Genetics of Degenerative Brain Disease and Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus

Dr. Graff-Radford's Memory Disorders Lab is studying large cohorts of Caucasian and African American people with Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia and many controls with Rosa Rademakers, Ph.D., Steven G. Younkin, M.D., Ph.D., and Nilufer Taner, M.D., Ph.D. Many people have been included in the national and international consortia uncovering more than 20 candidate genes for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD).

Active genetic studies in early-onset Alzheimer's disease include more than 300 cases, including African American studies in collaboration with Dr. Taner and genetic factors in normal pressure hydrocephalus.

We are identifying people with normal pressure hydrocephalus, the subset with large heads indicating congenital factors, and those with a family history to explore genetic causes of this disease. This work has been published in the Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders journal.