Seminars/Colloquia/Invited Talks

Seminars

Perminder Sachdev

T2-weighted hyperintensities in the white matter - Their topography and functional significance

PLACE:	Clark 314
EVENT:	CIS Seminar Series
DATE:	June 20, 2005
TIME:	3:30 - 4:30

Abstract

T2-weighted white matter hyperintensities (WMH) are common findings in the brains of elderly individuals, but their functional significance is still disputed. In this talk, Prof Sachdev will present data from two large studies, the PATH Through Life study and the Sydney Stroke Study, which mapped the WMH topographically in the subjects and examined their relationship with physical and cognitive function. The impact of WMH on cerebral blood flow and gray matter volume was also examined. Additionally, MRS was used to further examine the significance of these lesions. The emerging evidence suggests that WMH may be related to dysfunction even in the 60s, and preventative intervention should begin early in life.

Brief biography

Perminder Sachdev is currently Professor of Neuropsychiatry at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and Clinical Director of the Neuropsychiatric Institute at the Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia. He recieved his medical and psychiatry training at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at New Delhi in 1978 and 1981 respectively, elected Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry (RANZP) in 1985 and PhD in Psychiatry at UNSW in 1991. He is also President of the International Neuropsychiatric Association. His research interests are in the areas of Vascular dementia, Alzheimer's disease, Dementia of Lewy Body type and other dementias, Neuropsychiatric aspects of dementia, including Depression; Treatment of resistant psychiatric disorders with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Neurosurgery; Drug-induced movement disorders (akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, NMS); Neuroimaging; Tourette's syndrome, Adult ADHD. He was awarded the Senior Research prize of the RANZCP in 1995 for most outstanding psychiatric research by an Australian or New Zealander psychiatrist in the preceding 2 years, and the Novartis oration of the ASPR in 2004. His group was recently awarded a program grant to investigate neurocognitive disorders in the elderly by the NH&MRC (the equivalent of NIH in Australia).