Faculty
Brian Ott
, MD
Professor:
Neurology
Phone: +1 401 444-6440
BOtt@lifespan.org
Read Brian Ott's full Faculty Research Profile.
Research Interests
My research focuses on developing new and effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease as well as studying the cognitive and behavioral disturbances seen in mild cognitive impairment and early dementia. Our center is a major national site for clinical trials of experimental drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Biography
EDUCATION
1971-1975 B.S., Biology; Phi Beta Kappa
Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
1975-1979 M.D.; Arthur Krieger Memorial Prize in Neurology
Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA
1979-1982 Internal Medicine Residency, Roger Williams Hospital
Brown Medical School, Providence, R.I.
1982-1985 Neurology Residency, Longwood Hospitals Program
Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1982 American Board of Internal Medicine, Certificate
1982-1985 Clinical Fellow in Neurology, Harvard University
Medical School
1987 American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology,
Certificate
1989-1996 Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of
Clinical Neurosciences, Brown Medical School
1990-1991 Surdna Foundation Fellowship, Brown University Center
for Gerontology and Health Care Research
1991- Faculty Associate, Brown University Center for
Gerontology and Health Care Research
1991- Director of the Alzheimer's Disease and Memory
Disorders Center
Roger Williams Medical Center (1991-1996)
Memorial Hospital of RI (1996-2005)
Rhode Island Hospital (2005- )
1993-1999 Board of Directors, Alzheimer's Association, Rhode
Island Chapter
-- 1995-1999 President
1994 Geriatric Medicine Added Qualifications, American
Board of Internal Medicine, Certificate
1996-2002 Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of
Clinical Neurosciences, Brown Medical School
1996-2005 Associate Chief of Neurology, Memorial Hospital of
Rhode Island
1998- Faculty member, Brown University Center for Primary
Care and Prevention
2000- Faculty member, Brown University Brain Science Program
2002- Professor of Medicine, Department of Clinical
Neurosciences, Brown Medical School
Interests
Alzheimer's disease is one of the most important health problems facing our aging population today. The cognitive decline and behavioral problems posed by Alzheimer's disease and related dementia disorders produce not only substantial morbidity and mortality for the affected patients, but also a major socioeconomic burden for family caregivers and the community at large.
Mild cognitive impairment is increasingly recognized as a prodrome to dementia, usually of the Alzheimer type. A major emphasis of our research is to define the cognitive and behavioral changes that occur during the prodromal stage of dementia called mild cognitive impairment. We are a site for the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, a multicenter study funded by NIH, which seeks to define the earliest physical changes in the brain of persons with Alzheimer's disease using advanced neuroimaging techniques.
Among the many important behavioral problems seen in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease is driving impairment. Currently we are examining the longitudinal effects of dementia on driving abilities in the elderly, using naturalistic recording techniques, in the hopes of developing a computerized screening test for hazardous driving due to such cognitive impairment.
Our research also focuses on developing new and effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease. Our center is a major site for multicenter clinical trials of experimental drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, including studies that led to the approval of tacrine and donepezil, the first two medications approved for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, and memantine, the latest medication approved for treatment. We are studying the long term effects of anti-dementia treatments in the institutional setting, and have reported on the effect of estrogen therapy as well as the reduced mortality seen in nursing home residents treated with cholinesterase inhibitors.