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
Richard Barohn, MD, Neurology
Andrei Belousov, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Amanda Bruce, PhD, Hoglund Brain Imaging Center
Jeff Burns, MD, MS, Neurology
Merlin Butler, MD, PhD, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
In-Young Choi, PhD, Hoglund Brain Imaging Center
Julie Christianson, PhD, Anatomy and Cell Biology
Mazen Dimachkie, MD, Neurology
Richard Dobrowsky, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics
Richard Dubinsky, MD, MPH, Neurology
Barry Festoff, MD, Neurology and Pharmacology - VAMC
Paige Geiger, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Randal Halfman, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology - Stowers
Nancy Hammond, MD, Neurology
Michael Johnson, PhD, Chemistry - KU
Patricia Kluding, PT, PhD, SAH Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Sciences
Jeff Krise, PhD, Pharmaceutical Chemistry - KU
Robb Krumlauf, PhD, Anatomy and 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 and Therapeutics
Elias Michaelis, MD, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics - KU
Mary Michaelis, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics - KU
Nancy Muma, PhD, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics
Jules Nazzaro, MD, Surgery Neurosurgery
Andrea Nicol, MD, Anesthesiology
Hiroshi Nishimune, PhD, Anatomy and Cell Biology
Rajesh Pahwa, MD, Neurology
Mamatha Pasnoor, MD, Neurology
Alan Reeves, MD, Radiology
Michael Salacz, MD, Neuro-Oncology, Medical Oncology
Kausik Si, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Peter Smith,  PhD, KIDDRC
John Stanford, PhD, Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Russell Swerdlow, MD, Neurology
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 and Cell Biology
C. Ron Yu, PhD, Anatomy and Cell Biology
Hao Zhu, PhD, SAH Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Sciences