The Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders at Mount Sinai Medical Center will host its second annual public education forum from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 19. The event, which will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in its earliest stages, will take place at the Miami Beach Resort and Spa located at 4833 Collins Avenue.
The public forum is a recent addition to the ongoing medical symposium hosted by the Wien Center. Now in its 12th year, the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) Symposium attracts neurological medical experts from around the world to share new information about advances in research related to the clinical diagnosis and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The Early Alzheimer’s Public Education Forum is intended for the public at large, including individuals at-risk for Alzheimer’s disease, their family members, and professionals from various fields who may be interested in an up-to-date review of some aspects of Alzheimer’s research. This educational segment aims to provide information about the latest research in the field of diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, including the use of amyloid imaging for this purpose. The forum gives members of the audience an opportunity to interact with top scientists in the field.
MRI and PET scans of the brain can improve the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, especially in one of its earliest stages known as MCI (mild cognitive impairment), by identifying deposits of amyloid proteins thought to trigger the degenerative process in the brain.
“A new type of PET scan, known as amyloid PET, enables doctors to visualize amyloid plaques inside the brain and thereby determine if the cause of the impairment in memory and other cognitive functions is, indeed, Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Ranjan Duara, medical director of the Wien Center and host of the public educational forum. “Amyloid plaques can be present years or even decades before symptoms appear thereby confirming that amyloid PET scans may also be useful in determining if the removal of amyloid from the brain can prevent the disease from progressing, well before significant brain damage has occurred.”
Experts in brain imaging from Harvard Medical School, The University of Pennsylvania, Brown University, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and the Banner Alzheimer’s Institute will describe how amyloid imaging can be utilized to make a very early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. These experts will also discuss how amyloid imaging can be utilized to select people in clinical trials for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. The benefits and risks of amyloid imaging will also be discussed, as well as how and when the results of an amyloid PET scan should be disclosed.
“People who have amyloid brain deposits are at increased risk for progressing to Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. The information shared at our public forum can be a tremendous benefit to those who may be at risk, or have family members at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Duara.
To register for the Mount Sinai Early Alzheimer’s Public Education Forum, visit www.mcisymposium.org or call Tatiana Vallejo at 305-674-2121, ext. 54461. Attendance is free for those who register in advance. Registration at the door will be $5.
