We were thrilled to host Dr. Melissa Armstrong in October as this year’s Carl Rinne Lewy Body Dementia Initiative guest lecturer. This Initiative was created by Tamara Real to honor her husband, Carl Rinne, who lived with Lewy body dementia. This was the fourth annual series of Rinne Lewy Body Dementia Initiative lectures. Dr. Armstrong followed Drs. Galvin, Leverenz, and Boeve, all leaders in the field of Lewy body dementia (LBD). Dr. Armstrong came to us from the University of Florida, where she directs the Mangurian Clinical-Research Headquarters for Lewy body dementia. She also serves on the national Lewy Body Dementia Association’s Scientific Advisory Council.
While here, Dr. Armstrong met with four of our LBD support group facilitators and select support group members for lunch before presenting an incredibly well-received lecture to community members.
The following day, Dr. Armstrong presented a second lecture to medical students at Michigan Medicine as part of the Department of Neurology’s Grand Rounds. Dr. Armstrong addressed the confusing terminology around the Lewy body dementias and why knowing the difference is important. She also presented current research on hospitalizations in LBD, medication suggestions and ones to avoid, and helpful information about in-home resources for physicians to share with families in the clinic setting. Inspired by Dr. Armstrong’s presentation, U-M’s Dr. Praveen Dayalu shared a collection of online resources with his movement disorders colleagues to assist in helping patients and families find appropriate home safety equipment. In his closing remarks, Dr. Henry Paulson stated, “I can’t imagine a better discussion of Lewy body dementia in honor of Carl Rinne. So much of what we do as doctors is not giving medication and this presentation was about just that.” It is clear that this talk was incredibly helpful to all in attendance, and we thank Dr. Armstrong for joining us.
Both presentations can be found here.
