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Most patients she sees in her prac-
tice experience memory disorders
or dementia. But Dr. Shatz also
treats patients who have had
strokes, multiple sclerosis,
Parkinson's disease and medical
conditions that affect thinking.

Controller
Craig R. Phipps

Platinum Group:

David Sachs

Rhonna Shatz, M.D., is the
division head of Behavioral •
Neurology at Henry Ford Hospital
in Detroit and a member of the
Henry Ford Medical Group.

"Behavioral neurology has become
a subspecialty of neurology, but it
was in its infancy when I complet-
ed my residency at Henry Ford
Hospital 20 years ago," Dr. Shatz
explains: "I chose to study further
with a Canadian neurologist, as
well as a neuropsychologist at
Henry Ford."

Jewish Renaissance Media

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Meet one of the faces of success

•

Dementia is a loss in two or more
areas of thinking, and for some
people this does not mean memory
loss in the early stages.
Alzheimer's is a chronic disease
before it is a dementia, much like
heart disease exists for years before
a heart attack.

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Dr. Shatz stresses that any inter-
ventions to forestall dementia must
come well before someone recognizes
that they have memory problems.

"Memory loss is common, but it is
not normal," she says. "It is not
inevitable that we lose our ability
to think as we age. We don't under-
stand what causes it, but it is more
complex than just a hereditary
trait.

"We still don't have a cure. But
medication helps the patient to
function better. When treatment is
started early, there is a reduced
severity of decline, reduced behav-
ioral problems and a better quality
of life."

Dr. Shatz emphasizes the impor-
tance of performing mental activities
that have organizational functions,
rather than relying on rote memo-
rization to preserve brain health.
Activities such as playing bridge or
chess, and working crossword puz-
zles, are examples of the things that
require the brain to consider how

For more information or to make an
appointment call I-Boo-HENRYFORD or
visit our Web site www.henryford.com

things relate to
each other.
"There was a
study where
residents of a
nursing home
who had
dementia, but
were function-
al, were taken
on weekly visits
to an art muse-
um," Dr. Shatz. says.

"They were told to talk about the
art. It wasn't important that they
be knowledgeable about art. The
brain can manipulate certain infor-
mation without having to know a
lot about it. It was discovered that
synthesizing that information
made a positive difference in their
daily lives.

"Knowledge is organized along
semantic features. That means you
have to learn and experience new
things, and then put them all
together with other, similar, data for
the brain to process the informa-
tion. It's all about mental exercise.
Keep the branching tree of relation-
ships growing."

In addition to seeing patients,
Dr. Shatz alio is involved in several
research studies at Henry Ford
Hospital. She is currently studying
genetic and vascular risk factors in
African-Americans under a grant
from the National Institutes of
Health. She also is involved in
studies about stroke recovery and a
• new, Web-based tool for dementia
assessment.

Dr. Shatz, an associate professor at
Wayne State University's Institute
of Gerentology, lives in West
Bloomfield with her husband and
their two children. They are affili-
ated with Congregation Adat
Shalom, where she participates in
the physician study group, dealing
with Jewish ethics for doctors. She
is also actively involved in Project
Chessed.

HEALTH SYSTEM

February 16 e 2006

9

