Annual Meeting Presents Innovative Alzheimer’s Research

Our Annual Research Meeting on October 28, Innovative Approaches to Alzheimer’s Diagnostics and Research, brought together a dynamic panel of experts including Dr. Peter Davies, Dr. Angela R. Kramer, Terry Fokas, and moderated by Dr. Max Gomez.

Dr. Gomez is an award-winning broadcast journalist who rejoined WCBS-TV as a medical reporter in June 2007 and has served on a host of advisory boards, including the national board of directors for the American Heart Association, Princeton Alumni Weekly, and the Partnership for After School Education. He is also co-author of The Healing Cell: How the Greatest Revolution in Medical History is Changing Your Life, a primer on the number uses of adult stem cells in treating and curing diseases.

Peter Davies, PhD, has been instrumental in developing the currently approved drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease – Aricept, Exelon, and Razodyne. He is now the Director of the Litwin/Zucker Center for Research on Alzheimer’s Disease at Northwell Health’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. A pioneer in the field of Alzheimer’s disease with over 40 years of experience in science and research, he shared his perspective as he noted disappointing results of many major trials and is focusing on researching new treatments and diagnostic tests as there is no effective intervention, medical treatment, or cure for this devastating illness.

Dr. Angela Kamer, DMD, MS, PhD, is Associate Professor in the Department of Periodontology and Implant Dentistry, New York University College of Dentistry, New York. She shared insights into the possible connection between periodontal gum disease and the risk factor for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The main cause of periodontal disease is bacterial plaque which creates an inflammatory response in the gums. Studies coming from her research groups showed that periodontal disease may contribute to an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease and change in cognition. She is published in highly regarded peer reviewed journals and co-edited A Clinician’s Guide to Systemic Effects of Periodontal Diseases.
Terry Fokas, JD, LLM is a product development VP at BioEye Ltd. The firm developed and markets an epilepsy seizure monitoring, detection and reporting application running on Apple Smartwatches. Given the overlap between epileptic seizures and neurodegeneration, BioEye and Overwatch are collaborating on new technologies that utilize ocular biomarkers to detect changes in brain activity.

These new and novel insights and approaches to diagnostic methods are identifying risk factors that go beyond modifying lifestyle habits. Our Annual Meeting is dedicated to bringing you the latest in research and development on a variety of topics.

2020 Lunar New Year Celebration: The Year of the Rat

CaringKind’s Lunar New Year Celebration took place at CaringKind on Friday, January 31. Over ninety people from the New York City Chinese community attended, including people with dementia, caregivers, and volunteers.

The celebration included a presentation, Challenges and Advantages of Dementia Caregivers, by Dr. Jinyu Liu, PhD, Associate Professor of School of Social Work, Columbia University. There was also a demonstration of Calligraphy and Chinese painting, Chinese music played on an erhu (traditional Chinese instrument), songs from the Yue Opera, Tai Chi Fan Dancing, and a “Lucky Raffle.” In addition to the entertainment, the group had a discussion about the meaning of The Year of the Rat and enjoyed delicious Chinese food.

It was a wonderful and glorious experience for everyone that attended.

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