Alzheimer’s Research | Hackensack Meridian Health   

Hackensack University Medical Center Participates in Groundbreaking Research in Alzheimer’s Diagnosis and Treatment

New treatments and use of brain PET scans may offer hope to patients and families

The neurologists and geriatricians at Hackensack University Medical Center and the Center for Memory Loss & Brain Health are conducting clinical trials on important new treatment and diagnosis options for Alzheimer’s patients.

“In the Center, it is our goal to offer coordinated interprofessional care to patients in all stages of cognitive impairment, and their care partners, to allow safe community living for extended periods of time,” says Dr. Florian Thomas, Co-Director of the Center & founding chair and professor, department of neurology at Hackensack University Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.

“Early diagnosis and tailored treatment plans are essential for managing dementia and other memory disorders,” says Dr. Manisha Parulekar, Co-Director of the Center and associate professor of internal medicine at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “Our research team provides access for our community to multiple research studies for both diagnosis and treatment for Alzheimer’s dementia.”

Investigators have started enrollment in a groundbreaking clinical trial for ATH-1017, an investigational medication for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. ATH-1017 enhances the HGF/MET system, one of the brain’s repair mechanisms. ATH-1017 may improve brain activity, repair brain connections, reduce stress and inflammation, and rescue brain cells, which may lead to recovery of memory and function.

Hackensack University Medical Center and the Center are also participating in a multicenter clinical trial to study the safety and efficacy of escitalopram, an antidepressant, for the treatment of agitation related to Alzheimer’s disease. This study is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.

A third study will investigate the role of brain PET in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s dementia. The characteristic patterns of glucose metabolism on brain FDG-PET can help differentiate Alzheimer’s disease from other causes of dementia such as frontotemporal dementia and Lewy body dementia.

Hackensack University Medical Center has New Jersey’s best and only nationally ranked Neurology & Neurosurgery programs, and we are proud to contribute to the knowledge of the treatment of this disease by taking part in these groundbreaking clinical trials.

Learn More about top-rated neurology and neurosurgery care happening at Hackensack University Medical Center.

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