Participants in the Iowa City/Coralville Memory Walk will register and begin walking at Wickham Elementary School, 601 Oakdale Boulevard, Coralville. In Cedar Rapids, participants will register at Harding Middle School, 4801 Golf Street NE, and begin walking the one- and three-mile routes in Noelridge Park.

Researchers such as Matthew Rizzo, MD, UI professor of neurology, are dedicated to helping people affected by Alzheimer's disease. One of his projects involves the use of a driving simulator to help determine when patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's should stop driving.

"It's important to assess the driving ability of our patients early in the disease process," Rizzo said. "Our research helps us provide families with objective, evidence-based information to help them make what is often a very difficult decision."

The Alzheimer's Association East Central Iowa Chapter is organizing the 2006 Memory Walk in the Iowa City/Coralville and Cedar Rapids areas. Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised more than $200 million nationally to fund research and support programs for those battling Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder that robs patients of their memories.

More details about how you can be a sponsor or participate in the Memory Walk are available on the Alzheimer's Association East Central Iowa Chapter website.

For more information:

Matthew Rizzo, MD

Alzheimer's Association East Central Iowa Chapter

UI Neurosciences

Department of Neurology

Department of Psychiatry