The Alzheimer's Biomarker Revolution: How it Will Transform the Diagnosis and Management of Alzheimer's Disease

Available as a webinar or in-person event.

MemoryCare and MAHEC welcome internationally recognized speaker, Dr. Jason Karlawish, to Asheville on Thursday evening, September 23rd, from 5:30 - 7:00 pm. Dr. Karlawish is a dementia expert, geriatrician, bioethicist, researcher, writer, and professor at Penn Memory Center in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Karlawish will discuss the advances in the rapidly evolving field of dementia bio-markers on the diagnosis and management of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of disabling progressive cognitive impairment in older adults, affecting one in nine people over 65 and impacting over 11.2 million family caregivers in the U.S. Alzheimer’s disease is now understood as a continuum of pathologic changes that begin 10 – 20 years prior to symptom onset. Advances in biomarker research (Abeta 42, phospho-tau, imaging scan evidence of neurodegeneration), as well as genetic risk markers are allowing researchers to study potentially therapeutic agents in pre-clinical and early symptomatic stages when preservation of brain function might be most effective.

Dr. Karlawish will update clinicians on the role of biomarkers in dementia diagnosis and monitoring so providers may engage in thoughtful and informed conversation with patients and their families around the risk and benefits of such testing in relation to personal value systems. Providers will gain understanding on biomarkers potential utility in confirming a suspected diagnosis and strategies to assist with addressing considerations and questions regarding defining dementia risk through genetic and biomarker testing after a diagnosis in the family.

This project is supported by funds from the Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under grant number # 2U1QHP28734 Carolina Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by the BHPr, HRSA, DHHS or the U.S. Government. The Center for Aging and Health, Carolina Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program also provided support for this activity.