News Release: Piedmont Jewish Medical Center 1537 Grand Boulevard Winston-Salem, NC 27157 Website: www.piedmontJMC.com.

Twitter: @piedmonthealth Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PJMC Media Contact: Zoe Croft Phone: (207) 776-5030 Email: croftcz@appstate.edu Sept. 24, 2013

PEIDMONT JEWISH MEDIAL CENTER RECIEVES $1.5 MILLION FOR ALZHIMERS RESEARCH
PJMCS LAURA SMITH NAMED PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR THE EXCERSIZE TRIAL

WINSTON SALEM, N.C. -- Piedmont Jewish Medical Center (PJMC) announced today that it will receive $1.5 million for Alzheimers disease research funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Laura Smith, Ph.D., a cognitive neuroscientist and associate professor of geriatrics and gerontology at Piedmont Jewish, is the principal investigator for the Alzheimers disease exercise trial. We already know that exercise is good for the body, but this study will tell us whether it is also good for the brain, particularly in people with mild memory problems who are at risk of developing dementia," said Smith. PJMC is one of 70 academic medical centers and clinics in the United States and Canada participating in the research project conducted by the Alzheimers Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS). ACDS will be distributing a total of $55 million over the five years of the research project. The Exercise Trial will look at whether supervised aerobic exercise can slow cognitive decline and will test whether aerobic exercise can improve memory and thinking skills and slow brain atrophy. Smith who is a nationally recognized leader in the areas of aerobic exercise and hormone supplementation as treatments for cognitive impairment associated with pre-clinical and early stage Alzheimer's disease is looking to recruit sedentary, older volunteers with mild cognitive impairment to participate in the study. "Exercise is accessible to everyone and has very -more-

few side effects," said Smith. If exercise improves memory and thinking and changes the course of the disease, then it may one day be prescribed by clinicians as a treatment for pre-clinical disease." Founded in 1947, Piedmont Jewish Medical Center is a nationally recognized, private academic medical center and health system. PJMCs mission is to improve the health of the region, state and nation through patient care, research and education. Based in Winston Salem, PMJC offers clinical health systems, a School of Medicine and research institute and a network of affiliated community-based hospitals, physician practices and outpatient services. For more information go to our website at www.piedmontJMC.com or email us at croftcz@appstate.edu ###