Is it possible to prevent dementia from happening in the first place? That is what a leading neuroscientist at Florida Atlantic University hopes to prove through an innovative approach that defies the notion that “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to battling Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Lewy Body Dementia (LBD), Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other related disorders.
FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine has received a $1 million grant from The Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation for a Dementia Prevention Initiative that uses the latest advances in genetics, biology and the molecular bases of disease. This grant will launch the Comprehensive Center for Brain Health (CCBH) at FAU, which will focus on using a personalized approach and precision medicine to reduce risk.
Developed by James E. Galvin, M.D., M.P.H., a world-renowned neuroscientist, a leading international expert on AD and LBD, and associate dean for clinical research in FAU’s College of Medicine, this program will deliver a personalized prevention plan, tailored to each individual’s risk profile based on their genetic traits, biomarkers (blood, imaging, and electrophysiology), socio-demographics, lifestyle choices, and co-existent medical conditions. The CCBH is one of only a handful of centers in the world focusing on dementia prevention, and the only one that uses Galvin’s novel protocol based on personalized evaluation and prevention plans.
“It is time to abandon generalized approaches to how we address Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia and to usher in a paradigm shift in which we begin to consider neurodegenerative disorders as diseases of a lifetime with opportunities for individualized strategies to build a better brain as we age,” said Phillip Boiselle, M.D., dean of FAU’s College of Medicine. “We are extremely grateful to The Harry T. Mangurian, Jr. Foundation for supporting Dr. Galvin’s highly innovative work, which we believe will alter the cascade of pathologic events occurring in at-risk individuals, thereby reducing the risk or even preventing dementia from developing.”
