Ohio is getting its first Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center that will help advance research, promote education of the disease and improve the timely diagnosis of the disease.
The Cleveland Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will be a part of the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers of Excellence, which are around the country. The new multi-institutional center will bring top researchers and clinicians from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Clinic, Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, the MetroHealth System and University Hospitals. The Center is being established with a $4.23M grant from the National Institute on Aging.
Dr. James Leverenz, director of Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, said, “The Cleveland Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center will bring together the considerable expertise from the Northeast Ohio medical and academic communities to focus on one of the largest health care crises facing our country and the state of Ohio.”
“The center will create a robust infrastructure to expedite research to better understand and treat Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. As a multi-institution collaboration with a large patient population and deep expertise in dementia research and treatment, we are uniquely positioned to be a high-impact center.”
In Ohio, 220,000 individuals live with Alzheimer’s disease. Ohio is the only state without a state Alzheimer’s plan, although Senate Bill 24 calls for the establishment of an Alzheimer’s and Related Dementias Task Force to develop Ohio’s first ever plan. Nationwide, 5.8 Million people live with Alzheimer’s disease.
Eric VanVlymen, Executive Director of the Alzheimer’s Association Miami Valley Chapter and Region 10, said, “We have to improve accuracy and timeliness of diagnosis of this disease. With over 220,000 people in Ohio living with the disease, we know that 100,000 aren’t even diagnosed. We know that Alzheimer’s is going to double in the next 25-30 years. As the most expensive disease in America, we have to learn how to diagnose better.”
According to the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers:
- Help with obtaining diagnosis and medical management
- Provide information about the disease, services, and resources
- Provide opportunities for volunteers to participate in clinical trials and studies and patient registries
- Offer support groups and other special programs for volunteers and their families
The particular areas of focus for the Cleveland Research Center will be atypical Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy Body dementia, healthy individuals at risk for developing dementia and underserved populations.
Dr. Nina Silverberg, Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Centers Program at the National Institute on Aging, NIH, said, “We are pleased to welcome the Cleveland Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center to the ADRC Network. They bring many important and novel research areas into the forefront of research on Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease-related dementias (AD/ADRD), including a focus on rapidly progressive AD as well as connection to the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center.”
Alicia Reale Cooney, Sr. Manager, Corporate Communications for the Cleveland Clinic, said the Research Center expects to be operational in a few weeks since it is a virtual center. To learn more about the Cleveland Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, contact cadrc@case.edu or 1-833-311- ADRC (2372).
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