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Dr Faheem Arshad

Associate Professor, NIMHANS

Bio

Dr. Arshad is an Associate Professor of Neurology at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS) in Bengaluru, India, and a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Equity in Brain Health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). As one of the few dedicated cognitive neurologists in India, Dr. Arshad bridges the gap between high-impact clinical research and holistic patient care. His primary research interests span neurocognitive disorders (including Alzheimer’s disease and Frontotemporal dementia), neurogenetics, biomarkers, advanced imaging, and clinical trials.

Dr. Arshad’s research focuses heavily on identifying modifiable risk factors for dementia and exploring scalable prevention strategies. He has pioneered work on cognitive resilience—investigating education and bilingualism as proxies for cognitive reserve within diverse Indian cohorts. This research is vital for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), demonstrating how low-cost interventions can mitigate disease onset where economic and infrastructure barriers limit access to costly disease-modifying therapies. His research excellence is recognized globally, including a pilot project funded by the Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), the Alzheimer's Association, and the Alzheimer's Society, UK. Furthermore, his innovative preliminary data on neurogenetics provides a crucial foundation for future genetic studies within diverse global populations.

Clinically, Dr. Arshad established India’s first-of-its-kind Cognitive Disorders Registry (CDC) at NIMHANS, which fuels a multidisciplinary team providing coordinated, evidence-based care. An avid researcher with numerous publications in prestigious national and international journals, he also drives public and professional education. As the Convener of the Cognitive Neurology Subsection of the Indian Academy of Neurology (IAN), he hosts regular clinical sessions designed to demystify dementia for healthcare professionals and the public alike, championing early diagnosis, management, and comprehensive caregiver support.

 

 

Contributions to Science

  1. 1. My early contributions to science were based on my clinical skills in general medicine focusing on rare presentations of various diseases and their follow-up. In addition, I also looked into effect of high blood sugars on gall bladder motility as my postgraduate research work.

    1. Arshad F, Laway ba, bhat MA, Irfan Showkat h, Kotwal s, Ahmad Mir s. Leksell Gamma Knife: An Effec­tive Non Invasive Treatment for Rare Case of Nelson’s Syndrome. Int J Endocrinol Metab. 2013; 11(3):195-8.
    2. Arshad F, Laway BA, Rather TA, Kuchay MS, Khan SH. Impaired gallbladder motility in adults with newly detected type 2 diabetes and lack of reversibility after achieving euglycemia. Canadian journal of diabetes. 2015 Apr 1;39(2):101-4.
    3. Latief M, Dar WR, Sofi N, Dar IA, Kasana B, Hussain M, Arshad F, Shah BA, Koul PA. Novel risk factors and early detection of anti-tubercular treatment induced liver injury—Looking beyond American Thoracic Society Guidelines. Indian Journal of Tuberculosis. 2017 Jan 1;64(1):26-32.
    4. Dar IA, Dar WR, Khan MA, Kasana BA, Sofi NU, Hussain M, Arshad F, et al. Etiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis and management of lower gastrointestinal bleed in a Tertiary Care Hospital in India: A retroprospective study. J Dig Endosc 2015;6:101-9.
    5. Sofi, N. U., Raja, W., Dar, I. A., Kasana B., Latief, M., Arshad, F., Iqbal, K. (2015). Role of thiamine supplementation in patients with heart failure – An Indian perspective. Journal of Indian College of Cardiology, 5(4), 291–296.

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    2. Establishing neural correlates of Frontotemporal dementia: As a neurology resident, I undertook a clinical and imaging study on social cognition in Frontotemporal dementia spectrum disorders in the Indian context. I also looked into relationship of education and bilingualism as independent predictors on cortical thickness.

    1. Arshad F, Paplikar A, Mekala S, Varghese F, Purushothaman VV, Kumar DJ, Shingavi L, Vengalil S, Ramakrishnan S, Yadav R, Pal PK. Social Cognition Deficits Are Pervasive across Both Classical and Overlap Frontotemporal Dementia Syndromes. Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders Extra. 2020;10(3):115-26.
    2. Arshad F., Vandana, V.P., Raghavendra, K., Jennifer, K., Saini, J., Subasree, R., Pal, P.K., Chandra, S.R., Nalini, A. and Alladi, S., 2019. Neural correlates of social cognition in frontotemporal dementia spectrum disorders. Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 15(7), p.P366.

    3. With Frontotemporal dementia being my main area of interest. I studied genetics of patients with Frontotemporal dementia and other degenerative disorders, and role of autoantibodies in people with dementia.

    1. Arshad F, Alladi S, Kulanthaivelu K. Rapidly Progressive Behavioral Syndrome Without Spastic Paraplegia in a Patient with SPAST p. Pro26Thr Variant. Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders. 2022 Apr;21(2):79.
    2. Arshad F, Vengalil S, Nalini A, Polavarapu K, Shamim U, Jabeen S, Nagaraj C, Ramakrishnan S, Faruq M, Alladi S. Novel TBK1 variant associated with Frontotemporal Dementia overlap syndrome. Acta Neurol Scand. 2021 Nov 28. doi: 10.1111/ane.13562
    3. Arshad F, Vengalil S, Maskomani S, Kamath SD, Kulanthaivelu K, Mundlamuri RC, Yadav R, Nalini A. Novel CSF1R variant in adult-onset leukoencephalopathy    masquerading as frontotemporal dementia: a follow-up study. Neurocase. 2021   Dec;27(6):484-489..
    1. Arshad F, Prasad A, Somaraj A, Udupi GA, Ramakrishnan S, Alladi S. Novel Pathogenic Missense NF1-Variant Associated With Cognitive Impairment. Dement Neurocogn Disord. 2024 Jan;23(1):71-73. doi: 10.12779/dnd.2024.23.1.71. Epub 2024 Jan 17. PMID: 38362057; PMCID: PMC10864699.
    2. Arshad F, Varghese F, Paplikar A, Gangadhar Y, Ramakrishnan S, Chaudhuri JR, Mahadevan A, Alladi S. Role of Autoantibodies in Neurodegenerative Dementia: An Emerging Association. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord. 2021;50(2):153-160

    4. With the ongoing pandemic I also studied impact of COVID in India on patients with dementia and their caregivers

    1. Arshad, F., Singh, V., Prasad, C. et al. Alexia without agraphia in an elderly man due to stroke secondary to COVID-19 infection. Acta Neurol Belg (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13760-022-02014-y
    2. Netravathi M, Dhamija K, Gupta M, Tamborska A, Nalini A, Holla VV, Nitish LK, Menon D, Pal PK, Seena V, Yadav R, Ravindranadh M, Faheem A, Saini J, Mahadevan A, Solomon T, Singh B. COVID-19 vaccine associated demyelination & its association with MOG antibody. Mult Scler Relat Disord. 2022 Mar 13;60:103739.
    3. Rajagopalan, J., Arshad, F., Thomas, P. T., Varghese, F., Hurzuk, S., Hoskeri, R. M., Ramappa, R. B., Nair, V. S., Paplikar, A., Mekala, S., Manae, T. S., Ramanna, D., Rakesh, G., Ganeshbhai, P. V., Dhiren, S. R., Komaravolu, S., Kammammettu, C., Rao, G. N., & Alladi, S. (2022). Cognition, Behavior, and Caregiver Stress in Dementia during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Indian Perspective. Dementia and geriatric cognitive disorders, 1–10
    4. Rajagopalan, J., Arshad, F., Hoskeri, R. M., Nair, V. S., Hurzuk, S., Annam, H., ... & Alladi, S. (2021). Experiences of people with dementia and their caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic in India: A mixed-methods study. Dementia, 14713012211035371
    5. Rajagopalan J, Hurzuk S, Arshad F, Raja P, Alladi S. The COVID-19 long-term care situation in India. International Long-Term Care Policy Network. 2020.
    6. COVID19 and neuropsychiatric manifestations. IAN textbook

    5. In addition to the aforementioned contributions, I also underlined the need for biomarkers and various cognitive questionnaires developed in the Indian context to be validated for the diagnosis of MCI and AD.

    1. Paplikar, A., Alladi, S., Varghese, F., Mekala, S., Arshad, F., Sharma, M., ... & ICMR-NCTB Consortium. (2021). Bilingualism and Its Implications for Neuropsychological Evaluation. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology.
    2. Verma M, Tripathi M, Nehra A, Paplikar A, Varghese F, Alladi S, Narayanan J, Dhaliwal RS, Sharma M, Saroja AO, Arshad F, Divyaraj G, Ghosh A, Manae TS, Mekala S, Menon RN, Hooda R, Iyer GK, Sunitha J, Kandukuri R, Kaul S, Khan AB, Mathew R, Nandi R, Padma MV, Pauranik A, Ramakrishnan S, Sarath L, Shah U, Sylaja PN, Varma RP, Vishwanath Y. Validation of ICMR Neurocognitive Toolbox for Dementia in the Linguistically Diverse Context of India. Front Neurol. 2021;12:661269. PMCID: PMC8558406
    3. Paplikar, A., Vandana, V.P., Mekala, S., Arshad F et al. Semantic memory impairment in dementia: A cross-cultural adaptation study. Neurol Sci (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-021-05272-5
    4. Paplikar A, Ballal D, Varghese F, Sireesha J, Dwivedi R, Rajan A, Mekala S, Arshad F, Kaul S, Alladi S. Assessment of Lifestyle Experiences across Lifespan and Cognitive Ageing in the Indian Context. Psychology and Developing Societies. 2020 Aug 17:0971333620937512.
    5. Venugopal, A., Paplikar, A., Varghese, F. A., Thanissery, N., Ballal, D., Hoskeri, R. M., Shekar, R., Bhaskarapillai, B., Arshad, F., Purushothaman, V. V., Anniappan, A. B., Rao, G. N., & Alladi, S. (2024). Protective effect of bilingualism on aging, MCI, and dementia: A community-based study. Alzheimer's & dementia: the journal of the Alzheimer's Association, 10.1002/alz.13702. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.13702
    6. Bhattacharyya, B., Paplikar, A., Varghese, F., Das, G., Shukla, V., Arshad, F., Gupta, A., Mekala, S., Mukherjee, A., Mukherjee, R., Venugopal, A., Tripathi, M., Ghosh, A., Biswas, A., & Alladi, S. (2024). Illiterate Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III in Three Indian Languages: An Adaptation and Validation Study. Archives of clinical neuropsychology: the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists, acad106. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/arclin/acad106
    7. Krishna, G., Santhoshkumar, R., Sivakumar, P. T., Alladi, S., Mahadevan, A., Dahale, A. B., Arshad, F., & Subramanian, S. (2023). Pathological (Dis)Similarities in Neuronal Exosome-Derived Synaptic and Organellar Marker Levels Between Alzheimer's Disease and Frontotemporal Dementia. Journal of Alzheimer's disease: JAD, 94(s1), S387–S397. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-220829

    6. I have also been involved in a multicentric studies, invited letters and reviews, book chapters, case series and reports.

    1. Arshad, F., Kulanthaivelu, K., & Yadav, R. (2024). Intracranial lipoma: an incidental finding and a rare cause of secondary headache. The International journal of neuroscience, 1–4. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207454.2024.2302861
    2. Lam BYK, Yiu B, Ampil E, Chen CL, Dikot Y, Dominguez JC, Ganeshbhai PV, Hilal S, Kandiah N, Kim S, Lee JY, Ong AP, Senanarong V, Leung KT, Wang H, Yang YH, Yong T, Arshad F, Alladi S, Wong S, Ko H, Lau AYL, Mok VCT. High burden of cerebral white matter lesion in 9 Asian cities. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 2;11(1):11587.
    3. Paplikar A, Alladi S, Varghese F, Mekala S, Arshad F, Sharma M, Saroja AO, Divyaraj G, Dutt A, Ellajosyula R, Ghosh A. Bilingualism and Its Implications for Neuropsychological Evaluation. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. 2021 Mar 27. 
    4. Arshad F, Samim MM, Paplikar A, Rajendran S, Kalkonde Y, Alladi S. Vascular cognitive impairment in India: Challenges and opportunities for prevention and treatment. Cerebral Circulation-Cognition and Behavior. 2021 Nov 25:100034.
    5. Suvarna Alladi, Faheem Arshad, Avanthi Paplikar. Vascular Dementia. Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology, Elsevier, 2021,ISBN 9780128093245,  https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-819641-0.00128-6.
    6. Patwal R, Pai NM, Ganjekar S, Arshad F, Alladi S, Sharma MK, Desai G, Chaturvedi SK. Schizencephaly and the Neurodevelopmental Model of Psychosis. Neurol India 2022;70:740-3
    7. Alladi S, Arshad F. Towards Improving Prediction of Progression to Dementia: Emerging Evidence for Role F-18 FDG PET in Developing Countries. Neurol India 2019;67:1318-9
    8. Alladi S, Arshad F, Paplikar A. Vascular Dementia. Encyclopedia of Behavioural Neuroscience, 2nd Edition. (Accepted).

    7. I am also involved in the discussion of clinical trials for dementia in the less represented diverse countries like India
    a. Llibre-Guerra JJ, Heavener A, Brucki SMD, Marante JPD, Pintado-Caipa M, Chen Y, Behrens MI, Hardi A, Admirall-Sanchez A, Akinyemi R, Alladi S, Dorsman KA, Rodriguez-Salgado AM, Solorzano J, Babulal GM; Diversity and Disparity Professional Interest Area Increasing Sustained Diversity in Clinical Trials Working Group (Arshad F). A call for clinical trial globalization in Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Alzheimers Dement. 2023 Jul;19(7):3210-3221. doi: 10.1002/alz.12995. Epub 2023 Feb 25. PMID: 36840622; PMCID: PMC10450094.

    Complete List of Published Work: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Faheem-Arshad

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