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Neurodegenerative diseases represent some of the most significant public health challenges of the 21st century: they are chronic, common and untreatable. 

Today, one-third of adults over 85 years of age have some form of dementia. As our population ages over the next 25 years, the prevalence of these diseases is expected to double.

The science of these diseases is complex – the easy answers have been ruled out. 

At the Tanz Centre, we are prepared to meet this challenge. Our researchers have made many of the most important discoveries of the past two decades concerning the genetics of Alzheimer’s and other diseases. We are determined to discover and invent effective diagnostics and therapies that will stop these devastating diseases.

To learn more about our research areas and the science behind the neurodegenerative diseases studied at the Tanz Centre, please explore the links below:

Sep 30, 2024
Naomi Visanji met Jonathan Rezek in 2015. Rezek, an IBM executive who had Parkinson’s disease, was a patient in the movement disorders clinic at Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Network. He had the idea that Visanji work with her colleagues and IBM’s Watson artificial intelligence to look for new treatments for Parkinson’s disease.
Aug 8, 2024
Professor Anthony Lang and an international research group proposed a new biological classification system for Parkinson’s disease, which will help focus research and may influence future patient care.
May 2, 2024
Rare genetic mutations that cause early-onset Alzheimer’s disease are helping scientists at the University of Toronto uncover mechanisms involved in the disease, which may lead to new diagnostic tools and therapies.
Mar 26, 2024
In recent years, researchers have studied the link between depression and dementia. Depression can affect different aspects of cognition such as attention, executive function and memory. Some researchers believe that depression may even be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease.
Mar 20, 2024
Researchers in the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease have reason to celebrate with the announcement of $8.6 million in funding, which will help catalyze breakthroughs in the treatment of diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Dec 19, 2023
Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases have uncovered a link between neuronal receptor proteins and brain immune cells that may help explain damage to the brain in the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease.