An Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
Moment to Moment isn’t a story about Carl’s Alzheimer’s disease, but it does tell that story.
It isn’t an origin story about the unique works of art Susan helped create, but it tells that story too.
“This film,” says filmmaker Mike Attie, “it’s a love story.”
The “Promise Garden” has flower beds at a high perimeter, a circular path and no jarring shapes or colors. Its creators say it’s an ideal environment for those with memory loss.
The display at this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show was designed for those with dementia as an area where one could not wander off, get lost, or experience stress.
Promise Garden was designed by Tom Morris, Operations Manager at J Downend Landscaping, in memory of his late father-in-law, who lived with Alzheimer’s disease.
Mohamad Habes, PhD, (left) and David Wolk, MD
For the past year, Mohamad Habes, PhD has worked with Penn Memory Center (PMC) researchers to use emerging image analysis techniques to capture subtle brain changes for early recognition of aging and neurodegenerative disease effects.
“Mohamad is an extremely bright and innovative young researcher who is making increasingly important contributions to our understanding of vascular disease and its relationship to the aging brain and Alzheimer’s Disease,” said Dr. David Wolk, PMC co-director and Habes’ mentor. “While his training and expertise are focused on statistical and computational approaches to image analysis, he consistently applies these tools to answer compelling questions that have true clinical implications.”
Editor’s Note: For this Weekly InSight, the Communications team decided to hand the post over to our social work team. We hope you enjoy the switch and gain another perspective of the work we do here at the PMC. Nora Garland, this week’s author, is a social work intern at PMC and a second year Master of Social Work student in the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.
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The Penn Memory Center kicked off its new Empowering Caregivers speaker series this month with occupational therapist and Day by Day Home Therapy founder Rachel Wiley, who presented “Meaningful Activities to Engage Your Loved One.” Wiley’s workshop was both practical and personal, emphasizing real-world advice on how to keep your loved one with dementia engaged and active, even as cognition declines.
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. Each talk is free and capped at 30 guests. Priority will be given to those caring for patients of the Penn Memory Center. RSVP is required.
To RSVP, contact Felicia Greenfield, MSW, LCSW, at felicia.greenfield@uphs.upenn.edu or 215-662-4523 and note which workshop(s) you’d like to attend.
Memory in Motion is a dance class tailored to meet the challenges of people living with dementia and their caregivers. The class incorporates simple, adaptive movements set to musical favorites from the ’40s to present day in an open and accepting environment. It provides an opportunity for people living with dementia to better connect with bodily experience, and a chance for caregivers to participate in a fun, nostalgic, and active way. No prior dance experience is necessary!
Time: 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Dates: Every Monday between March 11 and April 22
Place: BalletX, 1923 Washington Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19146
RSVP: Contact Felicia Greenfield at 215-662-4523 or at felicia.greenfield@uphs.upenn.edu
Instructor:
R. Colby Damon, BA
Professor of Dance, University of the Arts
Lead Teaching Artist, BalletX
Freelance Choreographer
Many caregivers experience depression, injury, and self-neglect as they face challenges supporting their loved ones with dementia.
A dementia advocacy group co-signed a recommendation for a set of 2030 federal health objectives, encouraging the establishment of dementia-friendly communities and improving the psychological health of caregivers.
These two objectives were overlooked by the federal committee that advises the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on national health and disease prevention, according to the Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease (LEAD) Coalition.
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REVEAL-SCAN study participant Isabel Gurbarg stands in the atrium of the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine. If you are 65 to 80 years old, have a parent or sibling with Alzheimer’s disease and are interested in participating in REVEAL-SCAN at the Penn Memory Center, contact study coordinator Melissa Esparza at 215-662-6093 or melissa.esparza@uphs.upenn.edu.
Isabel Gurbarg wanted to be sure.
More than a decade ago at the Penn Memory Center, then-Director Dr. Steve Arnold had diagnosed her mother with probable Alzheimer’s disease. But the only way to confirm the diagnosis would be through an autopsy procedure, Dr. Arnold told them.
And Gurbarg wanted to be sure.
“Her brain was all filled with amyloid,” Gurbarg recalled. Diagnosis: confirmed.