Both of Andrew Kiselica’s grandfathers developed dementia when he was in graduate school. As Kiselica was going through neuropsychology training in graduate school, he saw his mother’s father become unable to walk or speak due to severe dementia. The University of Missouri researcher said that personal experience has motivated his work to identify and prevent neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s.
Now an assistant professor of health psychology, Kiselica recently finished a study that has resulted in procedures for defining the preclinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Since there are no current treatments to reverse the course of Alzheimer’s, this finding can help drug developers identify who could potentially benefit from a future Alzheimer’s treatment before symptoms of cognitive decline start to arise.
“Most families have had this experience of watching someone who is…
