The Lewy Body Dementia Association (LBDA) has designated Georgetown University Medical Center (GUMC) as a “Research Center of Excellence.”

Announced this week, the LBDA Research Center of Excellence (RCOE) program “aims to establish a clinical trials-ready network of leading institutions who share the common vision of providing the highest level of clinical care over the course of LBD treatment.”

“We welcome the LBDA’s selection of Georgetown University Medical Center as a Research Center of Excellence,” says Edward B. Healton, MD, MPH, executive vice president for health sciences at GUMC and executive dean of its School of Medicine. “The strength of our research and clinical care in neurological diseases, including Lewy body dementia, comes from a dedicated team of collaborative scientists and clinicians working in tandem to find new treatments for this and other debilitating neurologic diseases.”

The RCOE at Georgetown encompasses the Translational Neurotherapeutics Program (TNP). The TNP establishes efficient pathways for investigating potential medicines that can improve, halt, or restore function in neurodegenerative disorders from the bench to the bedside. The TNP optimizes collaborations among basic and preclinical scientists, and neurodegenerative disease specialists at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, the university’s clinical partner committed to clinically focused translational research in addition to care and education.

“Clinical trials with a patient population like LBD’s requires experienced diagnosticians to ensure accurate patient participation,” said Mike Koehler, chief executive officer of LBDA. “This network can share a standardized approach to patient recruitment and data collection for clinical trials.”

LBD is a progressive brain disorder in which Lewy bodies (abnormal deposits of a protein called alpha-synuclein) build up in areas of the brain that regulate behavior, cognition, and movement. It is estimated to affect 1.4 million people in the US, but is often not correctly diagnosed because of its similarity to Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.

“Advances in treatment for Lewy body dementia require a commitment to both academic excellence and the engagement of experts and specialists in movement disorders and neuropsychologists like those here who can properly diagnose this disease,” explains MedStar Georgetown University Hospital President Michael Sachtleben. “It is only through this combination of highly skilled scientists and world-class clinicians such as these, that we’ll be able to alleviate the suffering and bring about new treatments for this disease.”