York and
the University of California, San Francisco, developed a model that starts
with a magnetic resonance image of the early stages of Alzheimer's or
frontotemporal dementia and predicts how the illnesses would spread
throughout the brain. 

Read the entire article and view a video (4:47)
http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2013/3/161198-decoding-dementia/fulltext

Links:
Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
http://www.adni-info.org/

Michael Weiner
http://profiles.ucsf.edu/michael.weiner

Ashish Raj
http://www.med.cornell.edu/research/araj/

Dementia Care Cost Is Projected to Double by 2040
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/04/health/dementia-care-costs-are-soaring-study-finds.html

The Cost of Dementia
http://www.mdtmag.com/news/2013/04/cost-dementia

Study to find possible Alzheimer’s breakthrough (with video 2:18)
http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/51461038/#51461038