Las Vegas’ Lou Ruvo Center focus of Larry King special on Alzheimer’s

By Jackie Valley

Sunday, May 8, 2011 | 3:18 p.m.

Larry King highlighted Las Vegas’ Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health during his first CNN special since retiring in December.

“Unthinkable: The Alzheimer’s Epidemic,” which aired Saturday night, looked at the brain-deteriorating disease robbing victims of their memories that has become the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

Former President Ronald Reagan became the public face of the disease when, in 1994, he announced he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He died 10 years later.

Every 69 seconds, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, which doesn’t have a known cause or cure, King said during the special. Scientists suspect several brain proteins play a role in the disease.

While looking at efforts under way to combat the disease, King toured the Lou Ruvo Center in downtown Las Vegas with Ron Reagan Jr., who has worked to bring awareness to the disease since his father’s illness and death.

Las Vegas businessman Larry Ruvo spearheaded creation of the $80 million medical facility on Bonneville Avenue after his father, the building’s namesake, died from Alzheimer’s.

Ruvo said the building’s appearance — a curvy blob of stainless steel resembling a brain — is an attention-grabbing gimmick to bring awareness to a disease that he said has long been under the radar.

The United States spends $500 million a year on Alzheimer’s research, which is significantly lower than the amount spent on cancer or HIV, said Dr. Jeffrey Cummings, director of the Lou Ruvo Center.

Health officials worry the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s could triple by 2050 as baby boomers age.

“Everything we are as human beings is controlled by the brain, and that is eroded by Alzheimer’s,” said Cummings, explaining the grave reality of the diagnosis.

To that point, Ruvo said the brain health center purposely eliminated waiting rooms so Alzheimer’s patients don’t have to mingle with those in various stages of the disease.

The Larry King CNN special also featured Las Vegas twins Mollie Miller and Jackie Singer, whose parents received Alzheimer’s diagnoses within six weeks of each other last summer.

“It caught us off guard,” Singer said. “We were so overwhelmed.”

The sisters rotated caring for their parents, who needed constant supervision when their conditions quickly deteriorated. Their mother died in April.

Officials estimate there are 15 million people nationwide acting as unpaid caregivers to loved ones afflicted by Alzheimer’s.

At the Lou Ruvo Center, doctors tested King for his risk of developing Alzheimer’s by giving him a 40-minute brain scan to look for shrinkage, as well as a memory exam. He passed both tests.

Doctors, however, said they are not ready to use those screening methods on a widespread scale.

In the meantime, health officials told King the best prevention is to keep mind and body active — exercise, consume a low-fat diet, eat foods high in antioxidants, do crossword puzzles and attend lectures and plays.

“We don’t know enough,” Cummings said. “We need a lot more research, but we’re really making progress.”