Page 11 - SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL NEWS DEC 2021

UM’s New Boca Raton Center Promotes Brain Health

The University of Miami Miller School was wrong. Over the years that followed, I and they get a very detailed, comprehen-
of Medicine has opened the new watched someone who was vital and sive assessment. At the end of the research
Comprehensive Center for Brain Health, active become progressively more and visit, they get feedback that they can take
which will serve as an important research more disabled from this disease.” back to their own doctor or if they choose
hub for Alzheimer’s, dementia and other “I decided to devote my career to doing to, they can follow up with our clinicians.
memory disorders. Led by UM professor something about it, to try to figure out
of neurology and Center Director Dr. why some people develop these diseases Multicultural Bandwidth
James Galvin, M.D., M.P.H., this new and what we can do to try to treat them, Dr. Galvin says they are also working on
center will focus on research and treat- prevent them or cure them,” he said. tools to improve the recognition and diag-
ment of neurogenerative brain diseases. nosis of dementia and how those tools per-
They will also provide medical care for Measuring Brain Health form in multicultural communities. “We
patients with these diseases. To quantify brain health, Dr. Galvin and will be looking across all groups, and at
What sets the center apart most his team currently employ several meth- people from all walks of life. These popu-
notably is Dr. Galvin’s passion for attend- Dr. Galvin and patient ods, which include The Quick Physical lations include African Americans and
ing to brain health on a preventative Activity Rating, The Lewy Body Afro Caribbeans, Hispanics, people who
basis. “It is time we did more to help Composite Risk Score, Cognitive and live in rural areas, Native Americans and
people protect their brains,” he said. A Quest to Avert Tragedy Leisure Activities Scale, Number-Symbol people in American Samoa” he said. “We
Toward this end, Dr. Galvin and his Treatment and care of patients with Coding Test and The Quick Dementia are really trying to understand not just
team are working to understand risks for Alzheimer’s costs $305 billion annually in Rating System. how we recognize the disease in the major-
developing common age-related neuro- the U.S. Unless there are significant med- Recently, he led a study that established ity individuals, but how to recognize dis-
degenerative diseases such as mild cogni- ical breakthroughs, by 2050 that number a broad and comprehensive measure of ease in all people.
tive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, may skyrocket to $1.1 trillion per year, as brain health, that he named the Resilience
Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body demen- both the per capita incidence of dementia Index (RI). This index goes further than More on the CCBH:
tia, frontol temporal degeneration, vas- grows and baby boomers enter their 80s the current tools by predicting an individ- If you are concerned about your memo-
cular cognitive impairment, and chronic and 90s. ual’s risks of developing an impairment, ry or that of a loved one, consider partici-
traumatic encephalopathy. “The enormous financial burden aside, and drives a personalization plan for opti- pating in our no-cost research evaluations
The center will run trials where people the tragedy these diseases impose on sen- mizing their brain health. These “brain to provide you the answers you seek. A
who have healthy brains and those with iors and their families is played out in one prescriptions” may include specific goals summary can be provided that you can
cognitive and functional impairments out of every three families,” said Dr. for physical activity, cognitive activity, diet, share with your healthcare provider, or
can all participate. Galvin. “Some of this is preventable – per- and even mindfulness practice. you can see one of our clinicians for fol-
“We have developed innovative and haps up to 40% of the risk of developing a “I think there is an increased interest in low-up care and management. We offer
novel tools to create an individual profile degenerative brain disease. It is important thinking about what people could do to innovative research programs including
of brain health risks and can offer what is that we take a multipronged approach to try to prevent diseases from developing,” longitudinal studies, industry-sponsored
tantamount to a personalized program to prevent disease and slow progression, Dr. Galvin said. “People are asking, ‘How clinical trials, innovative investigator-initi-
mitigate risks for each person,” said Dr. while also working to develop better treat- can I build a better brain as I get older?’ ated projects, lifestyle interventions such
Galvin. ments and cures,” Dr. Galvin said. We know that there are things that are as Tai-Chi, ballroom dancing, or yoga, bio-
The new center augments patient care Dr. Galvin was inspired to study the modifiable. I can’t change your age, I can’t marker development, genetic studies, and
and research within the University of aging brain by his own experiences with change your biologic sex, I can’t change much more. We sponsor community sem-
Miami’s Division of Memory Disorders, his grandfather’s decline from Parkinson’s your genes, but there are a bunch of fac- inars. You can become part of the CCBH
the McKnight Brain Center and the and later, dementia. “I grew up in a house tors that seem to provide some protection family by joining our auxiliary or, if inter-
Center for Cognitive Aging and where my grandparents lived upstairs, and against disease.” ested, supporting our research and clinical
Neuroscience. “Collectively, we're all I was very close with my grandpa,” he Having developed the RI, Dr. Galvin programs.
interested in brain health and in having a said. “His Parkinson’s led us into a car plans to roll the program out to people in For more information on the
world without Alzheimer's disease,” said wreck that was fortunately not catastroph- the South Florida area at no cost and later, Comprehensive Center for Brain Health,
Dr. Galvin. ic, but was a wake-up call that something beyond the region. People can participate visit https://umiamibrainhealth.org.

P.O. Box 19268 Plantation FL 33318
954-964-1660

A message from our President

Have a Wonderful and Safe Holiday Season

This is the time of year when we especially enjoy good news! Well, we were treat- of the weather, the potential for infection increases
ed to some great news recently when both the Food and Drug Administration and as people are squeezed closer together. For exam-
the Centers for Disease Control both approved/authorized that the Pfizer-BioNTech ple, “A surge in cases in the Upper Midwest has
and Moderna vaccines can be used to provide booster shots to everyone 18 years some Michigan schools keeping students at home
old and older. This dramatically simplified a confusing puzzle consisting of pieces ahead of Thanksgiving and the military sending
that when put together hopefully led to being eligible to receive the vaccine. medical teams to Minnesota to relieve hospital staff
We have two challenges. First, and I know that you won’t believe this, but there overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients.” [Sun-
are approximately 60 million Americans who are eligible to receive one of the Sentinel, November 19, 2021.] In fact, Vermont’s
COVID-19 vaccines and they haven’t … not one shot/jab! All of the excuses that governor is calling their Legislature back into ses-
we heard initially to excuse bad behavior are false. Bottom line, we need to apply sion with the hopes of passing “a bill giving local Jaime Caldwell
more pressure to encourage vaccination. governments the power to adopt temporary mask
The unvaccinated’s strategy to depend on the natural infection process to instill mandates.” Isn’t that refreshing, actually acknowledging that fighting this virus is”
immunity is likely a wrong strategy. Like, what if you don’t survive the infection? local” and you need to provide local officials with the proven tools to allow them to
Look at the death statistics and note that younger people are now dying in larger take quick and decisive actions.
numbers. In addition, just because you get the virus once doesn’t mean you can’t get Together, both Pfizer and Moderna studied 10,000 adults of all ages “and found
it again. Lasting natural immunity to the virus is still not tested. Maybe it is good, that a booster restored protection against symptomatic infections to about 95% even
maybe not. while the extra-contagious delta variant was surging.” We have the science, and it
Second, as we have seen historically with the flu/influenza viruses, when it gets has produced the answer, we now need to all take responsibility and end this virus.
cold up north, the number of infections increases. As people move indoors because Please, have a safe and restful holiday season! Happy New Year.

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