Latest News

Monday, May 20th, 2019
Noon to 1 p.m.
Ralston Wellness Center
3615 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA

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Join Penn Memory Center Co-Director Jason Karlawish, MD, for a free discussion on how your lifestyle affects your brain as you age. Learn what activities are effective in protecting your brain health and how and when to do them.

Healthy aging requires adults to challenge your brain and stay both physically active and socially engaged, according to the Global Council on Brain Health, of which Dr. Karlawish is a member. Learn more about these strategies at “Healthy Brain Aging.”

The program and lunch are free, though registration is required. Call 215-386-2984 or email contact@ralstoncenter.org to RSVP.

By Janissa Delzo

If you learned you had an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, would you ever consider physician-assisted death (PAD)?

This is the question asked of participants in a Penn Memory Center study published this week in JAMA Neurology. About 20 percent of individuals who had learned they had elevated beta-amyloid, an Alzheimer’s-linked protein, reported that they would consider PAD “if they became cognitively impaired, were suffering, or were burdening others.”

The team lead by author and PMC scholar Emily Largent first interviewed 50 individuals from the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s study 4 to 12 weeks after they were informed of elevated beta-amyloid in their brain; some had broached the subject of PAD without prompting by researchers. At a 12-month follow-up, 47 participants were asked about PAD.

Under current U.S. laws, persons with dementia are not eligible for PAD. However, in seven states and Washington D.C., those who are competent and terminally ill are eligible.

“There are ongoing ethics and policy debates around whether to extend physician-assisted death to patients with neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s,” said Largent. “This was a unique opportunity to gauge interest in PAD in people who recently learned they were at increased risk for dementia.”

One participant called for more research into the topic.

“You should not have to suffer, and if you do not remember anything and you are just a burden, then that is not any kind of life,” the participant told researchers.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents said they would not consider physician-assisted death, citing personal, religious, or philosophical objections.

Largent’s team interviewed 30 individuals who did not have elevated beta-amyloid. When asked to consider a hypothetical situation in which they did, their responses regarding PAD or suicide were similar to those with elevated amyloid.

PMC Co-Director Jason Karlawish, MD, and Research Program Manager Kristin Harkins, MPH, are also co-authors on the paper. To read the full research letter, titled “Attitudes Toward Physician-Assisted Death From Individuals Who Learn They Have an Alzheimer’s Disease Biomarker,” click here.

By Linnea Langkammer

Researchers have identified and named a distinct brain disorder that mimics some features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and may have led to incorrect diagnoses in the past.

The disorder, known as LATE (Limbic-predominant Age-related TDP-43 Encephalopathy), develops when the naturally-occurring protein TDP-43 misfolds, causing AD-like symptoms. Scientists described LATE in a report published on April 30, 2019, in the journal Brain.

The Penn Memory Center continued its new Empowering Caregivers speaker series this year with Future Works Consulting’s Sharon Buckmaster, PhD, who presented “When, Why, and How to Move to a Memory Care Facility.”

Empowering Caregivers gives caregivers access to area experts who present on a variety of intensive topics, from in-home activities to end-of-life care.

All sessions are full. We appreciate your enthusiasm.

By Felicia Greenfield, Executive Director

The Penn Memory Center team says goodbye and good luck to the latest corps of social work students, who have successfully completed their internships.

Sarah Bujno, Nora Garland, Laura Vargas, and Matt Volpe helped develop and maintain psychosocial support programs for patients and caregivers at PMC since the beginning of the academic year. Their last day is May 1, 2019.