Dana Foundation Blog

Staying Sharp Program in Winston-Salem, NC

This past Saturday, April 14^th, just over 400 people attended the free Staying Sharp forum in Liverpool, N.Y. The program was a huge success and the audience expressed great appreciation for the access to information about the aging brain. There will be another Staying Sharp event in Winston-Salem, N.C., next Saturday, April 28^th.

Left to right: Marilyn Pinsky, AARP (moderator), and panelists JoAnne Spoto-Decker, Onondaga County Department of Aging and Youth, Sharon Brangman, M.D., Tarakad Ramachandran, M.D., and Nabil Aziz, M.D.

In Liverpool, crowds piled in early for the brain fair at 9 a.m., where they collected helpful materials and talked to local senior service organizations, AARP volunteers, and representatives from the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives, including myself. Following the Brain Fair, professional trainer Gioia Gensini led the packed Holiday Inn Convention Center in a fun Brain Warm-Up, an exercise program to the timeless song “Mama Mia.” After working up a sweat and getting their blood flowing, the audience members were ready to sit and listen to the panel of experts cover topics pertinent to the aging brain: memory loss, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and successful aging. Even after the panel discussion ended, the audience remained engaged as a long line of inquisitive attendees participated in a Q&A with the panel.

Free Staying Sharp Program in Syracuse, NY Area

If you live in the Syracuse, NY area please join us this Saturday, April 14^th for our free Staying Sharp forum. The program will begin at 9 am with an hour-long brain fair, featuring fun and educational activities, quizzes, and more. Following the fair, from 10 am to 12 pm, experts from Upstate Medical University, Crouse Hospital, The Neurological Care Center, and Onondaga County Department of Aging will discuss the aging brain, memory, Alzheimer’s disease, and general brain health. This discussion will lead into an audience Q&A—if you have questions about memory or the brain you’ve always wanted to ask, this is a great opportunity. Finally, the program will conclude with additional hour of the brain fair.

New York Staying Sharp Events in November

Our most recent Staying Sharp session took place last Saturday in New Haven, CT. Despite the impending snow storm, 100 people turned out for the panel discussion and brain fair on Yale’s campus. The panel of experts from the Yale University School of Medicine treated the audience to a presentation on the anatomy of the aging brain and Alzheimer’s disease. The panelists fielded a wide range of questions, from the link between glucose and memory to the potential influence of environmental toxins on the brain. Following the session, a group of Yale neuroscience graduate students hosted a brain fair, which included optical illusions, brain quizzes, demonstrations of the sense and nerve conduction, and brain samples.

After the success of Staying Sharp in New Haven, we are excited for two more upcoming Staying Sharp events in New York City: the first on Saturday, November 12^th and the second on Saturday, November 19^th. The November 12^th event will be geared towards brain health issues affecting the Hispanic community, while the event on the following weekend will address brain health issues that are particularly relevant in the African American and Black communities.

Both events will begin at 10 a.m. with a panel discussion followed by an Q&A session. Then, from 12-1 p.m., we’re hosting another two brain fairs with interactive demonstrations, exhibits, quizzes, and games. If you’re in the New York area, be sure to check out one of these two free events.

The November 12^th Staying Sharp will be held at Hunter College in the Hunter College West Building on the southwest corner 68^th Street & Lexington Avenue. The event on the 19^th will be at Lighthouse International on 111 E. 59^th Street. The events are free and fill up quickly, so please reserve your spot now. For reservations, please call 1-877-926-8300, and for more information, please visit the Staying Sharp website.

--Simon Fischweicher

Staying Sharp Program and Brain Fair in New Haven

If you live in the New Haven, CT area please join us on Saturday, October 29 for the latest in our series of Staying Sharp forums. We will kick off the forum at 10 am with a discussion among neuroscience experts from Yale University School of Medicine on the aging brain, memory, Alzheimer’s disease, brain health, and more.  Following the discussion will be an audience Q&A—if you have a question about memory or the brain you’ve always wanted to ask, this is your chance!

From 12-1:30 we’re hosting a “Brain Fair” with information booths, interactive demonstrations, brain quizzes with prizes, and more.

It’s all free! Refreshments will be served. The event takes place at Yale’s Sheffield-Sterling-Strathcona Hall on Prospect Street. Parking is free on campus. Reservations are recommended as these forums always fill up fast. To reserve your spot for this event please call 1-800-65-BRAIN (1-800-652-7246) or email stayingsharp@dana.org. We hope to see you there!

More details, including parking information, at www.dana.org/stayingsharp.

--Sarah King

Staying Sharp Live Tonight on AARP Live!

Tonight you can watch longtime Dana Alliance member Jack Byrne, Ph.D., a learning and memory specialist, present Staying Sharp on RFD-TV’s AARP Live! The one-hour show is brought to you by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives and its partners AARP and NRTA: AARP’s educator community. Catch it live at 10 pm EDT/9 pm CT, either on television or via a web stream.

Staying Sharp on AARP Live! will feature three segments with one commercial break. In the first segment, RFD-TV host Mark Oppold will talk to AARP State Directors from Wyoming and South Dakota about a recent AARP member poll, which showed that staying sharp was an issue of top importance to seniors. Next, Oppold will talk to Dr. Byrne about the key messages for Staying Sharp: the four factors of a brain healthy lifestyle. Those factors are: increasing mental, physical, and social activity, and minding your numbers, such as weight, cholesterol, and blood pressure. The final segment will be an opportunity for the audience to call in with their questions.

AARP Live! focuses on various topics of interest to Americans ages 50+, including scams, jobs, healthcare, and retirement planning, with a special attention to the needs and wants of the millions of rural residents and landowners, farmers, and ranchers in the United States. Now in its 10^th year of broadcasting, RFD-TV is the nation’s first 24-hour television channel dedicated to servicing the needs and interests of rural America with programming focused on agriculture, equine and rural lifestyle, along with traditional country music and entertainment.

--Laura Reynolds