Aging & Gerontology

Biography

Mitchell Clionsky, Ph.D., is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist practicing in Western Massachusetts. In his 45-year career Dr. Clionsky has evaluated more than 30,000 older people to determine their diagnosis and has consulted with their doctors and families on how to make important changes in care and lifestyle to improve their prognosis. Along with his physician wife, Emily Clionsky, MD, an internist and psychiatrist, he has written the 2023 book, Dementia Prevention: Using Your Head to Save Your Brain, published by Johns Hopkins University Press. 
For this book, the Drs. Clionsky reviewed a multitude of studies from diverse fields of medical science, including neurology, psychiatry, psychology, cardiology, endocrinology, pulmonology, audiology, sleep medicine and exercise physiology. They have relied on only the most validated findings and ignored the fads and quackery. They have translated this body of work into language that everyone can understand and created a new model of dementia prevention. This model shows that there is no single cause for dementia, but rather a number of risk factors that, together, raise or lower your reduce your risk of losing your brain function as you age.
In this talk, Dr. Clionsky will explain their model and demonstrate how you can use a free Dementia Prevention Checklist from their website (www.BRAINDOC.com) to determine your own dementia risk profile. He will also discuss ways in which health care providers can overcome obstacles to engage their patients in making the changes that will significantly lower than risk now and in the future.