November is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and the Memory and Aging Program at Butler Hospital, a global leader in Alzheimer’s disease research, is using the occasion to call on Rhode Islanders to help make Alzheimer’s history through its on-going #2020by2020RI campaign. 

The goal of the campaign is to raise the number of participants in its Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry to 2,020 by the start of 2020. The registry matches people who may be willing to participate in research with studies or trials for which they may qualify. Joining does not mean that participants are required to be part of any study, just that they are willing to be contacted if it appears they may be a good match for one. The registry is open to anyone ages 40 to 85 with normal memory or mild memory loss. Those interested can join online at butler.org/ALZregistry, or by calling the Memory and Aging Program at 455-6402. 

“I am very excited about the #2020by2020RI campaign, which will continue to make Rhode Island a major center of activity for worldwide Alzheimer's research,” said Dr. Stephen Salloway, director of the Memory and Aging Program and one of the world’s foremost experts in Alzheimer’s disease research.

“Finding a breakthrough treatment for AD is critical to the health of our population. Its success is dependent on building a large citizen army of willing participants to fight Alzheimer’s through clinical research. Joining Butler's Alzheimer's Prevention Registry is one way to help ring in a future without Alzheimer’s. Growing the pool of people who are willing to participate in research is critical to allowing my team to carry out ground breaking work aimed at preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Salloway. 

Today, 23,000 Rhode Islanders are living with Alzheimer’s or other dementia, and another 53,000 are providing care to a family member or friend who is affected by this devastating disease – and those numbers are projected to grow. It is estimated that the number of Rhode Islanders with Alzheimer’s or other dementia will increase by 17.4 percent by 2025.

Dr. Salloway is the director of neurology and the Memory and Aging Program at Butler Hospital, and is the Martin M. Zucker professor of psychiatry and human behavior and professor of neurology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. In May, Dr. Salloway was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame at the organization’s annual induction ceremony.

To learn more about the Memory and Aging Program, its Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry and current research studies and clinical trials, visit butler.org/memory or call 455-6402.