UM Memory Program
University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine
Department of Neurology

Contact: Carmen Perez
(305) 243-0184
MemoryProgram@miami.edu

Our Memory Program

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Welcome to the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Memory Program, which draws on the knowledge and experience of a multidisciplinary team of professionals at one of the country’s leading academic medical centers. Our Memory Program includes experienced physicians and researchers in neurology, psychiatry and other specialties.

Because memory problems can have many causes, we take a holistic approach to assessing, diagnosing, treating and managing each individual. We know that every patient is different, and treating memory loss due to stroke requires a different strategy than preserving memory in a person with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

We encourage patients, family members and other caregivers to contact our Memory Program to learn more about assessments, clinical services and research into memory problems. Our physicians also take part in leading-edge clinical trials that may offer new options to appropriate patients.

Please contact us if you would like more information about scheduling an assessment, taking part in a clinical trial, or learning more about our Memory Program.

Clinical Trials

    A Allogeneic Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Infusion Versus Placebo in Patients With Alzheimer’s Disease

    This is a randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of LMSCs (Longeveron Mesenchymal Stem Cells) or placebo in subjects with Alzheimer’s Disease. Following a successful Safety Run-In Phase, a total of twenty-five (25) subjects will be randomized to (2:2:1) to receive low-dose LMSCs, high-dose LMSCs or placebo. After randomization, baseline imaging, and study product infusion, subjects will be followed up at 2, 6, 13, 39 and 52 week post study product infusion. Intention-to-treat study population will be used for the purpose of the endpoint analysis and safety evaluations.

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    A pilot study of ocular microvascular dysfunction and retinal microstructural alteration in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s Disease (AD)

    The purpose of this study is to characterize the eye’s retinal and conjunctival microvascular dysfunction in MCI and AD, and identify their relationship with the eye’s retinal microstructural changes.

    Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Subjects with Agitation Associated with Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type

    This research study investigates the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of brexpiprazole (OPC-34712) on subjects that show evidence of agitation associated with dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. Subjects will either receive the active drug or placebo in a randomized fashion, over the course of 12 weeks. Brexpiprazole is an orally administered dopamine  agonist that may be beneficial in altering agitation and other behavioral symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

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    Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute Cognitive Disorders Clinical and Bio-repository Registry – Collection

    Participants will be enrolled from the University of Miami Memory Disorders Clinic, a collaborative effort between Neurology and Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences. The data bank will collect information on patient demographics, clinical assessments, medical history, familiar risk factors, imaging data, and treatment modalities.

    The objectives of the clinical data bank/ biorepository include:

    • Understanding the demographics and risk factors for dementia and its subtypes that may lead to improvements in patient care.
    • Monitoring of compliance with dementia treatment recommendations, to better understand compliance issues and treatment outcomes.
    • Accumulate a pool of data from which basic and applied research projects related to patients suffering from neurodegenerative and other dementing diseases may evolve.
    • Identify biomarkers that predict the development of Alzheimer’s disease in patients with memory complaints or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and family members of affected patients with AD.

    Impaired retinal microcirculation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

    Impaired retinal microcirculation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease

    Authors:

    Jiang H1,2, Liu Y1,3, Wei Y1,4, Shi Y1, Wright CB5, Sun X2, Rundek T2, Baumel BS2, Landman J2, Wang J1.

    Abstract:

    The goal of this study was to determine the retinal blood flow rate (BFR) and blood flow velocity (BFV) of pre-capillary arterioles and post-capillary venules in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Forty patients (20 AD and 20 MCI) and 21 cognitively normal (CN) controls with a similar age range (± 5 yrs) were recruited. A retinal function imager (RFI) was used to measure BFRs and BFVs of arterioles and venules in the macular region. The thickness of the ganglion cell-inner plexiform layer (GCIPL) was measured using Zeiss Cirrus optical coherence tomography. Macular BFRs in AD group were 2.64 ± 0.20 nl/s (mean ± standard deviation) in arterioles and 2.23 ± 0.19 nl/s in venules, which were significantly lower than in MCI and CN groups (P < 0.05). In addition, BFRs in MCI were lower than in CN in both arterioles and venules (P < 0.05). The BFV of the arterioles was 3.20 ± 1.07 mm/s in AD patients, which was significantly lower than in CN controls (3.91 ± 0.77 mm/s, P = 0.01). The thicknesses of GCIPL in patients with AD and MCI were significantly lower than in CN controls (P < 0.05). Neither BFV nor BFR in arterioles and venules was related to age, GCIPL thickness, mini mental state examination (MMSE) score and disease duration in patients with AD and MCI (P > 0.05). The lower BFR in both arterioles and venules in AD and MCI patients together with the loss of GCIPL were evident, indicating the impairment of the two components in the neurovascular-hemodynamic system, which may play a role in disease progression.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29394263

    1. Department of Ophthalmology, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States of America
    2. Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, Department of Neurology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, United States of America
    3. Department of Ophthalmology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
    4. Zhongshan Ophthalmic Centre, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    5. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States of

    America

    Safety and Efficacy Study of ALZT-OP1 in Subjects With Evidence of Early Alzheimer’s Disease

    This Phase III study is designed as a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study for subjects with evidence of early AD. The study will evaluate safety and tolerability, efficacy as measured by CDR-SB, and will determine if the combination therapy ALZT-OP1 will slow down, arrests, or reverse cognitive and functional decline in an early stage AD population.

    Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of four treatment arms: Group I will consist of ALZT-OP1a (cromolyn) for inhalation, plus an oral placebo tablet; OR the Group II arm, which will consist of ALZT-OP1 combination therapy ALZT-OP1a (cromolyn) for inhalation, plus ALZT-OP1b (ibuprofen) tablet for oral administration; OR to the Group III arm, which will consist of inhaled placebo, plus ALZT-OP1b (ibuprofen) tablet for oral administration; OR to the Group IV placebo arm, which will consist of inhaled placebo plus an oral placebo tablet.

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    Treatment of Psychosis and Agitation in Alzheimer’s Disease

    Symptoms of psychosis or agitation are common in Alzheimer’s disease. These symptoms are associated with distress for the patient, an increased burden for caregivers, more rapid cognitive decline, greater risk of institutionalization and mortality, and increased health care costs. In a recent meta-analysis, caregiver education and behavior modification studies revealed a small to medium effect size in treating agitation in these patients. However, none of these studies were double-blind (difficult to achieve in such studies) and none had a control group that received the same amount of staff time as the intervention group, thereby biasing the results toward the active intervention.

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Research Updates

UHealth Launches Clinical Trial to Treat Alzheimer’s

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Neurologists at UHealth – the University of Miami Health System are starting a clinical trial to treat Alzheimer’s disease — what will be the first in the U.S. to use mesenchymal stem cells. The study, which is designed to determine the safety of this treatment strategy, will be open to patients at UHealth with mild […]

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New Study Helps Hispanic Seniors in Miami Fight Depression with Exercise

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University of Miami Miller School of Medicine psychologist Daniel Jimenez, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, has just kicked off a study that uses exercise and social engagement as a way to stem depression and anxiety among local Hispanic seniors. Using a small army of local health promoters or promotoras de salud, Jimenez […]

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Dietary supplement ‘like a touch of magic’ for Alzheimer’s patients

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Miller School study finds dramatic improvements in cognitive functioning When Rina Torres was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in her 70s, she gradually lost her ability to communicate or recognize family members. Then, she joined a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine study to test if a dietary supplement, aloe polymannose multinutrient complex (APMC), might improve […]

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News and Events

Dr. Ralph L. Sacco Named President-Elect of American Academy of Neurology

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Adding to an already illustrious list of awards and accomplishments, Ralph L. Sacco, M.D., M.S., professor and Chairman of Neurology and Olemberg Family Chair of Neurological Disorders, has been named President-Elect of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN). Sacco was unanimously elected to the two-year position during the AAN’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on […]

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Top UM Neurologist Honored with Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity

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Ralph L. Sacco, M.D., M.S., professor and Chair of Neurology and the Olemberg Family Chair in Neurological Disorders, was one of this year’s recipients of the University of Miami’s coveted 2015 Provost’s Award for Scholarly Activity. UM Executive Vice President and Provost Thomas J. LeBlanc presented the awards at a ceremony Friday on the Coral […]

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Dr. Philip D. Harvey Makes Presentation on Memory at the Vatican

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Philip D. Harvey, Ph.D., Leonard M. Miller Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Miller School, made a presentation at an International Conference on Memory in the Diseased Brain held at Vatican City. The gathering of international memory experts was held under the auspices of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and was focused on […]

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