Sanjay Asthana, MD, FRCP(C), Associate Director

Positions

Ballantine Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison

Head, Section of Geriatrics and Gerontology

Director, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Madison VA Medical Center

Director, Wisconsin Comprehensive Memory Program, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), Madison VA Medical Center

Associate Director, Wisconsin Alzheimer's Institute

Education

B.S., 1978 and MD, 1980, University College of Medical Sciences University of Delhi, New Delhi, India; Third Year Senior Resident, 1987-1988 and Chief Resident (4th year), , 1988-1989, University of Saskatchewan School of Medicine; Clinical Research Fellow, 1989-1992, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Forgarty Staff Fellow, 1990-1992 and Senior Staff Fellow, 1992-1993, Laboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, NIH

Research Interests

Clinical psychopharmacology and neuroendocrinology of gonadal steroids and cholinergic drugs in Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging.

Cognitive and neuroendocrine effects of estrogen and testosterone administration in Alzheimer's disease and healthy aging.

Potential beneficial effects of estrogen and testosterone treatment on performance-based measures of independent living skills for healthy older adults as well as those with Alzheimer's disease.

Identification of biological markers for therapeutic responsivity to estrogen for women with Alzheimer's disease.

Evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of raloxifene, a selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), in subjects with Alzheimer's disease.

Cholinergic drugs: Clinical psychopharmacology studies in Alzheimer's disease.

Clinical pharmacokinetics and neuroendocrinology of cholinergic drugs in subjects with AD.

Research Description

Visit the Wisconsin Comprehensive Memory Program website for a description of Dr. Asthana's research programs.

Representative Publications

Asthana S, Craft S, Baker LD, Raskind MA, Avery E, Lofgreen C, Veith RC, Plymate SR: Cognitive and neuroendocrine response to transdermal estrogen in women with Alzheimer's disease: results of a randomized, placebo-controlled pilot study. Psychoneuroendocrinology, vol 24(6), pp 657-678, 1999.

Craft S, Asthana S, Schellenberg G, Cherrier M, Baker LD, Newcomer J, Plymate SR, Latendresse S, Petrova A, Raskind MA, Peshkind E: Insulin metabolism in Alzheimer's disease differs according to apolipoprotein E genotype. Neuroendocrinology, vol 295, pp 2750-2757, 1999.

Craft S, Asthana S, Newcomer JW, Wilkinson CW, Baker LD, Cherrier M, Tio-Mattis, I, Lofgreen C, Latendresse S, Petrova A, Plymate SR, Raskind MA, Grimwood K, Vieth RC: Enhancement of memory in Alzheimer's disease with insulin and somatostatin, but not glucose, Arch Gen Psychiatry, vol 56, pp 1135-1140, 1999.

Craft S, Asthana S, Schellenberg G, Baker LD, Cherrier M, Boyt AA, Martins RN, Raskind MA, Peshkind E, Plymate S: Insulin effects on glucose metabolism, memory, and plasma amyloid precursor protein in Alzheimer's disease differ according to apolipoprotein-E genotype. Annals N Y Acad Sci, vol 903, pp 222-228, 2000.

Asthana S, Baker LD, Craft S, Stanczyk FZ, Veith RC, Raskind MA, Plymate SR: High-dose estradiol improves cognition for women with Alzheimer's disease: Results of a randomized study. Neurology, vol 57, pp 605-612, 2001.

Cherrier M, Craft S, Asthana S, Plymate S, Baker LD, Matsumoto AM, Peskind E, Raskind MA, Brodkin K, Bremner WM, Petrova A, LaTendresse S: Effects of exogenous testosterone administration on spatial and verbal memory in healthy older men: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Neurology, vol 57, pp 80-88, 2001.