2009 News

Alzheimer Society grant supports neurology research at Schulich

By Communications staff
September 16, 2009

Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia, is a progressive, degenerative disease of the brain, which causes thinking and memory to become seriously impaired. The result is changes in abilities and/or behaviour that, once lost, have not been recoverable. New research however, is suggesting that some relearning may be possible.

That’s why gifts like the ones totaling $100,000 made today to The University of Western Ontario by the Alzheimer Society London and Middlesex make a difference.

The local Alzheimer Society has announced that Dr. Elizabeth Finger, an assistant professor in Clinical Neurological Sciences at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and a neurologist at London Health Sciences Centre, is recipient of the Marion and Chester Fish Research Grant.

Betsy Little (right), Executive Director of the Alzheimer Society of London Middlesex announced that Dr. Elizabeth Finger, Assistant Professor in Clinical Neurological Sciences at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, is the recipient of Marion and Chester Fish Research Grant.

The neurological expert has been awarded a three-year grant to further her research in frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a disorder characterized by mid-life onset of severe dysfunction in social behaviour and insight. FTD is a devastating, progressive disease for which at present there is no available cure, and arguably, very few effective symptomatic treatments. The central hypothesis of Finger’s research to date is that administration of oxytocin (a hormone that also acts as a neurotransmitter in the brain) will improve emotional and social cognitive deficits in patients with FTD, resulting in improved decision-making and behaviour.

The grant – up to $25,000 per year for three years – is intended to support the efforts of researchers who address the biomedical, psychological, and/or social aspects of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

The creation of two Alzheimer Society of London and Middlesex Graduate Awards, totaling $25,000, was also announced. The awards will be granted to graduate students who are conducting research related to Alzheimer’s disease in the Faculty of Social Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science or the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry (including Neuroscience).