Medical researcher and geriatric psychiatrist Dr. Robert Kohn completed his residency at Brown University, where he later held a professorial post. Robert Kohn, MD, maintains a focus on disorders prevalent in geriatric psychiatry, including Alzheimer’s disease.
A study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco investigating the impact of abnormal proteins on the brain revealed that early-stage Alzheimer’s may first appear as psychiatric symptoms. Researchers studied the buildup of tau proteins in more than 1,000 individual brain tissue samples. This was combined with qualitative interviews with some brain donors’ close caregivers and family members.
The data suggest a link between tau proteins, known as tangles, and symptoms such as agitation and depression. Individuals who passed before the disease impacted their memory were more likely to have exhibited changes to their appetites and sleeping patterns before their death. Further, symptoms seem to progress as the tangles spread from the brainstem to the outer cortex. Investigators hope these findings will improve the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage Alzheimer’s.
Dr. Robert Kohn 