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When a person has an increasingly hard time remembering, making decisions, learning, and concentrating, and the difficulty begins to interfere with everyday life, �ٺ���Ƶ specialists provide compassionate, supportive care. Services are available for people with Alzheimer’s disease, their families, and their caregivers.

Long-Term Medical Care

�ٺ���Ƶ doctors work as a team to treat Alzheimer’s disease symptoms, such as changes in memory, mood, or behavior, as they arise. Most people with Alzheimer’s disease visit their care team every few months, depending on the severity of their symptoms.

A person whose symptoms appear to respond well to medication, for example, may follow up with the neurologist every two or three months to discuss fine-tuning the dosages. As the disease progresses, more follow-up visits are usually needed.

Psychotherapy Groups

Coping with a long-term, progressive illness can be upsetting, for both the person with the disease and his or her family members. �ٺ���Ƶ offers psychotherapy for people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families through the Pearl I. Barlow Center for Memory Evaluation and Treatment. Therapy groups are helpful for people with mild symptoms, as well as their caregivers.

Studies suggest these groups may help to alleviate depression and social isolation, enhance coping skills, improve self-esteem, and provide education and mental stimulation.

Caregiver Support and Education

If you’re caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease, it’s important that you receive information about the disease and support as it progresses. �ٺ���Ƶ psychiatrists, psychologists, and licensed clinical social workers can help family members and caregivers to develop coping techniques and management skills to better handle day-to-day care, changes in family dynamics, and decisions about long-term care.

Social Work

People with Alzheimer’s disease and their relatives or caregivers may need help accessing support services, government benefits such as home care services, or disability insurance; applying for Medicaid; or counseling to cope with a diagnosis.

�ٺ���Ƶ doctors can connect people with Alzheimer’s disease and their families to a team of knowledgeable social workers that can address the needs of people with Alzheimer’s—along with their families, caregivers, and doctors—at every stage of the disease. �ٺ���Ƶ specialists can make referrals to community programs or transportation services and provide information on housing options and safety concerns.

Clinical Trials

An early diagnosis may enable a person with Alzheimer’s disease to join a clinical trial, in which scientists test a new or experimental form of treatment to see if it’s effective and for whom it might work best. �ٺ���Ƶ researchers lead multiple clinical studies to develop better treatment options and care for those living with memory impairment.

The at �ٺ���Ƶ’s Silberstein Alzheimer’s Institute is one of 29 Alzheimer’s disease research centers in the United States funded by the National Institute on Aging. Since the 1970s, scientists at �ٺ���Ƶ have led research in aging, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, �ٺ���Ƶ researchers helped to develop many medications for the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease—particularly memantine, the first in a class of medications that block overactive receptors in parts of the brain affecting memory.

In a clinical trial, researchers evaluate new medications, medical devices, or other treatments in strict, scientifically controlled settings. These research studies are required before new therapies can be approved by government agencies, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

�ٺ���Ƶ doctors maintain an active research program dedicated to investigating new diagnostic and treatment strategies for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Our experts can discuss the enrollment process and whether a clinical trial is a potential option.