Saint Luke's Memory Disorders and Behavioral Neurology Center
Memory disorders can be difficult to diagnose, and many have no cure. But with the right experts guiding your diagnosis and care, you can effectively treat and manage symptoms.
Saint Luke’s Memory Disorders and Behavioral Neurology Center brings together a multidisciplinary team that offers:
- Personalized case review and treatment plans—Our team meets monthly to review and discuss the most complex cases. Depending on our recommended treatment plan, you may see a neurologist, neuropsychologist, psychiatrist, or neurosurgeon. In addition, a nurse practitioner and social worker provide an additional level of support and care.
- Specialty neuroimaging—Saint Luke’s uses the latest medical imaging technology, including 3-Tesla MRI, which offers the highest resolution available. Other specialty radiology tests include FDG PET, beta-amyloid PET imaging with NeuraCeq™, and DaTscan™ Spectroscopy.
- Dedicated counseling and support—Psychiatrists and psychologists are a critical part of our team and offer patients and families quick access to their expert care. In addition, our social worker can connect patients and families with resources, including support groups within Saint Luke’s and throughout Kansas City.
- Access to clinical trials—Saint Luke’s Marion Bloch Neuroscience Institute screens patients for active clinical trials, connecting those eligible with leading-edge research and treatments, when possible.
Our team specializes in diagnosing and treating all disorders that affect memory and cognition, including:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD)
- Frontotemporal dementia (FTD)
- Huntington’s disease
- Lewy body dementia
- Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH)
- Parkinson’s disease dementia
- Parkinson’s disease psychosis
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Vascular dementia
Behavioral neurology
Behavioral neurology is a subspecialty field that focuses on patients with disease or injury affecting the brain’s functionality. Behavioral neurologists will often evaluate people with:
- Amnesia
- Agitation
- Aggression
- Emotional lability
- Confusion
- Personality change
- Obsessive-compulsive behavior
- Hyperactivity
- Psychosis
These conditions can be caused by stroke, traumatic brain injury, ADHD, PTSD, various dementias, or neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders.
Behavioral neurologists often work alongside psychiatrists and neuropsychologists to determine the diagnosis and treatment plan.
Who can be helped?
Our center works with two types of patients: those who’ve been told they have dementia but have no clear diagnosis or treatment plan, and patients who simply worry they may be experiencing early signs of memory loss, emotional lability, or cognitive and behavioral changes without established diagnosis.
Our patients are frequently brought in by their concerned family members and friends because of their inability to recognize issues. We encourage every patient to come with a family member, close friend, or confidant who knows the patient intimately and spends sufficient time around him or her to help with the evaluation.