Jewish Health System base for Alzheimer’s study

Alzheimer’s Awareness Month is approaching in November and a Miami healthcare center is on the frontlines of the battle, conducting trials on the effectiveness of an antidepressant in combating agitation that accompanies the disease.

A study led by Johns Hopkins Medicine and funded through a grant from the National Institutes on Aging is taking place at Miami Jewish Health Systems MIND Institute. The center is actively seeking participants for the trial who will gain access to a potential treatment for agitation resulting from Alzheimer’s disease and receive medical care free of cost.

Dr. Marc Agronin, a geriatric psychiatrist who has worked with Miami Jewish Health for over 20 years, is the principal investigator of the study. He is chief medical officer at the Frank C. and Lynn Scaduto MIND Institute, a center for memory and neurocognitive treatment.

“A number of years ago, we joined the multicenter study called S-CitAD, which is looking at treating agitation in individuals with Alzheimer’s disease using Escitalopram versus a placebo,” Dr. Agronin said.

Escitalopram is used to manage and treat major depressive and generalized anxiety disorders. The study’s goal is to see if the pill can safely and effectively reduce the symptoms of agitation and aggression in people with Alzheimer’s.

“There are many different medications that are used to treat agitation, but it’s important to establish more data to show their effectiveness and safety.

The point of the study is to look at a popular medication used for depression and anxiety and to assess how well it works for agitation,” Dr. Agronin explained.

Miami-Dade County has the nation’s highest percentage of residents living with Alzheimer’s, according to a 2020 study published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia. There are about 460,000 people over age 65 in Miami and an estimated 16.6%, or 77,000 people, have the disease.

Alzheimer’s affects multiple regions of the brain, several of which have to do with the regulation of mood and behavior. When these areas get damaged throughout the course of the disease, an individual might have less control over behavior and the result can be agitation.

“Agitation can take many different forms. It can be verbal, such as someone screaming, yelling or using profanities. It can involve physical aggression, such as hitting, kicking or damaging objects. It can be seen with restless or inappropriate behaviors,” said Dr. Agronin.

“It causes a great deal of distress, both to the affected person and to caregivers and others around them. My role as a geriatric psychiatrist is to help diagnose and treat individuals with agitation. It really is a form of suffering. This study offers one approach, and it’s helping us to expand our knowledge on what treatments will be the most effective for agitation,” he continued.

Dr. Agronin stressed that agitation should never be ignored in patients with Alzheimer’s as it poses safety issues and can worsen the progression of the disease. There may also be underlying medical or psychiatric issues that need to be addressed.

“It speaks to the importance of getting an assessment. This is one of the major treatments we provide at MIND Institute, whether in a clinical trial or not,” said Dr. Agronin.

Miami Jewish Health says it embraces a unique philosophy, EmpathiCare, which utilizes a personal approach with a focus on empathy designed to help deliver high-quality clinical care.

For seven years, the center has been dedicated to developing this care model focused on fostering a deeper level of connection. The team consists of over 1,200 physicians, advanced practice RNs, nurses, caregivers and support staff trained in EmpathiCare.

To further its goals, Miami Jewish Health is developing an EmpathiCare-based village for individuals with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

“We’re working on innovative ways to help people with neurocognitive disorders. In general, we provide a whole array of services for people who are aging. Our EmpathiCare project is just one of those that we’re working on, thinking of ways in the post-covid environment to expand our mission,” said Dr. Agronin.

Persons interested in participating in the trials can call the MIND Institute at (305) 514-8652 or visit www.adtrial.org.