Neurodegenerative Disorders Division Overview

Neurodegenerative diseases arise as particular brain regions gradually fail. They are clinically characterized by the nature of the symptoms that first present, and usually manifest as changes in cognition, movement, strength, or balance.

The Neurodegenerative Disorders Division focuses on a variety of diseases, which can be divided into four groups:

• Cognitive decline: This group of disorders includes Alzheimer's disease, the single most common neurodegenerative disease, which affects a large percentage of our elderly population. Alzheimer's disease classically presents as a progressive loss of memory abilities. Other diseases, including Dementia with Lewy bodies, frontotemporal dementias, and prion diseases, can also first present as disorders of cognitive decline.
• Loss of movement control: The most common disorder in this group is Parkinson's disease, in which affected persons can have variable degrees of slow movements, tremor, stiffness, and poor balance. It can sometimes be difficult to distinguish Parkinson's disease from other disorders that decrease a person's ability to move fluidly, including progressive supranuclear palsy, corticobasal degeneration, and multiple system atrophy. Some disorders in this group, such as Huntington's disease, can actually present with excessive, uncontrolled movements.
• Weakness: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a rare but devastating condition in which weakness develops due to a progressive loss of motor neurons. Weakness can also result from a progressive loss of muscle cells, which can occur in inclusion body myositis and other primary diseases of the muscle.
• Poor balance: Poor balance, which is also called ataxia, can result from the specific loss of cerebellar or spinal cord neurons. This group of diseases, which are often genetically inherited, comprise a group of disorders called the spinocerebellar atrophies.

Neurodegenerative Disorders Division Investigators

Abdulbaki Agbas, MSc, PhD, Department of Biochemistry, KCMB
Dora Agbas, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Heather Anderson, MD, Neurology
Richard Barohn, MD, Neurology
Andrei Belousov, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Amanda Bruce, PhD, Hoglund Brain Imaging Center
Juan Bruses, PhD, Anatomy & Cell Biology
Jeff Burns, MD, MS, Neurology
Merlin Butler, MD, PhD, Psychiatry & Behavior Science
In-Young Choi, PhD, Hoglund Brain Imaging Center
Mazen Dimachkie, MD, Neurology
Richard Dobrowsky, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics
Richard Dubinsky, MD, MPH, Neurology
Barry Festoff, MD, Neurology and Pharmacology, VAMC
Paige Geiger, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Nancy Hammond, MD, Neurology
Robyn Honea, Alzheimer and Memory Program
Michael Johnson, PhD, Chemistry - KU
Patricia Kluding, PT, PhD, SAH Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Sciences
Jeff Krise, PhD, Pharmaceutical Chemistry - KU
Robb Krumlauf, PhD, Anatomy & Cell Biology, Stowers
Phil Lee, PhD, Hoglund Brain Imaging Center
Steven Levine, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Wen Liu, PhD, SAH Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Sciences
Sharon Lynch, MD, Neurology
Kelly Lyons, PhD, Neurology
Kenneth McCarson, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics
Elias Michaelis, MD, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, KU
Mary Michaelis, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics, KU
Nancy Muma, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology & Therapeutics
Jules Nazzaro, MD, Surgery Neurosurgery
Kathy Newell, MD, Pathology
Rajesh Pahwa, MD, Neurology
Mamatha Pasnoor, MD, Neurology
Alan Reeves, MD, Radiology
Michael Salacz, MD, Neuro-Oncology, Medical Oncology
Cary Savage, PhD, Hoglund Brain Imaging Center
Peter Smith,  PhD, KIDDRC
John Stanford, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Russell Swerdlow, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Sarah Taylor, MD, Hematology/Oncology
Fen Wang, MD, PhD, Radiation/Oncology
WenFang Wang, PhD, SAH Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Sciences
Yunxia Wang, MD, Neurology
Doug Wright, PhD, Anatomy & Cell Biology
C. Ron Yu, PhD, Anatomy & Cell Biology
Hao Zhu, PhD, SAH Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Sciences