Memory Disorders Center Launch Offers Hope for Patients, Families

CINCINNATI—Patients and families dealing with memory loss issues will gain an important resource with the official opening of the Memory Disorders Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute on Thursday, May 12, at the UC Health Physicians Office in West Chester.

"We’re committed to addressing memory disorders and Alzheimer’s disease with compassionate care that serves the needs of patients and their families in the Greater Cincinnati area,” says Brendan Kelley, MD, the center’s director and an associate professor in the University of Cincinnati (UC) Department of Neurology. 

Kelley’s work is supported by an Endowed Chair in Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Education, which was established in 2008 with a $1.5 million gift from anonymous donors. That endowment has since grown to over $2 million.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is estimated that over 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease, the most common form of dementia among older adults. In addition, Kelley points out, there are more than 100 conditions associated with cognitive decline—including trauma, substance abuse, heredity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, brain tumors and vitamin deficiencies. Many of these conditions are treatable, offering the possibility of substantial improvement in cognitive and behavioral symptoms.

"Through a comprehensive evaluation, the center can differentiate between benign forgetfulness associated with normal aging, mild cognitive impairment and more significant cognitive disturbances such as dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease,” says Kelley.

Kelley, a native of Ohio who trained at Ohio State University, the Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic, is joined by a second behavioral neurologist, Jennifer Rose Molano, MD. Michael Keys, MD, director of senior adult psychiatry at the Lindner Center of HOPE, is another key team member of the Memory Disorders Center.

Patients will be seen at the UC Health physicians offices in West Chester and Clifton. The center’s physicians also have expertise in diagnosing and treating rare cognitive diseases, such as primary progressive aphasia, frontotemporal dementia and autoimmune encephalopathy.

"We take a patient-centered approach that emphasizes the importance of lifestyle modifications and community support in addition to medication management,” says Kelley, who adds that the Memory Disorders Center will partner closely with regional organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio and the Ohio Geriatrics Society.

The launch, for invited guests, begins with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony and an optional tour.

The Memory Disorders Center is one of eight specialty centers within the UC Neuroscience Institute (UCNI), a leading treatment, research and teaching center for complex neurological conditions. UCNI’s team includes more than 100 faculty members from 14 clinical specialties, with additional centers specializing in brain tumors, cerebrovascular disease and stroke, epilepsy, neurosensory disorders, neurotrauma, Parkinson’s disease and movement disorders and multiple sclerosis.