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SUMMARY:Cognitive biomarkers for detecting dementia and possibilities for 
 cognitive enhancement - Professor Barbara Sahakian\, FMedSci\, Department 
 of Psychiatry and Behavioural and Clinical Neurosciences Institute\, Cambr
 idge
DTSTART:20090929T113000Z
DTEND:20090929T120000Z
UID:TALK18688@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Hannah Critchlow
DESCRIPTION:This talk is part of the Cambridge Clinical Neuroscience and M
 ental Health Symposium\, 29th - 30th September 2009 at West Road Concert H
 all. This event is free to attend for cambridge neuroscientists although r
 egistration is required. To register\, and for further information\, pleas
 e visit: http://www.neuroscience.cam.ac.uk/cnmhs/\n\nAbstract: Biomarkers 
 represent an important development for the early detection of neuropsychia
 tric disorders\, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and schizophrenia.  Us
 es of biomarkers include:\n \n•	To identify high risk groups in the popu
 lation\,\n\n•	To improve diagnosis and early detection of disorders\,\n\
 n•	To predict treatment outcomes\,\n\n•	To predict harms caused by sid
 e effects of drugs\, \n\n•	To assist in drug discovery.\n\nThe incidence
  of dementia increases with age and\, with the ageing population in the UK
 \, the number of people with dementia could double over the next 30 years 
 to 1.4 million. This would bring the costs to the UK economy from £17 bil
 lion per year to over £50 billion per year. There are currently a number 
 of drugs in development which are aimed at enhancing cognition in mild to 
 moderate AD or in halting the disease progression.  Treatment with these l
 atter agents must begin before the damage is done in AD\, that is prior to
  severe brain damage and dementia\, with the consequent marked impairments
  in activities of daily living and quality of life.  Individuals need to b
 e identified earlier on in the natural history of AD if they are to benefi
 t from such an intervention.  It is also unlikely that any pharmacological
  intervention will work optimally in a brain with severe pathology of Aß 
 plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles.  Furthermore\, it is likely that 
 first generation neuroprotective agents may have considerable side-effects
  and therefore it is important to know which individuals are likely to ben
 efit so that accurate risk-benefit analyses can be made. Useful biomarkers
  in neuropsychiatry might include novel proteome-based CSF\, blood and pla
 sma measures\, neuroimaging markers or measures of cognition obtained from
  objective\, computerised test batteries such as the CANTAB (Cambridge Neu
 ropsychological Test Automated Battery). Results from the CANTAB Paired As
 sociates Learning (PAL) Test have proved encouraging as a cognitive biomar
 ker in detecting those individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) wh
 o will progress to a diagnosis of AD.  Impairment on another task from thi
 s battery\, Spatial Working Memory (SWM)\, is associated with later onset 
 of psychosis in individuals known to be at high genetic risk for this diso
 rder.\nIn conclusion\, disorders of cognition may sometimes be best detect
 ed with cognitive biomarkers\, which are non-invasive and easy to implemen
 t.  In addition\, they can be used effectively with other biomarkers\, suc
 h as genetic and neuroimaging ones.\n\nBiography: Barbara J Sahakian is Pr
 ofessor of Clinical Neuropsychology at the Department of Psychiatry\, Univ
 ersity of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine and Honorary Consultant Cl
 inic Psychologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.  She has an international r
 eputation in the fields of cognitive psychopharmacology\, neuroethics\, ne
 uropsychology\, neuropsychiatry and neuroimaging.  She is co-inventor of t
 he CANTAB computerised neuropsychological tests\, which are in use world-w
 ide.  She is probably best known for her research work on cognition and de
 pression\, cognitive enhancement using pharmacological treatments\, neuroe
 thics and early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.  Indeed\, she has over
  300 publications covering these topics in scientific journals\, including
   Science\, Nature\,  Nature Neuroscience\, The Lancet\, British Medical J
 ournal\, Archives of General Psychiatry\, American Journal of Psychiatry\,
  Biological Psychiatry\, the Journal of Neuroscience\, Brain\,  Psychophar
 macology and Psychological Medicine.  Her current programme of research\, 
 funded by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council\, investigates t
 he neurochemical modulation of impulsive and compulsive behaviour in neuro
 psychiatric disorders\, such as unipolar and bipolar depression and attent
 ion deficit hyperactivity disorder.  This topic was the focus of her recen
 t papers published in Science\, (Chamberlain et al 2006\, Chamberlain et a
 l 2008).\nProfessor Sahakian was one of the first researchers to suggest t
 hat attentional dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease could be ameliorated 
 using pharmacotherapy\, such as cholinesterase inhibitors.  In addition\, 
 she was early to highlight the cognitive changes in unipolar and bipolar d
 epression\, as well as their significance for functional outcome.  In 2003
 \, she was selected to lecture on this topic for the Teaching Day at the a
 nnual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP). M
 ost recently\, she has introduced the importance of the concept of cogniti
 ve reserve to the field of neuropsychiatry (Psychological Medicine\, 2006\
 , 36\,  1053-1064).\n\n
LOCATION:West Road Concert Hall
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