Tag Archives: William Seeley MD

UCSF Finding Raises Hopes to Use MRI to Predict Disease Progression

Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia may spread within nerve networks in the brain by moving directly between connected neurons, instead of in other ways proposed by scientists, such as by propagating in all directions, according to researchers who report the finding in the March 22 edition of the journal Neuron. Read more

UCSF neurologist William Seeley, MD, a clinician-researcher whose work is advancing understanding of neurodegenerative diseases, has been named a 2011 MacArthur Fellow, one of the highest honors bestowed on an individual in the United States.

Seeley, age 39, and an associate professor of neurology in the UCSF Memory and Aging Center, has made significant headway in studies of  frontotemporal dementia, a family of  neurological syndromes usually afflicting people in midlife, and second only to Alzheimer’s as the primary cause of progressive pre-senile dementia. Read more

Scientists are reporting the strongest evidence to date that neurodegenerative diseases target and progress along distinct neural networks that normally support healthy brain function. The discovery could lead to earlier diagnoses, novel treatment-monitoring strategies, and, possibly, recognition of a common disease process among all forms of neurodegeneration. Read more