Age-associated memory decline is due to variable combinations of genetic and environmental risk factors. How these risk factors interact to drive disease onset is currently unknown.

Here we begin to elucidate the mechanisms by which post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a young age contributes to an increased risk to develop dementia at old age.

We show that the actin nucleator Formin 2 (Fmn2) is deregulated in PTSD and in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients.

To facilitate easily accessible screening for trauma-related symptoms, a web-based application called Smart Assessment on your Mobile (SAM) was developed. In this study, we examined whether SAM was able to accurately identify posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression in adults.

Homicidally bereaved individuals have to deal with the notion that their loved one

is deliberately taken from them: the death is caused by the premeditated action of

another individual, most often unexpected. While the psychological consequences

for the people left behind are assumed to be great, few studies systematically

examined psychopathology following homicidal bereavement. The aim of this

dissertation was threefold. First of all, adaptation to homicidal loss was examined,

Improvements in biomedicine and public health have resulted in a substantial growth of the older adult population in the United States and other industrialized countries. Indeed, 12.4% of Americans, or over 40 million individuals, are currently 65 and over, with the fastest growing segment of older adults those between the ages of 85 to 94. This will likely mean an increased need for mental health services for olderadults (Karel, Gatz, & Smyer, 2012).