New York awards Upstate Medical $2.35 million for Alzheimer’s efforts

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The New York State Department of Health (DOH) has awarded Upstate Medical University an award of up to $2.35 million over five years to expand its work on diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease.

The DOH award also includes Upstate Medical’s designation as a “center of excellence” for Alzheimer’s disease, the medical school said in a news release.

“The distinction as a center of excellence for Alzheimer’s disease affirms Upstate’s role as a leader in the region in the management of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias,” Dr. Sharon Brangman, medical director of the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease and chief of geriatric medicine at Upstate Medical, said in the release. Brangman is also a SUNY distinguished service professor of medicine at Upstate.

Upstate Medical will use the funding to expand the center’s efforts to diagnose those with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias in the early stages of their illness, Brangman said.

An early diagnosis has advantages that include access to medications that “have been shown” to manage the symptoms of the disease, she added.

“There are many benefits to making an early and accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias,” said Brangman. “For example, patients will have access to new courses of treatment as they become available, may participate in clinical trials, and will be at a stage in their disease where they can have a say in their advanced care planning to address their financial, legal, medical and caregiving needs.”

Brangman and her team will use various strategies to promote early detection of Alzheimer’s or dementia, including outreach to physicians in rural areas of New York, along with educational programs for health professionals and the general public, Upstate Medical said.

Designation as a center of excellence for Alzheimer’s disease means that patients will be provided “integrative, comprehensive and coordinated” medical services for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. And, Upstate Medical will train health-care providers and students on the detection, diagnosis, and treatment of Alzheimer’s or dementia.

In addition, Upstate Medical will serve as a regional resource and referral source, providing “coordinated” delivery of services to Alzheimer’s or dementia patients and their families, which is “essential to allow these individuals to remain in their communities as long as possible,” according to the news release.

Upstate Medical will also collaborate with the region’s Alzheimer’s Association chapters and other social service and health-care providers to promote public and professional education and support for patients and caregivers.

Upstate Medical’s division of geriatrics serves as the clinical site for the center of excellence for Alzheimer’s disease, the medical school said.

The center is located in Suite A at 550 Harrison St. in Syracuse.

In 1988, the program in geriatrics was one of the original recipients of the Central New York Alzheimer’s Disease Assistance Center, which the center of excellence will now replace, Upstate Medical said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com