Excerpt  – “Early diagnosis is so important,” says Dr. John Dougherty, who runs the Memory Clinic at the University of Tennessee’s Cole Neuroscience Center. “The goal is prevention through delay. If we can delay symptoms by five years with medication and exercise, we can reduce the number of sufferers by six- to eight million—[about] the population of metropolitan Atlanta.”

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The cover featured: Sportsman Of The Year: Mike Krzyzewski / Sportswoman Of The Year: Pat Summitt

The two winningest coaches in Division I college basketball history (907 for him, 1,075 for her) have more in common than just extraordinary success. For reaching far beyond their campuses and refusing to be defined by their genders, SI honors them together.

Selected as the 2011 Technology Company of the Year, Medinteract  was cofounded by Andrew Dougherty. Medinteract provides efficient and effective detection of Alzheimer’s disease by their computer based cognitive screening testing technology. Early detection leads to early intervention delaying the impact of the disease. Medinteract is now providing their detection services to a range of medical service providers across the region.

See the full release from Tech2020′s Tennessee Valley Technology Council.

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About Pat Summit Foundation

The Pat Summit Foundation Fund believes no family should have to hear a diagnosis like Pat’s: early onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type.  The Fund will make grants to nonprofits which provide:

1. Education and awareness of Alzheimer’s its onset and treatment,
2. Support services to patients, their families and caregivers,
3. Research to treat, prevent, cure and ultimately eradicate this disease.

About Alzheimer’s Tennessee, Inc

In 1983, a small group of East Tennessee families began to meet informally in an effort to understand and cope with the ravaging effects of Alzheimer’s disease. Together, the group was able to anticipate, confront, and solve seemingly insurmountable problems with a renewed sense of hope, confidence and accomplishment.

Alzheimer’s Tennessee, Inc. began providing services in East Tennessee as a non-profit organization in 1983. Two years later, the group affiliated with the Chicago-based National Alzheimer’s Association and became known as the Alzheimer’s Association, Eastern Tennessee Chapter, Inc. However, it always remained incorporated in the state of Tennessee and governed by a local Board of Directors.

The Eastern Tennessee Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association returned to its original independent status in August 2011 to ensure that more resources support top research and local services for individuals and families struggling with the devastating disease.

About UT Medical Center and the Cole Neuroscience Center

The Cole Neuroscience Center is the only Neurology sub-specialty center of its kind in the region, The Cole Neuroscience Center offers a complete spectrum of care for degenerative neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Movement Disorders, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Epilepsy. Our specialists work together to develop treatment plans that assist the entire family. From access to the latest diagnostic tools and the newest clinical trials, to offering counseling and long-term care options, the Cole Neuroscience Center has so much to offer – especially hope. Each year the Cole Neuroscience Center serves more than 1400 patients with Parkinson’s disease, 2000 with Alzheimer’s disease and numerous others with neurodegenerative diseases.

Dr. John Dougherty, with Cole Neuroscience Center at UT Medical Center, not only talked, he listened as people of all ages shared their stories about life with a loved one struggling with the mind-robbing disease.

Knoxville News Sentinel – Hundreds turn out to hear Alzheimer’s Expert

WATE TV Knoxville, TN – Alzheimer’s Expert Shares His Knowledge at Knoxville Event

WBIR-TV’s Robin Wilhoit interviews Janice Wade-Whitehead & Board member Dr. Monica Crane

Knox News Sentinel interviews Programming Director Linda Johnson about early onset dementia

WBIR-TV (NBC) interviews local family who wants Pat to know she has a bigger team now

WATE-TV (ABC) interviews local woman about her mother’s fight with Alzheimer’s

WASHINGTON, Nov. 4, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Yesterday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued final regulations for implementation of an important provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which will include for the first time an annual wellness benefit for all Medicare beneficiaries beginning January 2011. This Medicare preventive service benefit is significant for the growing number of baby boomers who will soon be reaching the age of Medicare eligibility. It is also particularly important to the Alzheimer’s Association and the more than 5 million Americans it represents because an assessment for the detection of cognitive impairment will be a mandatory part of this annual wellness visit.

Medinteract has long been an advocate for the critical need for regular and early warning screening for Alzheimer’s and dementia. In July, 2010 Medicare began reimbursing physicians for using the Computerized Self Test for cognitive impairment screening in their offices, for those patients presenting with memory concerns. As part of the new regulation it appears that Medicare will not only reimburse for screening of each beneficiary annually, but will require this (or similar) test be performed by their physician.

The Computerized Self Test (CST), a groundbreaking online screen for Alzheimer’s disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI), is one of the only tests available today which screens all six of the cognitive domains, something we now know to be critical for understanding ones level of cognition. With over 98% accuracy (clinical trials to date) the CST distinguishes between impaired and non-impaired persons. The CST also provides a level of cognitive detail the primary care physicians (PCP) have not had available from other tests. Using the CST’s computer-generated results, the PCP can now assess exactly which cognitive domain(s) show impairment, as well as severity of the impairment. Patients can be quickly and accurately categorized according to one of 5 groups: normal, MCI, mild, moderate or severe AD.

Armed with this level of detail the PCP can offer an individualized plan of care to each patient, based on their unique level of cognitive function, and upon retest, can accurately assess the efficacy of the existing treatment and adjust interventions, as necessary. This is a tremendous step forward in changing the face of Alzheimer’s disease, a move Medinteract hopes will radically reduce the estimated 60% of persons with Alzheimer’s who are currently going undiagnosed in the primary care setting, during a pivotal time when existing treatments are most effective.

For more information on the CST, please read our validation study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in April, 2010. For questions or information on integrating the CST into your medical practice please contact us.

“Some people with severe memory problems have a difficult time remembering how to get home. They get lost in the car,” Dr. Dougherty says. “But also other things happen in Alzheimer’s disease. That is, one’s attention can be affected. You might see a dog or a child run across the street and may not be able to react as quickly.”

Dr. Dougherty hopes to start testing his patients in the simulator within the next couple of months.

Lenoir City is hosting the Forget Me Not 5K for Alzheimer’s on Saturday April 17. All proceeds will go toward Dr. Dougherty’s research at UT.

The Alzheimer’s Association is holding a Memory Walk in Knoxville the same day.