November 9, 2007

SIU Med School Co-Sponsors Alzheimer Educational Forum

Alzheimer’s disease is the topic of a public educational forum to be presented this month by the Center for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders (CADRD) at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and the Alzheimer’s Association.  The program will be held from 9 a.m. – noon Saturday, November 17, in the Wedeberg Conference Center at Memorial Medical Center, 701 N. First Street, Springfield.

The program will provide general information about the disease as well as information on services available through SIU’s center and the Alzheimer’s Association.

The sessions begin at 9 a.m. with “How Doctors Diagnose the Dementias:  How do they know it’s Alzheimer’s Disease” by Dr. Don Scott, associate professor of internal medicine and chief of SIU’s general internal medicine and geriatrics division.  The remaining sessions are “Is There a New Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease on the Horizon?” by Dr. Tom Ala, SIU associate professor of neurology and interim director of CADRD, and “When Someone Close to You has Memory Problems” by James Dearing, senior program manager for the Alzheimer’s Association.

The program will conclude with a question and answer session at 11:15 a.m., featuring each of the three presenters.

The forum is free to the public and a continental breakfast will be served.  Parking is available in the visitor lots located east and south of the hospital’s main entrance.  Reservations are requested and can be made by contacting Leslie Randolph, SIU Center for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders, at 217-545-7181 weekdays.

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