Randall Bateman, MD

Randall Bateman, MD

Charles F. and Joanne Knight Distinguished Professor, WashU Neurology

Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathophysiology, biomarkers, predictive diagnostics and treatments

Dr. Bateman’s lab accomplishments include pioneering the central nervous system Stable Isotope Labeling Kinetics (SILK) measurements in humans, which utilizes sub-atomic labeling with stable isotopes to track in vivo protein production and clearance, leading to understanding of the time and kinetic basis of proteins leading to neurodegeneration. His lab has made major contributions to the understanding of the structures and functions of neurodegenerative proteins in pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. His lab has furthered insights of human circadian patterns of amyloid-beta and soluble amyloid precursor protein, and human in vivo control of the alpha-secretase, beta-secretase, and gamma-secretase processing of amyloid-beta. Utilizing SILK techniques, his lab also demonstrated that tau production is increased in Alzheimer’s disease, and that novel forms of tau in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood can diagnose and stage the disease.

Dr. Bateman’s lab discovered the first high-precision blood test for Alzheimer’s disease amyloid plaques in 2017, which is now available to doctors and patients as the first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease. His lab has generated the most accurate blood tests for Alzheimer’s disease in head-to-head comparisons, rivaling that of PET and CSF tests, promising to provide accurate diagnosis and the potential for treatment of millions of patients who otherwise would not have access to accurate diagnosis. His lab completed the Study to Evaluate Amyloid in Blood and Imaging Related to Dementia (SEABIRD), enrolling over 1,100 participants in the St. Louis area to validate blood amyloid biomarkers in a diverse community-based population.

More about the Bateman lab