One of the world’s leading authorities on Alzheimer’s disease was the keynote speaker Feb. 19 at Tallahassee’s 26th Annual Alzheimer’s Education and Training Conference.

The conference, at the Florida State University College of Medicine, offered both professional and caregiver tracks.

Peter Whitehouse, author of “The Myth of Alzheimer’s: What You Aren’t Being Told About Today’s Most Dreaded Diagnosis” (2008), was the keynote speaker.

“No longer can we keep looking at aging persons, however embattled, as somehow ‘diseased’ and ‘other,’” Whitehouse writes on his website (www.themythofalzheimers.com). “Defining brain aging as a disease and then trying to cure it is at its root unscientific and misguided.”

Whitehouse, a physician with a Ph.D. in psychology, trained at Brown and Johns Hopkins universities and is the founder of the University Alzheimer Center (now the University Memory and Aging Center) at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Case Medical Center.

The conference’s primary sponsor was the Alzheimer’s Project. Alice Pomidor, Alzheimer’s Project board member, said one of the event’s strengths is that it offers something for both caregivers and medical professionals.

“Caregivers can bring their questions and learn about all kinds of subjects, from behavior management to medications to the latest research,” said Pomidor, associate professor in the medical school’s Department of Geriatrics. “There’s really nothing else like it in the area that gives caregivers such a wonderful opportunity to learn from professionals, find out about support services, and get some help. For professionals, this conference provides practical tips for clinical care as well as evidence-based medical updates about the management of patients with dementia. There are also many professionals who are involved with a family member or friend suffering from dementia who may need both the professional and caregiver support.”