Goodbye Sunday Reads, Hello “Weekly InSight”

This year marks two decades of the PMC collecting data on patients and normal controls to what we now call the Aging Brain Cohort (ABC) Study. It’s our longest and largest study, and we’re proud to have been involved since 1999.

The feature story in InSight, our annual magazine, highlights what it’s like to be a participant and how your medical data helps advance research into Alzheimer’s disease, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and life-long brain health.

In the article, you’ll hear from PMC Co-Director David Wolk, MD, but perhaps more importantly, you’ll get the perspective of various individuals about what it’s like to participate.

Terraine Smith, five-year veteran of the ABC study, is motivated to help others. “It’s the only thing I can do, so why not?” she said, adding that the research team members “make me feel like a human.”

In 2019, we hope to gain even more participants, particularly normal controls. If you are at least 60 years old and have normal memory, MCI, or Alzheimer’s disease, you may be eligible.

The easiest way to learn more about the ABC study and other research at the Penn Memory Center is to join the Brain Health Research Registry, a confidential database used to contact you periodically with current research opportunities.

Upcoming Events 

ARTZ Philadelphia is hosting its first “Cafe for Care Partners” of 2019 on Wednesday, January 23, from 10 to 11:30 a.m at FRIEDA. It’s an event specifically designed for care partners. There will be coffee and a brainstorming session for a new “ARTZ Cards” project. You can read more about the project and register here.

The next Memory Café will be held on Friday, February 1 from 10:30 a.m. to noon at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Old City. Beacon Theatre Productions will be presenting the play “Letters to Aunt Hattie.” Memory Café is exclusively for people with memory problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, and their partners/families. The program is free. Please RSVP to Alison Lynn at 215-360-0257 or alison.lynn@uphs.upenn.edu. All 2019 dates are posted here.

Our “Empowering Caregivers” spring series will kick off in February. It will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday February 7, March 14, April 18, May 16, and June 20 at 241 Ralston House. Caregivers will have access to area experts who will present on a variety of intensive topics from in-home activities to end of life care. Each talk is free and capped at 30 guests. More details about the series are here. To RSVP, contact Felicia Greenfield at felicia.greenfield@uphs.upenn.edu or 215-662-4523 and note which workshop(s) you’d like to attend.

Creative Expression Through Music, a collaboration between PMC and the Curtis Institute of Music, is a new, free program for PMC patients experiencing memory change or those with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage dementia. It’s intended to provide participants with a greater understanding of music, fun new tools for interacting through sound, and creative musical experience that flex their imaginations. Beginners are welcome. Session One will engage participants in collaborative, creative musical experiences and will assess their impact on participants’ mood and well-being. Session Two will focus on creating new music and building the skills and activities of Session One. Registration for Session One is now closed, but Session Two is still enrolling.

Session Two will meet from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. on March 19, 26, April 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30. All sessions are held at The Curtis Institute of Music in Lenfest Hall, Room LH314.   If you’d like to register or have questions, contact Matthew Volpe at matthew.volpe@uphs.upenn.edu.

Time Out, a support and mentorship program first launched in 1986, will be coming back in the new year. We will begin recruiting families and caregivers in early 2019. Visit us at www.pennmemorycenter.org/timeout for the latest in recruitment information.

Sincerely,

The PMC Communications Team

Terrence Casey, Joyce Lee, Janissa Delzo, Linnea Langkammer, and Sharnita Midgett