Brown University Alzheimer’s Study May Lead to Earlier Detection, Prevention
By: Tim Studebaker
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PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Rhode Island is at the forefront of the fight against Alzheimer’s. Butler Hospital and Brown University are participating in a three year, worldwide Alzheimer’s study.
Dr. Stephen Salloway, Butler Hospital’s Director of Neurology in the Memory & Aging Program says, “We’re identifying people who are at risk for developing Alzheimer’s and trying to prevent them from having memory loss or delaying it if possible.”
On Monday, the very first volunteer in the world for this study participated right here in Rhode Island. Doctors use an eye exam to look for Alzheimer’s risk.
Salloway says, “We found out that amyloid, which is a protein that builds up in plaques in the brain in Alzheimer’s, also builds up in the retina of the eye.”
Dr. Jessica Alber, Cognitive Neuroscientist at Butler Hospital is the one that performs the exams. Alber says, “The retina is actually an extension of our nervous system; of our brain. There are the same types of cells in your retina as there are in your brain.”
The hope is to use the eye exam to detect the risk for Alzheimer’s before patients develop symptoms.
Salloway says, “We know that the changes in the brain, the buildup of plaques and another protein called tangles made of tau protein occur ten to twenty years before memory loss.”
They also hope to test a drug to reduce the risk of developing the disease.
Alber says, “Rhode Islanders have been extremely altruistic and generous with their time in volunteering for these studies. We need a citizen army to fight this disease.”
They are still actively looking for volunteers to be a part of this study and other studies. To learn more about the studies plus their Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry, you can visit their website: www.butler.org/memory
©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2017
