Dementia Update to be Held Dec. 2 at UAMS

By Ben Boulden

From 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the I. Dodd Wilson Building, near the corner of West Markham Street and Hooper Drive, health care professionals and family caregivers can learn the latest information about dementia care.

For more information and to register, go to: uams.cloud-cme.com.

Among the keynote speakers at the conference are Constantine Lyketsos, M.D., professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland; and Mark Pippenger, M.D., associate clinical professor in the UAMS College of Medicine Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics.

Lyketsos also was the founding director of the Johns Hopkins Neuropsychiatry Service, which he led for over a decade. A world expert in the care and treatment of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, he carried out pioneering work on the epidemiology and treatment of neuropsychiatric features of Alzheimer’s. Lyketsos has developed one of the largest and most successful academic neuropsychiatry programs in the United States with special expertise in dementia and traumatic brain injury.

Pippenger is a behavioral neurologist and sees patients at the Walker Family Memory Center in the Reynolds Institute. He has a special interest in neurological diseases that affect memory, thinking and behavior, including Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. A graduate of the UAMS College of Medicine, he completed a fellowship in behavioral neurology and dementia at the University of California at Los Angeles.

“We are especially excited to have the participation of Dr. Lyketsos at this year’s Dementia Update,” said Jeanne Wei, M.D., Ph.D., director of the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. “Already, the update is establishing a reputation for communicating the latest findings and best practices in dementia care. The respected work and expertise of Dr. Lyketsos and of Dr. Pippenger in their fields is in keeping with an established tradition of excellence at the Reynolds Institute and UAMS.”

In other sessions and presentations at the update, other speakers will cover topics including support services and resources for community members; training in screening and diagnosis for professionals; medications, safety and legal matters; and strategies for handling difficult behaviors.

UAMS is the state’s only health sciences university, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a main campus in Little Rock; a Northwest Arkansas regional campus in Fayetteville; a statewide network of regional campuses; and eight institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, Psychiatric Research Institute, Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging, Translational Research Institute, Institute for Digital Health & Innovation and the Institute for Community Health Innovation. UAMS includes UAMS Health, a statewide health system that encompasses all of UAMS’ clinical enterprise. UAMS is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has 3,275 students, 890 medical residents and fellows, and five dental residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 12,000 employees, including 1,200 physicians who provide care to patients at UAMS, its regional campuses, Arkansas Children’s, the VA Medical Center and Baptist Health. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com. Find us on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube or Instagram.

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