URBAN UPDATE

The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute is taking shape at 9101 W. Sahara Ave., and onlookers are watching in fascination as crews create the distinctive façade of the Frank Gehry-designed building. The structure, which will be a worldwide center for the treatment and prevention of Alzheimer’s and other brain disorders was designed in Germany, built in China, and is being finished on the Union Park site in downtown Las Vegas. The undulating steel canopy on the community center is designed to give the impression of sand dunes, and will be completed early next year.

Preparing for occupancy late this summer or early fall, the building that houses the offices and medical facility acquires its design from a Moroccan village or Adobe cliff dwelling, with a larger footprint on the ground floor. The magnificent interior of the structure is bright, open, airy and cheerful, reflecting the help and hope offered to all who enter its doors. The Institute’s goal is to make knowledge and treatment accessible to all those who need it, and to provide a full-spectrum approach to their care.

“We’re creating a new model of how care is provided,” states Zaven S. Khachaturian, Ph.D., president and CEO of the LRBI. “We’ll be using a team approach, focusing on the social, psychological, spiritual and physical needs of our patients and their families.”

“Up to now Alzheimer’s has only been diagnosed when a patient becomes symptomatic,” Zaven explains. “But by the time the symptoms appear, it’s too late. All we have had to offer is medication and treatment that prolongs the patient’s life, and the duration of effectiveness has been very brief.” The new goal is to transform the traditional neurology clinic to a team approach that goes outside the realm of medicine and embraces a more whole-body and community setting.

With 80 million Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, Nevada and the rest of the country face the challenge of caring for an ever-increasing population suffering from various forms of dementia. “There are people in rural areas of the country who won’t know how to access the help they need,” Zaven says. “So we’re working to create virtual networks around the country and around the world.”

Partnering with the University of Nevada School of Medicine, the new facility has drawn support from influential people like Mohamed Ali, Michael J. Fox, and First Lady Laura Bush. It has attracted top researchers and physicians from all over the United States, as well as support from around the world. A team of researchers from France is already studying its programs.

The Nevada Vital Aging Project—launched by Keep Memory Alive, sister organization of the LRBI—targets people at risk for memory disorders. “Our goal is to study large numbers of people before they get the disease,” Zaven comments. “We want to keep them as vital as possible for as long as possible. We’re not only looking for better treatment, we’re looking for a cure.”

Maureen Peckman, COO of Keep Memory Alive, explains the importance of the control group that LRBI will be studying. “We’ll start with about 500 people,” she says, “but eventually work with thousands. We want to do a complete health workup before any problems arise, then monitor them yearly and compare the data to discover bio-markers that suggest any subtle changes that may not be noticeable yet.” Pinpointing these markers will eventually enable researchers to isolate and prevent specific conditions that predispose people to brain disorders.

By creating virtual networks, the LRBI can offer services to those outside the Las Vegas area and also access talents and abilities from across the country and around the globe. “We will be able to exchange intellectual assets around the world by tapping the very best minds in all related fields,” comments Zaven. Researchers will be able to work in their own labs, getting together in Las Vegas periodically to exchange ideas.

“We’re putting researchers under contract and protocols in place right now,” explains Maureen. “Everything will be in place in about 16 months.”

The bulk of the support for the LRBI comes from Keep Memory Alive and from state and federal grants and research initiatives. “Although they’re two separate entities, we’re the corporate home office, the bricks-and-mortar general administrative organization,” says Maureen. “We’re always looking for people with a desire to support our work and take part in our initiatives.” To contact Keep Memory Alive, call (702) 263-9797, or go to www.keepmemoryalive.org.