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Sunday, October 15, 2017

Free symposium on aging and dementia has sessions for health industry at UK Nov. 3, general public at Lexington Center Nov. 4

Want to know more about Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia? The seventh annual Markesbery Symposium on Aging and Dementia offers opportunities for people in the health-care industry on Nov. 3 and for the general public on Nov. 4.

The scientific symposium and poster session will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3, in the Pavilion A Auditorium of the University of Kentucky's Albert B. Chandler Hospital.

The community session will be held from 8:30 to noon Saturday, Nov. 4, at the downtown Lexington Convention Center's Bluegrass Ballroom. It will include an "ask the experts" question-and-answer session, and a free continental breakfast.

Both sessions are sponsored by UK's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, but registration for them is separate, at http://www.uky.edu/coa/.

Dr. Linda Van Eldik, director of the center, writes in the Lexington Herald-Leader, "Why do some people stay intellectually sharp into their 90s, while others have memory problems? Is there anything we can learn from their lifestyles that can help everyone age successfully? Typically we focus on who gets dementia and why, but we can learn just as much from the people who don’t get Alzheimer’s." She mentions the two keynote speakers:
▪  Dr. Claudia Kawas of the 90+ Study follows the fastest-growing age group in the U.S.: “the oldest old.” Dr. Kawas appeared in a 2014 “60 Minutes” episode called Living to 90 and Beyond that explored the secrets to a long and happy life.
▪  Rachel Whitmer, a national expert on risk factors for dementia, including obesity and diabetes. Dr. Whitmer was also featured on “60 Minutes” in a 2016 story about an extended family in Colombia with a genetic mutation that causes Alzheimer’s disease.
"Dementia is a disease, not an inevitable part of aging," Van Eldik writes. "There is much you can do to reduce your risk of getting Alzheimer’s or other dementias. "Information at the Markesbery Symposium will empower you to take control of your life and maximize your ability to age successfully."

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