The nation as a whole is getting older, but the process doesn't have to be painful.
Penn researchers are investigating cures for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases to improve the quality of life for both patients and their caretakers.
"Penn has traditionally had strengths in neuroscience and the strengths are not just in one department," said John Trojanowski, co-director of Penn's Institute on Aging and guest editor of a Neurosignals issue featuring Penn research on diseases like dementia, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
Penn researchers are searching for reliable bio-markers for Alzheimer's that would hopefully lead to diagnosis even before a patient shows symptoms.
Two of the most promising bio-markers being investigated involve brain imaging and protein levels in spinal fluid.
Trojanowski and Virginia Lee, co-director of Penn's Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Program, helped Penn become a key player in the discovery of the Tau protein bio-marker, which helps in early Alzheimer's diagnosis.
The goal is to diagnose early "when drug interventions have the greatest efficacy," Trojanowski said.
New therapies are also in the works at Penn. Clinical trials are taking place at the Penn Memory Center and, in as few as five to 10 years, drugs delaying the onset of Alzheimer's may be available for use, Lee said.
And when it comes to age related diseases, delaying the onset is perhaps the best treatment possible.
"Because these diseases occur in older patients, if you can delay the onset then you really almost have a cure," Lee said. Everyone has to die eventually, she said, but not of a terrible disease like Alzheimer's that takes a high emotional toll.
Diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and dementia are becoming huge economic issues as well.
"There will be a quadrupling of the number of people with Alzheimer's by 2050," Trojanowski said. The medical community's perception of the situation now is quite different from that of the disease's discovery in 1906, when it was not seen as especially significant.
In order to increase knowledge about neurological diseases, Penn has contributed to the production of a movie that will air on PBS this spring.
For Trojanowski and Lee, a husband-and-wife team, their research is a family affair that they hope will benefit patients, caretakers and families alike.
"These are terrible diseases, but what I find rewarding is meeting the people. There are amazingly positive things in the human spirit," Trojanowski said. "New developments are on the horizon."
