Las Vegas Alzheimer's Patients Create 2015 Calendar To Relive Old Memories And Create New Ones

Recreating Classic Movie Scenes Help Patients Build Awareness for Spread of Brain Disease

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Dec 10, 2014, 01:52 ET

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 10, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- To help mark the 5^th anniversary of Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, a group of advocates teamed up with patients, volunteers and families living with Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis and multiple system atrophy to create a 2015 calendar of classic movie memories drawn from the favorite movies of patients.

Recreating Classic Movie Scenes Help Patients Build Awareness for Spread of Brain Disease

With the help of Las Vegas-based celebrity Robin Leach and a team of volunteer stylists and makeup artists, patients at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health reenacted classic movie scenes from films like Rocky, The Godfather, Driving Miss Daisy and Casablanca. The calendar was shot by Denise Truscello at venues around Las Vegas, including Caesars Palace and the Luxor Hotel Casino.

All individuals featured in the calendar are patients, caregivers and volunteers who cope with degenerative brain diseases at the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health in Las Vegas. According to clinic doctors, the experience of working on this calendar was not only a well-deserved break from the challenges of managing a brain disease, but helped relive old memories and make new ones for all involved.

"Our patients and volunteers chose some of their favorite special memories to showcase in the calendar- it's both a reminder how valuable memories are, and why we work here every day to help preserve the memories of our loved ones," said Jeffrey Cummings, MD, ScD, director of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

Brain disorders are growing at an astonishing rate. One in every eight adults develops Alzheimer's disease by the age 65, and one in every two by age 85. That puts four million Americans at increased risk. An additional 60,000 are diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and 10,500 diagnosed with multiple sclerosis every year.

Images from the 2015 patient and caregiver calendar are attached. Available for comment and to provide further information are:

Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, named one of America's premier experts on Alzheimer's treatment
Celebrity journalist Robin Leach, creator of the calendar and one of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health's supporters
Patients and caregivers who participated in the 2015 calendar

Further information care be found at www.keepmemoryalive.org/2015calendar

About Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health: Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health provides state-of-the-art care for cognitive disorders and for the family members of those who suffer from them. The physicians and staff at the Center for Brain Health continuously work towards the development of early diagnosis and the advancement of knowledge concerning mild cognitive disorders, which could one day delay or prevent their onset. Patients receive expert diagnosis and treatment at the Center for Brain Health, which offers a multidisciplinary patient-focused approach to diagnosis and treatment, promoting collaboration across all care providers, offering patients a complete continuum of care and infusing education and research into all that it does. The facility, designed by Frank Gehry, houses clinical space, a diagnostic center, neuroimaging rooms, physician offices, laboratories devoted to clinical research and the Keep Memory Alive Event Center. For more information, visit http://www.clevelandclinic.org/brainhealth.

About Keep Memory Alive: Keep Memory Alive, whose mission is to provide enhanced treatment and ultimately cures for patients and their families suffering from neurocognitive disorders, raises awareness and funds in support of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. By supporting Keep Memory Alive and its fight against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, Parkinson's, MSA and memory disorders of all kinds, we can ensure progress towards better treatments and ultimately cures will occur in Las Vegas. For additional information call (702) 263-9797 or visit www.keepmemoryalive.org

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SOURCE Keep Memory Alive