Draft:Dan Berlau

Dan Berlau (born July 26, 1979) is an American neurobiologist and pharmacy professsor working in the field of Duchenne muscular dystrophy and brown noise.

Education and positions
Berlau received his B.A. from the University of Virginia in 2000 and his Ph.D. in neurobiology from the University of California, Irvine, in 2006. He was briefly an adjunct professor at the University of California, Irvine, and then became a professor at Regis University in 2011.

Research findings
Berlau's early work (in graduate school) examined the role of the basolateral amygdala in fear conditioning, focusing on the contribution of the neurotransmitters norepinephrine and GABA. Later, as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Irvine he shifted his focus to the study of aging adults, specifically the oldest old. Berlau published papers on both the prevalence and incidence of dementia in this population. Additionally, he found that disability continues to increase past age 90, warning of a caregiver crisis.

After becoming faculty at Regis University, Berlau began to examine Duchenne muscular dystrophy with a focus on novel medications for the disease. He contributed several expert opinion papers on the topic, taking a skeptical eye to exon skipping medications. In 2019, Berlau published on the topic of white noise as a therapeutic option for ADHD. AS the use of white noise and brown noise became more popular, Berlau was interviewed by a variety of media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian.

Peer-reviewed Publications

 * Czifrus E, Berlau DJ. (2023) Viltolarsen: a treatment option for Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients who are amenable to exon 53 skipping therapy. Expert Rev Neurother. Aug;12:1-6.
 * Kracht KD, Eichorn NL, Berlau DJ. (2022) Perspectives on the advances in the pharmacotherapeutic management of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Expert Opin Pharmacother. Oct;23(15):1701-1710.
 * Eichorn NL, Shult HT, Kracht KD, Berlau DJ. (2022) Making a joint decision: Cannabis as a potential substitute for opioids in obstetrics and gynecology. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. Dec;85(Pt B):59-67.
 * Navia KL, Anthony BK, Berlau DJ. (2022) A case for continuing statin medications in the intensive care unit: Reducing the risk for delirium. Am J Health Syst Pharm. Aug 19;79(17):1431-1437.
 * Skrzelowski M, Brookhaus A, Shea LA, Berlau DJ. (2021) Melatonin Use in Pediatrics: Evaluating the Discrepancy in Evidence Based on Country and Regulations Regarding Production. J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther. 26(1):4-20.
 * Grages SM, Bell M, Berlau DJ.(2020) New and emerging pharmacotherapy for duchenne muscular dystrophy: a focus on synthetic therapeutics. Expert Opin Pharmacother. May;21(7):841-851.
 * Khan SP, Pickens TA, Berlau DJ (2019) Perspectives on cannabis as a substitute for opioid analgesics. Pain Management. 9(2):191-203.
 * Pickens TA, Khan SP, Berlau DJ (2019) White noise as a possible therapeutic option for children with ADHD. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 42:151-155.
 * Patten, DM, Schultz BG, Berlau DJ (2018) The safety and efficacy of low-dose naltrexone in the management of chronic pain and inflammation in multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, Crohn’s disease, and other chronic pain disorders. Pharmacotherapy. 38:3.
 * Schultz BG, Patten DM, Berlau DJ (2018) The role of statins in both cognitive impairment and protection against dementia: a tale of two mechanisms. Translational Neurodegeneration. 7(5).
 * Mirzaei S, Reinig AM, Berlau DJ (2017) Translational obstacles with off-label drug use in acute traumatic brain injury. Future Neurology. 12(2): 79–88.
 * Reinig AM, Mirzaei S, Berlau DJ (2017) Advances in the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy: New and emerging pharmacotherapies. Pharmacotherapy. 37(4): 492-499.
 * Mapstone, M., Cheema, AK, Fiandaca, MS, Zhong, X, Mhyre, TR, Macarthur, LH, Hall, WJ, Fisher, SG, Peterson, DR, Haley, JM, Nazar, MD, Rich, SA, Berlau DJ, Peltz, CB, Tan, MT, Kawas, CH, Federoff, HJ (2014) Plasma phospholipids identify antecedent memory impairment in older adults. Nature Medicine. 20(4): 415-8.
 * Berlau, DJ, Corrada, MM, Robinson, J, Geser, F, Arnold, S, Lee, VM-Y, Kawas, CH, Trojanowski, J.Q. (2013) Neocortical -amyloid area is associated with dementia and APOE in the oldest-old. Alzheimer’s & Dementia. 9(6): 699-705.
 * Corrada, MM, Berlau, DJ, Paganini-Hill, A and Kawas, CH (2013) APOE genotype, dementia, and mortality in the oldest-old: The 90+ Study, Alzheimer’s & Dementia, 9(1): 12-18.
 * Corrada, MM, Berlau, DJ, and Kawas, CH (2012) A Population-Based Clinicopathological Study in the Oldest-Old: The 90+ Study. Current Alzheimer Research, 9(6): 709-717.
 * Berlau, DJ, Corrada, MM, Peltz, CB, Kawas, CH (2012) Disability in the Oldest-old: Incidence and Risk Factors in The 90+ Study, American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 20(2):159-168.
 * Peltz, CB, Corrada, MM, Berlau DJ, Kawas CH (2012) Cognitive impairment in non-demented oldest-old: Prevalence and relationship to cardiovascular risk factors, Alzheimer’s and Dementia 8(2):87-94.
 * Robinson, JL, Geser, F, Corrada, MM, Berlau, DJ, Arnold, SE, Lee, VM-Y, Kawas, CH, Trojanowski, J.Q. (2011) Neocortical and hippocampal amyloid- and tau measures associate with dementia in the oldest-old, Brain, 134(12): 3708-15.
 * Peltz, CB, Corrada, MM, Berlau DJ, Kawas CH (2011) Incidence of dementia in oldest-old with amnestic MCI and other cognitive impairments, Neurology 77(21): 1906-12.
 * Berlau, DJ, Corrada, MM, Peltz, CB, Kawas, CH (2011) Bathing as a potential target for disability reduction, American Journal of Public Health, 101(2):200-1.
 * Corrada, MM, Brookmeyer, R, Paganini-Hill, A, Berlau, DJ, Kawas, CH (2010) Dementia incidence continues to increase with age in the oldest old: the 90+ study. Annals of Neurology, 67(1):114-121.
 * Berlau, DJ, Corrada, MM, and Kawas, CH (2009) The Prevalence of Disability in the Oldest-Old is High and Continues to Increase: Findings from The 90+ Study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 24(11): 127-25.
 * Berlau, DJ, Corrada, MM, Head, E, and Kawas, CH (2009) APOE2 is associated with intact cognition but increased Alzheimer pathology in the oldest-old. Neurology, 72(9):829-34.
 * Corrada MM, Brookmeyer, R, Berlau, DJ, Paganini-Hill, A and Kawas, CH (2008) Prevalence of dementia after age 90: Results from The 90+ Study. Neurology, 71(3);337-343.
 * Berlau, DJ, Kahle-Wrobleski, K, Head, E, Goodus, M, Kim, R and Kawas, CH (2007) Dissociation of neuropathologic findings and cognition: A case report of an APOE 2/2 genotype. Archives of Neurology, 64(8):1193-6.
 * Roozendaal, B, Hui, G, Hui, I, Berlau, DJ, McGaugh, JL & Weinberger, NM (2006) Basolateral amygdala noradrenergic activity mediates corticosterone-induced enhancement of auditory fear conditioning. The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 86(3):249-255.
 * Berlau, DJ & McGaugh, JL (2006) Enhancement of extinction memory consolidation: The role of the noradrenergic and GABAergic systems within the basolateral amygdala. The Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, 86(2):123-32.
 * Power, AE, Berlau, DJ, McGaugh, JL & Steward, O (2006) Anisomycin infused into the hippocampus fails to block “reconsolidation” but impairs extinction: The role of re-exposure duration. Learning and Memory, 13(1):27-34.
 * Berlau, DJ & McGaugh, JL (2003) Basolateral amygdala lesions do not prevent memory of context-footshock training. Learning and Memory, 10(6):495-502.
 * Mirich, JM, Williams, NC, Berlau, DJ & Brunjes, PC (2002) Comparative study of aging in the mouse olfactory bulb. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 454(4):361-72.