Symposium to Explore Transition from Neural Health to Alzheimer’s Disease

Changes in the brain that occur in normal aging and with Alzheimer’s disease will be the focus of a symposium to be held at the UT Dallas Center for Vital Longevity on Jan. 20.

Fragile Minds: Understanding the Transition from Neural Health to Alzheimer’s Disease is a half-day symposium co-sponsored by the UT Dallas Center for Vital Longevity and the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The keynote speaker for the event is neurologist and Alzheimer’s expert Dr. Reisa Sperling, director of the Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Sperling speak at our symposium,” said Dr. Denise Park, co-director of the Center for Vital Longevity. “Her research on the early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease is internationally recognized and has been tremendously valuable to our own work.  I am sure Dr. Sperling will spark an engaging discussion among attendees interested in understanding how the brain changes with age and developing treatments for this devastating disease.”

Sperling was recently chosen to lead the National Institute on Aging/Alzheimer’s Association working group to develop recommendations for the study of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease. She also oversees a number of clinical trials involving experimental drugs to treat mild forms of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Other scheduled speakers include Dr. Karen Rodrigue, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Vital Longevity, and Dr. Hanzhang Lu, associate professor in the departments of radiology and psychiatry and the Advanced Imaging Research Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

The symposium will take place at the Center for Vital Longevity, located in the Viceroy Building southwest of Love Field Airport, at 1600 Viceroy Drive, in Dallas. Registration for the event is free but requires an RSVP to reserve your space. Please visit vitallongevity.utdallas.edu/symposium or call 972.883.3200 for more information.