Lecture by Dr. Mosconi Honors Dr. Michael Freedman, Pioneer in Geriatrics

Honoring a pioneer of geriatric medicine, the late Michael Freedman, MD, professor emeritus of medicine, an Alzheimer’s Disease Lecture was held on January 15. Dr. Freedman, founder of the Department of Medicine’s Division of Geriatrics, died in February. He was the author of nearly 200 scientific papers investigating the biology of aging, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. His wife, Cora, and children, Lawrence and Deborah, joined faculty members and other distinguished guests in Farkas Auditorium to hear the presentation, given by Lisa Mosconi, PhD, research assistant professor of psychiatry.Dr. Mosconi discussed several of her ongoing studies on the use of positron emission tomography (PET)—a safe and painless brain-imaging technique—to better understand the cause and course of Alzheimer’s. A progressive and fatal brain disease causing severe memory loss, Alzheimer’s affects 5.3 million Americans. The early-onset form, affecting 1 to 2% of all cases, stems from mutations in three specific genes. It’s the more common late-onset variety, in which symptoms appear after age 65, that intrigues Dr. Mosconi. For many years, this type was associated mostly with aging and environmental influences such as diet and education, but the researchers have identified a familial component to late-onset Alzheimer’s.Read more at...NYU News & Views, March/April 2010.