Alzheimer's Disease & Memory Disorders Center
Rhode Island Hospital

Alzheimer's and Memory Disorder Research

There is currently no cure for Alzheimer's disease and other degenerative memory disorders, but new treatments are available to help alleviate patients' symptoms and slow progression.

Important and innovative research studies are ongoing and continue to shed new light on these illnesses. We now know that the pathologic changes to the brain from Alzheimer’s disease begin many years, probably decades, before symptoms manifest.

Therefore, current clinical trials are using drugs aimed to slow progression of dementia in the prodromal phase called mild cognitive impairment, and even prevent the disease by treating those at greatest risk before any memory loss has occurred.

Our current research and clinical trials include:

To conduct these major trials the center provides the most advanced facilities to maximize comfort, experience, and safety. Study participants will have access to private examination rooms, two infusion rooms, a waiting area, and a conference room. The on-site laboratory is used to handle research specimens from clinical trials as well as housing the Biospecimens Donation Bank containing blood and spinal samples that are stored and frozen for future research.

A key component to the national efforts to reduce and prevent memory disorder diseases is also heavily reliant on previous areas of study. That is why clinical studies surrounding primary and secondary prevention, insulin and “type 3” diabetes, cognitive screening tests, vascular contributions, and biomarkers and brain imaging studies, among many others, are imperative to Alzheimer’s disease research. At Lifespan the research we do is an important component of our efforts to prevent and lessen the effects of memory loss diseases.

Leadership at the Center

Chuang-Kuo Wu, MD Headshot

Chuang-Kuo Wu, MD

Director, Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders Center

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Lori Daiello PharmD, ScM Headshot

Lori Daiello PharmD, ScM

Senior Research Scientist; Clinical Research Administrator

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Jonathan Drake, MD Headshot

Jonathan Drake, MD

Associate Director, Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center

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