UK HealthCare

"Staying Sharp" Program Offers Free Advice on Healthy Brain Aging

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 16, 2012) — Wondering how to keep your brain sharp as you age?

Interested in how memory works and what you can do to keep yours healthy? The University of Kentucky Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, in conjunction with the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, will host "Staying Sharp: Ask the Experts About Keeping Your Brain Young", a free discussion and question and answer session on the aging brain, memory, and brain health issues. The event is free and open to the public, although registration is required.

"Staying Sharp" will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2012, from 10 a.m. to noon, at the Hyatt Regency at Lexington Center, 401 West High Street, Lexington. To register, participants should call 1-800-65-BRAIN (1-800-652-7246).

The event will feature a panel of experts, led by moderator Linda Van Eldik, UK Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and director of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. Panelists are: Fred Schmitt, UK Department of Neurology and Sanders-Brown Center on Aging; Donna Wilcock, UK Department of Physiology and Sanders-Brown Center on Aging; and Gregory Cooper, Baptist Neurology Center.

Topics to be covered will include: how the brain changes as we age, memory loss, brain diseases, brain disorders and maintaining cognitive function. Experts will discuss the importance of increased mental activity, increased physical activity, increased levels of social engagement and control of vascular risk as key factors in maintaining healthy brain aging.

"This event is exciting because it makes available to the general public all the latest cutting-edge knowledge on healthy brain aging and how everyone can keep their brain young," said Van Eldik.

"Staying Sharp" is presented by the UK Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, in conjunction with the AARP and with funding from the MetLife Foundation.

For more information, e-mail stayingsharp@dana.org. To register call 1-800-65-BRAIN (1-800-652-7246).

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The Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives is a nonprofit organization of more than 300 leading neuroscientists, including ten Nobel laureates. The Dana Alliance is committed to advancing public awareness about the progress and benefits of brain research and to disseminating information on the brain in an understandable and accessible fashion through programs such as Staying Sharp, the international Brain Awareness Week Campaign, and more. Supported entirely by the Dana Foundation, the Dana Alliance does not fund research or make grants. 

“Staying Sharp” is an ongoing initiative created by the Dana Alliance in 1994 and supported with a grant from the MetLife Foundation. The program focuses on understanding how the brain works and maximizing brain function and health, particularly in the second half of life.  The public forums, held in cities across the nation, bring together leading neuroscientists for a dialogue on predetermined topics.  Forums are typically two-hours in length, with moderated panel discussions, followed by audience Q&A session.