An Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
The Penn Memory Center invites you to join us for a fundraiser on June 14, 2023, at the Philadelphia Horticultural Society (PHS) Pop Up Garden on South Street, 1438 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19146. The evening will honor the resilient families we care for, celebrate the accomplishments of our dedicated clinicians and researchers, and raise dollars to fund expanded research and care.
Announcement from the University of Pennsylvania:
We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our colleague, Murray Grossman, MDCM, EdD, who passed away peacefully at home on April 4, surrounded by his family. Dr. Grossman was highly respected and cherished by his medical school colleagues, clinical faculty, and trainees. He made remarkable contributions to the field of neurology and was a role model for all, embodying the tripartite mission for academic neurology. His impact on the field of neurology was extraordinary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2j99vfkdgg
Patients and doctors alike may be waiting too long to address thinking and memory changes, according to this year’s Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report from the Alzheimer’s Association.
About 54% of Americans experiencing thinking and memory problems have not consulted with a health professional, and 97% of primary care physicians reported that they wait for patients or family members to make them aware of symptoms.
Delaying an assessment and diagnosis will delay care. Delayed care may result in patients missing out on effective therapies. And currently, many drugs in development and two already approved by the FDA for the treatment of Alzheimer’s are for people in the early stages of the disease.
The Association also labeled 20 US states “dementia neurology deserts,” where there is a shortage of dementia specialists. The scarcity of specialists can make it even more difficult for patients to receive an assessment, diagnosis, and care.
Eli Lilly and Company announced this week that solanezumab did not slow the progression of cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology when initiated in individuals with amyloid plaque but no clinical symptoms of the disease, known as the preclinical stage of AD.
Solanezumab only targets soluble amyloid beta. The treatment did not clear plaque or halt accumulation of amyloid in participants treated with the drug in the Anti-Amyloid Treatment in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s disease (A4) Study.
Emily Largent
By Meghan McCarthy
Penn researcher Emily Largent, JD, PhD, RN, was awarded the 2023 Baruch A. Brody Award for her research on supported decision making as cognition declines.
“It was an honor to receive the Brody Award,” said Dr. Largent.
The Baruch A. Brody Award and Lectureship is given by the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy, the Houston Methodist Hospital System, and the Rice University Department of Philosophy in honor of Dr. Baruch Brody.
The recipient is someone who blends legal analysis with empirical research methods to address ethical issues and who exemplifies the values and scholarly excellence of Dr. Brody.
“Dr. Brody was a giant in the field of bioethics due to his ability to blend rigorous analysis with real-world impact,” said Dr. Largent.
Dr. Largent received her accolade and delivered a lecture on her groundbreaking work last month in Houston, Texas.
“Supported decision making may be the ‘just right’ decision making tool for people with marginal capacity,” said Dr. Largent. “Importantly, this process allows individuals with impaired capacity to make their own decisions while also having tailored support.”
Dr. Largent said that she will continue to strive to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families through her research.
By Meghan McCarthy
For Amari, it started with forgetting simple things, like whether he paid a monthly bill or getting lost on the way to the post office.
Then, the forgetting became more frequent.
Sure, he discussed it in his yearly physicals. But his doctor never pressed him to make a formal diagnosis of dementia, so Amari never looked for one.
Years prior, when he developed knee pain, Amari sought guidance from his doctor and ultimately had a knee replacement. Why were the changes in his brain any different?
Stigma.
By Meghan McCarthy
When Brianna Morgan, PhD, CRNP, began interviewing persons with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and their care partners, she was met with vulnerability, honesty, and beauty in their reflections.
At the time, Dr. Morgan was collecting data for her PhD thesis, which explores the experiences of inner strength in persons newly diagnosed with MCI. Inner strength describes an individual’s ability to process and move through challenging circumstances.
To study this, she conducted interviews with nine pairs of people newly diagnosed with MCI and their care partners both together and individually to better understand their definitions of inner strength and experiences after an MCI diagnosis.
“I used a realist methodology, which assumes that everybody’s truth is their own. It’s influenced by their own experiences,” said Dr. Morgan. “From the very beginning, I allowed persons to define their own inner strength.”
While quantitative research methods involve concrete measurements of data collection, Dr. Morgan faced a unique challenge: how to assess these interviews.
So, she turned their words into poetry.
Compiled by Brianna Morgan, MSN, CRNP
By Cait Kearney
Experts debated positron emission tomography (PET) as a suitable surrogate endpoint for clinically meaningful outcomes and accelerated approval of Alzheimer’s drugs at an event held by the Internal Ethics Committee of the Alzheimer’s Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC).
By Cait Kearney and Matt Smith
You’ve heard of Alzheimer’s disease, but what about LATE?
Over 30% of autopsied brains of people older than 80 show the presence of LATE, and 55% of people living with Alzheimer’s disease also have LATE.
“LATE is a unique and highly prevalent brain disease,” said Michael Tran Duong, PhD, University of Pennsylvania researcher and medical student.