Rotary Program: 3/15/06

Program Chairperson: Frances Justice

Speaker: Naveed Ahmed, M.D., Neurology Spine and Headache Center, PLLC

Naveed Ahmed is a Board Certified Neurologist for Spinal Cord Injury Medicine and is the Director of the Neurology Rehabilitation Program at Pikeville Medical Center. He is also a Clinical Professor and Director of the Neurology Program at the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine. He is a recipient of a Scholarship from the American Academy of Neurology at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York as well as the distinction of the Best Outgoing Resident of the Neurology Department at Mt. Sinai. Naveed also received a Gold Medal in Rheumatology from Madras Medical College in Madras, India. He is a nationally known speaker for several pharmaceutical companies and a fellow Rotarian.

Naveed’s presentation today centers on memory loss and the differences between normal dementia which occurs with aging and the pathology of Alzheimer’s Disease. Dementia is not a specific disease but a set of symptoms that accompany a variety of medical conditions, resulting in mild to moderate memory loss and major changes in the personality and behavior of the patient. Forgetting names, phone numbers, location of things, and directions to specific places may be early signs of dementia and can be caused by such conditions as high fevers, head injuries, reactions to medicines, dehydration, and poor nutrition as well as aging. Alzheimer’s however is a specific disease that results in the progressive deterioration of large numbers of brain cells. It sometimes takes as long as 3 years to make the exact diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, so the key to helping the patient is early recognition, early diagnosis, and early treatment. Alzheimer’s is progressive, incurable, and often not reported until it is already taking its toll on the patient and his/her family. The reason for such delay is that the patient or his/her family may be in denial that the problem is really Alzheimer’s and are in hopes that things will improve. Caregivers and family members are often taxed beyond their own resources and must turn to others for assistance. It was at this point that Naveed introduced just such resources that are available to the families in the area. Deborah Burchett came to the podium to talk to us about the UMWA Health and Retirement Fund and the organization that she and her colleagues represent. They consist of community health nurses, social workers, and other medical personnel that help families and patients get the help they need to cope with the effects of Alzheimer’s Disease. Support groups provide a much-needed service for families, caregivers, and concerned citizens and are now in Pikeville under the supervision of Naveed Ahmed and his staff. Another speaker, Retta Hunt, gave a brief talk about her experiences with her own mother, who has been totally debilitated by Alzheimer’s since 1992. She urged everyone to do anything and everything to help their family members that they suspect may have any signs or symptoms of dementia or Alzheimer’s. The sooner the actions are initiated, she said, the better the outcomes would be for everyone concerned. - JMC