Frontiers of Science Lecture Series to address Alzheimer’s disease Oct. 8 at Syracuse University

Frontiers of Science Lecture Series to address Alzheimer’s disease Oct. 8 at Syracuse UniversityOctober 01, 2002Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

Sharon A. Brangman, M.D., associate professor of medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University, will present “Where Did I Put Those Car Keys? The Science of Alzheimer’s Disease” at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 8 in Syracuse University’s College of Law Grant Auditorium. The discussion, sponsored by the Frontiers of Science Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.

Approximately 4 million Americans have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, and the number is expected to increase in the coming years as the generation of Baby Boomers enters their retiring years. Once thought to be a natural consequence of old age, memory loss is no longer considered to be normal. Alzheimer’s disease is particularly devastating, since it leads to the unraveling of all the functions and experiences that make each one of us a unique individual.

Brangman will describe the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease and discuss the information and tools physicians use to make a diagnosis. Current treatment options will also be discussed with an emphasis on how advances in research over the last 10 years have improved the medical profession’s ability to fight this disease.

The Frontiers of Science Lecture Series is sponsored by SU’s departments of Science Teaching, Biology, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics and Physics in The College of Arts and Sciences, the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, the School of Education, the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry and several community organizations. The series is designed to increase public awareness of advances in science and to stimulate thought and discussion about the moral, ethical and societal implications of the advances.