Suffolk Reporter

Over six million older adults in the United States live with dementia, but signs of cognitive impairment often go unnoticed in primary care settings. This is especially true for older Black and Hispanic Americans. Early diagnosis is crucial for effective treatment and safety planning, yet traditional cognitive tests are often lengthy, costly, and culturally biased.

Joe Verghese, MD, chair of the Department of Neurology at the Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook, along with his former team at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, developed 5-Cog. This brief cognitive assessment tool evaluates memory recall, cognition-gait connection, and symbol-picture matching in just five minutes. If issues are detected, 5-Cog triggers electronic health record notifications to provide tailored recommendations to healthcare providers.

The study was recognized as one of the top five research highlights in human health advances by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for 2024.

An NIH-funded study published in June in Nature Medicine tested 5-Cog on 1,200 older adults from disadvantaged neighborhoods in the Bronx. Of these participants, 94 percent identified as Black or Hispanic. Nearly 20 percent received improved dementia care using 5-Cog compared to less than seven percent in a control group. Improvements included diagnoses, specialist referrals, and follow-up assessments.

“We’re hopeful that the findings from this study could promote changes in primary care practice so that more older people with mild cognitive impairment or dementia will benefit from getting diagnosed and treated for their conditions,” Verghese said.

Verghese is a nationally recognized expert in gait and cognition related to aging. He joined RSOM after a distinguished career at Albert Einstein College of Medicine where he founded the Division of Cognitive & Motor Aging and led the Montefiore Einstein Center for the Aging Brain.

He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and secured more than $200 million in research funding from NIH since 2002. His work has earned him several awards including the Beeson Award from the National Institute on Aging.

Upon joining Stony Brook as chair of Neurology, Verghese cited professional ambition and purpose as guiding factors. “The opportunity to expand my leadership roles and make a positive impact was compelling,” he stated.

His wife Anne Felicia Ambrose also joined Stony Brook as chief of a new Division of Neuro-Rehabilitation. “Having my wife by my side and several colleagues from Einstein join us made Stony Brook feel like a homecoming,” Verghese added.

Verghese praised Stony Brook’s leadership for their support: “Dean [Peter] Igarashi and Carol Gomes [CEO of Stony Brook University Hospital] have been incredibly supportive and forward-thinking.” Their goal is to enhance clinical services while developing specialized programs for various neurological conditions.

Stony Brook’s stroke service is noted for its innovation. “The mobile stroke unit is a game-changer," Verghese said. Plans are underway to establish programs such as Cognitive Neurology and neurorehabilitation while recruiting top talent.

Verghese emphasizes integrating clinical practice with education and research: “We’re working to build stronger ties with the medical school...and create nationally recognized research opportunities.”

Community engagement is also important: “We’re focusing on underserved minority populations...to address major disabilities,” he said.

Research remains central to his mission at Stony Brook with projects like "5-cog 3.0" which will include management tools such as dementia navigators. Other studies explore topics like migration's cognitive effects among Indians or "super movers," older adults maintaining youthful walking speeds.

“Our goal is to meet community neurological needs while building meaningful connections,” Verghese concluded. “This is about more than medicine; it’s about making a lasting impact.”