Hoag Neurological Specialist to Speak About Alzheimer's at International Conference

Online, July 18, 2012 (Newswire.com) - A leading neurological specialist at the Hoag Neurosciences Institute will speak today at an international conference on Alzheimer's Disease in Canada and, later this month, at a panel discussion on brain disorders in Irvine.

William R. Shankle, M.D., director of the Memory and Cognitive Disorders program at Hoag Neurosciences Institute in Newport Beach, is an expert in Alzheimer's disease and Related Disorders (ADRD). Dr. Shankle advocates preventing and delaying the onset and progression of the disease through risk reduction, early detection, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment and disease management.

Dr. Shankle is making a presentation today at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia.

At the conference, which runs July 14-19, Dr. Shankle will speak on "Orange County Vital Aging Program: A Community-Based Program to Maintain Brain Health and Reduce the Costs of Care for a Population at Risk for Alzheimer's Disease."

Then, on July 30, Dr. Shankle will be one of three panelists discussing the 2012 Global Status of Alzheimer's Research at a presentation at the Orange County Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association, at 17771 Cowan, Suite 200, Irvine.

Dr. Shankle will be joined on that panel by Dean Hartley, PhD, director of science initiatives at the National Alzheimer's Association, and Jim McAleer, president and chief executive of the Orange County chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. The event runs from 5-7 p.m.

The Hoag Neurosciences Institute offers the most comprehensive clinical neurosciences program in Orange County. Dr. Shankle combines more than 20 years of clinical and research experience together with the most current clinical knowledge and technologies to deliver individualized ADRD prevention and treatment.

As director of the Memory and Cognitive Disorders program at Hoag Neurosciences Institute, Dr. Shankle works with and enables primary care physicians to identify and manage an individual's risk factors for ADRD.

Under Dr. Shankle's guidance, the program also provides the support of a comprehensive triage and clinical research team, utilizing the most sensitive cognitive assessment tool to detect the first stage of mild cognitive decline leading to development of Alzheimer's disease, and tailors the best possible prevention and treatment options for each individual.

Alzheimer's currently afflicts one of eight septuagenarians, and annual Medicare spending averages approximately $16,000 per year for someone with the disease.

Alzheimer's first affects the brain's ability to store new memories, and recognition of the disease's early stage is difficult. Normal performance of well-learned tasks such as driving and writing is misleading. Only accurate tests of memory function can suggest a problem.

Brain MR and PET scans, along with a newly approved injected molecule that shows how the disease shackles the brain's nerve cells, together with memory testing, can provide a more specific diagnosis of early Alzheimer's.

Assessing for the earliest stages of the disease, and treating it appropriately, can slow its course by as much as 50 percent, which means that people can lead normal lives much longer and avoid the loss of self- sufficiency and institutionalization.

For more information on Dr. Shankle and the Memory and Cognitive Disorders program at Hoag Neurosciences Institute, visit www.hoag.org/services/neurosciences-institute