Christopher van Dyck, MD
Elizabeth Mears and House Jameson Professor of Psychiatry and of Neurology and NeuroscienceCards
About
Research
Overview
Dopamine Transporter (DAT) Imaging in Aging.
He has used SPECT imaging to demonstrate a 50% loss of DATs over the lifespan and has further shown that this loss of dopamine is associated with the slowing of reaction time that is characteristic of the normal aging process.
The Apolipoprotein E e4 (ApoE e4) Phenotype of AD.
He has combined genetics and neuroimaging to characterize the role of the most common genetic risk factor, ApoE e4, in structural and cognitive changes in AD. He has found that patients who carry the ApoE e4 allele are at greater risk for psychosis and for loss of medial temporal lobe tissue. He is now using the PET ligand [11C]PIB to assess amyloid plaques in asymptomatic first-degree relatives as a function of ApoE e4 genotype.
- Guanfacine Treatment for Prefrontal Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly Subjects (funded by NIA). The major goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that low doses of the alpha-2A-adrenoceptor agonist guanfacine can improve deficits in prefrontally-mediated working memory and executive control functions in healthy elderly subjects.
- Amyloid Binding In Subjects At Risk For Alzheimer’s Disease (funded by Alzheimer's Association). The major goal of this project is to test the hypothesis that in vivo brain Aß burden as measured using [11C]PIB and PET is increased in healthy subjects with a family history of AD who are homozygous or heterozygous for the ApoE e4 allele compared to subjects who lack this allele.
- Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study Unit (ADCS, funded by NIA). The major goal of this multicenter consortium is to conduct clinical trial research in Alzheimer’s disease that would not otherwise be conducted by private pharmaceutical corporations. Role: Principal Investigator for Yale Site (PI: Paul Aisen, University of California, San Diego)
- Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI, funded by NIA) The major goals of this project are to: 1. Develop improved methods which will lead to uniform standards for acquiring longitudinal, multi-site MRI and PET data on patients with Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment, and elderly controls. 2. Acquire a generally accessible data repository, which describes longitudinal changes in brain structure and metabolism. In parallel, acquire clinical cognitive and biomarker data for validation of imaging surrogates. Role: Principal Investigator for Yale Site (PI: University of California, San Francisco)
Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
Academic Achievements & Community Involvement
Clinical Care
Overview
Clinical Specialties
Fact Sheets
Alzheimer's Disease
Learn More on Yale Medicine
Board Certifications
Geriatric Psychiatry
- Certification Organization
- AB of Psychiatry & Neurology
- Latest Certification Date
- 2013
- Original Certification Date
- 1994
Psychiatry
- Certification Organization
- AB of Psychiatry & Neurology
- Original Certification Date
- 1991
Yale Medicine News
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Media
- Coronal sections of average parametric images of DVR for (A) 19 Cognitively Normal participants and (B) 34 Alzheimer's Disease participants. Average images are created after co-registration to a common template. The average parametric PET scans are displayed in pseudocolor representing [11C]UCB-J binding to SV2A (DVR) and overlaid on the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) template T1 MRI. Lower DVR in Alzheimer's Disease compared to Cognitively Normal participants was apparent in the medial temporal lobe and throughout the cortex and subcortex.
News
- March 20, 2023
Jain Receives AHA Career Development Award
- January 19, 2023Source: Yale Medicine
Lecanemab, the New Alzheimer’s Treatment: 3 Things To Know
- January 09, 2023
Alzheimer's Drug Validated in Yale-led Trial Gets FDA Accelerated Approval
- January 04, 2023Source: YaleNews
Drug Slows Clinical Decline of Patients With Early-stage Alzheimer’s in Yale-led Study