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Jericó, Antioquia, Colombia (Credit: Melissa Sanchez A.)

The Colombian region of Antioquia is a 12-hour drive from the border of Panama, but it is in some ways the center of the world of Alzheimer’s disease research.

Antioquia is “genetically isolated” and has a large population carrying a rare gene that increases their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. This makes its residents ideal human models for Alzheimer’s disease, but researchers must first weigh the legal, ethical, and social implications of working with this cohort.

Such was the focus of a presentation made by Penn Memory Center Co-Director Jason Karlawish at Columbia University March 27.

From left: Kelsey Fleming, Megan Fucci, Deirdre MacFarlane, Lauren Tempesta

Megan Fucci, Kelsey Fleming, Deirdre MacFarlane, and Lauren Tempesta have successfully completed their internship in clinical social work at the Penn Memory Center, a final step towards earning their Masters in Social Work degrees from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice. The students had been Penn Aging Concentration Fellows in the program.

“I had the honor and privilege of supervising all four Advanced Year students at the PMC,” said Felicia Greenfield, director of clinical research operations and care programs. “They each brought so much to our center, and it is with mixed emotions that their internship is coming to an end.”

The question was asked a few different times and in a few different ways, but each time the message was essentially the same: How can I prevent Alzheimer’s disease?

Facing a room of dozens of older Philadelphians, Penn Memory Center Co-Director Dr. Jason Karlawish told the crowd that while there are clinical trials at the University of Pennsylvania and across the globe, a miracle drug that will prevent or cure all types of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias is not in sight.

There is myriad data showing that what’s good for the heart — a healthy diet and regular exercise — is good for the brain and may decrease one’s risk of dementia, especially dementia caused by vascular disease, he explained. But we’ve yet to discover a treatment that targets Alzheimer’s disease pathology.

Speaking as part of the Friends in the City Lecture Series, Karlawish encouraged the audience to consider, for example, the impact of self-driving vehicles on aging adults with memory loss. By removing the worry of getting lost traveling to a daughter’s house, a mother can maintain her independence that much longer.

The Pennsylvania Secretary of Aging needs your help to combat Alzheimer’s disease.

Teresa Osborne led a roundtable discussion at a regional Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders Forum Wednesday at Ralston House​.

The forum brought together stakeholders from local communities throughout the Philadelphia area and the surrounding counties to discuss their engagement in, and the progress of, Pennsylvania’s State Plan for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders. The forums are also intended to inspire action by fostering a deeper understanding of Alzheimer’s and the public health crisis it poses. 

Join the Penn Memory Center team as we welcome singer/songwriter Umer Piracha to our next Memory Café, April 21 at Christ Church Neighborhood House.

Piracha’s music is a multilingual blend of Pakistani-folk-inspired songs, performed alongside more traditionally Western tracks. A Pakistani native and a longtime resident of Philadelphia, Piracha infuses his performances with conversation and storytelling to lead his audiences through various musical influences and traditions.

Penn Memory Center Founding Director Christopher M. Clark, MD, (top row, second from right) is added to the Upper Dublin High School Alumni Hall of Fame on March 24, 2017.

The late Christopher M. Clark, MD, founding director of the Penn Memory Center and Upper Dublin High School alumnus, was inducted into his alma mater’s Alumni Hall of Fame March 24.

Though most honored alumni are recognized for athletic accomplishments, Clark was among the first inductees honored in the new category of Medicine, Science and Technology for his outstanding work in the medical profession.

Two researchers called more attention to the personal and social effects of risk-awareness and the expectation of stigma in pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the April edition of The Lancet Psychiatry, a U.K.-based medical journal. 

In an address to the Securities Industry Institute (SII) last month, Dr. Jason Karlawish told an audience of financial service industry professionals that they could be the first to notice a client’s developing cognitive impairment. 

From left: Director for Diversity in Research and Education Tigist Hailu, Research Coordinator Kristin Harkins, Research Coordinator Nayoung Kim, Research Coordinator Arun Pilania, Psychometrist Laura Saad, Assistant Director of Care Programs Alison Lynn, Senior Research Coordinator Martha Combs, Research Coordinator Grace Stockbower, and Research Coordinator Joe Harrison.

On a sunny Saturday morning, March 25, the Penn Memory Center welcomed research participants and study partners to the Inn at Penn for the annual Research Partner Thank You Breakfast.

Early intervention may be the future of Alzheimer’s treatment, according to Newsweek’s recent cover story on the disease. The article called for proactive diagnosis and aggressive preventative treatments. This approach to drug development marks a major departure from the conventional focus, aimed at treating later stages of AD.

“I’m afraid that even by the stage of very mild dementia, you’ve already lost 70 percent of the key neurons in the memory regions of the brain. Ultimately, we need to start treating people before there are symptoms,” Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment, told Newsweek.