Sanjay Asthana is Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and holds the Duncan G. and Lottie H. Ballantine Endowed Chair in Geriatrics. Since 2009, Asthana has also served as Director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center.
In 2015, Asthana was appointed the first Associate Dean for Gerontology. He also holds an appointment at William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, where he serves as the Director of the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center.
Asthana's father, an economist and diplomat for the
United Nations, suffered from
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...
, spurring Ashtana to study the disease.
Asthana has participated in clinical trials of therapeutic interventions, including those testing the effects of soy
isoflavones Isoflavones are substituted derivatives of isoflavone, a type of naturally occurring isoflavonoids, many of which act as phytoestrogens in mammals. Isoflavones are produced almost exclusively by the members of the bean family, Fabaceae (Leguminosae) ...
,
vitamin E, and
ramipril, finding that vitamin E may slow cognitive decline. Other recent work has focused on the possibility that insulin resistance may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease or the progression of the disease.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asthana, Sanjay
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Alzheimer's disease researchers
American geriatricians
Indian gerontologists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Medical doctors from Delhi