University Medical Center New Orleans (UMCNO) announced the launch of the Healthy Brain Aging Initiative (HBAI), a program designed to address
cognitive health in aging patients. This initiative, known as SCOPE (Strategic Cognitive Outreach and Prevention Effort), will provide comprehensive and multidisciplinary evaluations and treatments across three specialized centers within LCMC Health.
With 92,000 people aged 65 and older living with Alzheimer’s in Louisiana, 207,000 Alzheimer’s cases in the tri-state region (Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas) and with Alzheimer’s prevalence predicted to triple by 2050 in the U.S., LCMC Health developed an initiative featuring a team of neurologists, neuropsychologists, psychometrists, advanced practice providers, social workers, and geriatricians.
The HBAI will work to prevent cognitive decline and dementia, reducing the burden of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias through the composition of three centers:
The Center for Alzheimer’s Prevention provides care for persons free of symptoms but with a greater risk for Alzheimer’s and related dementias (e.g., family history, genetic risk, concussions), or who otherwise strive for superior cognitive performance with aging.
The Center for Memory Disorders provides care for persons with symptoms of memory decline, mild cognitive impairment, or dementia (e.g., Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia, Lewy body dementia, frontotemporal dementia, primary progressive aphasia, posterior cortical atrophy).
The Center for Movement Disorders provides care for persons with symptoms of Parkinsonism (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, multiple system atrophy) or related movement disorders (e.g., essential tremor, dystonia).