Post by aggierattler on Nov 22, 2014 11:11:06 GMT -5
A&T finds more room for study of Alzheimer's
BY JOHN NEWSOM
john.newsom@news-record.com
Posted: Saturday, November 22, 2014 3:55 am
GREENSBORO— N.C. A&T's groundbreaking project on Alzheimer's disease has moved into a new home.
The school on Friday officially opened the Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging and Community Health (COAACH) in a university-owned building on Yanceyville Street.
The new space, about 10,000 square feet on the second floor of the Yanceyville Center, will let A&T expand its work battling a disease that has taken a toll on the nation's seniors.
"We have made great strides," said Goldie Byrd, dean of A&T's College of Arts and Sciences and founding director of COAACH. "We have done extraordinary things in this arena ... But we are just at the beginning."
The center evolved from Byrd's research on Alzheimer's, a disease that kills more than 500,000 Americans annually.
The Alzheimer's Association says the disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
Alzheimer's is more prevalent in blacks than whites. One in 10 blacks between ages 65 and 74 has Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
For whites, it's just 3 out of 100.
Researchers have not yet found what causes the disease. There is no cure.
In the past decade, Byrd has led the African-Americans & Alzheimer's Disease research project at A&T. This endeavor explored the genetic causes of Alzheimer's and recruited more than 700 African Americans — something that previous disease searchers have largely failed to do — to take part in this scientific study.
In 2013, Byrd was part of a consortium of scientists who identified a gene variant that doubles the risk of Alzheimer's among older African Americans.
A&T researchers and other staff members assigned to the Alzheimer's project were in cramped quarters in Hines Hall on the A&T campus.
The new quarters on Yanceyville Street will allow the A&T project to expand its community outreach efforts, which are aimed largely at people caring for family members with Alzheimer's.
The COAACH facility has a conference room for its monthly support group meeting for caregivers. There's a computer lab for educational classes and health labs where potential study participants can have their blood drawn and their speech and memory tested.
Staff members are especially excited about a community training lab that looks like a large studio apartment. The living room couches, dining room tables, a small kitchen and bathroom will help caregivers learn to brush, bathe, clean and take care of loved ones with dementia.
"There's a lot of stigma in our community about this disease," said Rosalyn Lang, project manager for COAACH. "We want the center to be a place where people can come and get information and ask questions they might be embarrassed to ask other places."
The center will have six full-time employes, plus interns and graduate students, who will lead workshops and plan the annual conference that attracted nearly 300 caregivers to campus Nov. 1.
A&T expects to name the center's new executive director within the next several weeks.
A $1 million grant from drug maker Merck & Co. helped pay for the facility.
Byrd said representatives from several other universities attended Friday's ceremony to learn what A&T is doing. Byrd said she wants COAACH to help other communities start similar efforts.
"Our work," Byrd said, "has only just begun."
Contact John Newsom at (336) 373-7312 and follow @johnnewsomnr on Twitter.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
What: Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging and Community Health
Where: N.C. A&T's Yanceyville Center, 2105 Yanceyville St., Greensboro
Contact:(888) 248-2808 and info@coaachhealth.org
Website: www.coaachhealth.org
Hours: By appointment only
From the Greensboro News-Record: www.news-record.com/a-t-finds-more-room-for-study-of-alzheimer-s/article_0b1112b7-a473-53e5-b0dc-662be73e16c8.html?mode=print
BY JOHN NEWSOM
john.newsom@news-record.com
Posted: Saturday, November 22, 2014 3:55 am
GREENSBORO— N.C. A&T's groundbreaking project on Alzheimer's disease has moved into a new home.
The school on Friday officially opened the Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging and Community Health (COAACH) in a university-owned building on Yanceyville Street.
The new space, about 10,000 square feet on the second floor of the Yanceyville Center, will let A&T expand its work battling a disease that has taken a toll on the nation's seniors.
"We have made great strides," said Goldie Byrd, dean of A&T's College of Arts and Sciences and founding director of COAACH. "We have done extraordinary things in this arena ... But we are just at the beginning."
The center evolved from Byrd's research on Alzheimer's, a disease that kills more than 500,000 Americans annually.
The Alzheimer's Association says the disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and kills more people than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.
Alzheimer's is more prevalent in blacks than whites. One in 10 blacks between ages 65 and 74 has Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia.
For whites, it's just 3 out of 100.
Researchers have not yet found what causes the disease. There is no cure.
In the past decade, Byrd has led the African-Americans & Alzheimer's Disease research project at A&T. This endeavor explored the genetic causes of Alzheimer's and recruited more than 700 African Americans — something that previous disease searchers have largely failed to do — to take part in this scientific study.
In 2013, Byrd was part of a consortium of scientists who identified a gene variant that doubles the risk of Alzheimer's among older African Americans.
A&T researchers and other staff members assigned to the Alzheimer's project were in cramped quarters in Hines Hall on the A&T campus.
The new quarters on Yanceyville Street will allow the A&T project to expand its community outreach efforts, which are aimed largely at people caring for family members with Alzheimer's.
The COAACH facility has a conference room for its monthly support group meeting for caregivers. There's a computer lab for educational classes and health labs where potential study participants can have their blood drawn and their speech and memory tested.
Staff members are especially excited about a community training lab that looks like a large studio apartment. The living room couches, dining room tables, a small kitchen and bathroom will help caregivers learn to brush, bathe, clean and take care of loved ones with dementia.
"There's a lot of stigma in our community about this disease," said Rosalyn Lang, project manager for COAACH. "We want the center to be a place where people can come and get information and ask questions they might be embarrassed to ask other places."
The center will have six full-time employes, plus interns and graduate students, who will lead workshops and plan the annual conference that attracted nearly 300 caregivers to campus Nov. 1.
A&T expects to name the center's new executive director within the next several weeks.
A $1 million grant from drug maker Merck & Co. helped pay for the facility.
Byrd said representatives from several other universities attended Friday's ceremony to learn what A&T is doing. Byrd said she wants COAACH to help other communities start similar efforts.
"Our work," Byrd said, "has only just begun."
Contact John Newsom at (336) 373-7312 and follow @johnnewsomnr on Twitter.
WANT TO KNOW MORE?
What: Center for Outreach in Alzheimer's, Aging and Community Health
Where: N.C. A&T's Yanceyville Center, 2105 Yanceyville St., Greensboro
Contact:(888) 248-2808 and info@coaachhealth.org
Website: www.coaachhealth.org
Hours: By appointment only
From the Greensboro News-Record: www.news-record.com/a-t-finds-more-room-for-study-of-alzheimer-s/article_0b1112b7-a473-53e5-b0dc-662be73e16c8.html?mode=print
