Physician, Professor
Neurology
Department: Neurology
I am the medical director of the Center for Cognitive and Memory Disorders at The Ohio State University, a clinical researcher, and am a master clinician (Mazzaferri-Ellison Society of Master Clinicians) regarding diagnosis and management of cognitive issues.
As a cognitive and behavioral neurologist, I specialize in diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's Disease dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal lobar degenerations.
Every patient and family deserves to be informed and educated on their medical issues and potential research opportunities. Patients at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center benefit from new discoveries and scientific advances as we strive to provide you with the best possible care.
I have been selected by my peers as one of the “Best Doctors in America” for the last 21 years in a row. Everything I do in research, education and clinical care is focused on improving the lives of patients and caregivers with cognitive disorders and dementia conditions.
Please note: Not all physicians schedule patients at each listed location.
I have conducted more than 250 cognitive and dementia related multi-center and investigator-initiated clinical trials funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), by foundations, and by the industry in my career of more than 30 years. These studies have utilized neuroimaging, serum and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers, cognitive biomarkers, genetic biomarkers, and cognitive, functional and behavioral scales on mild cognitive impairment, dementia and control subjects. The data from these research subjects who participated in studies at our Ohio State University Memory Disorders Research Center have contributed to over 5,000 research publications.
I am a contributing member of several national research and NIH-supported consortiums including the Alzheimer's Clinical Trials Consortium (ACTC) and the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) group. I have participated in all the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) projects, and I am a member of the steering committee for ADNI. My research center is also designated as one of the funded Lewy Body Dementia Association Research Centers of Excellence, where he currently serves on the clinical management best practices committee.
I have designed and developed both paper and digital versions of the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Examination (SAGE), a cognitive assessment instrument designed for identifying individuals in a practical way with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia from any cause and to be sensitive to changes over time. Comprehensive validation was published in 2010 and it was revalidated in a separate European cohort in 2025. Normative data from a community sample of more than 1,000 individuals was published in 2014. Validation of a tablet-based electronic SAGE (BrainTest) was published in 2017. Longitudinal cohort testing for detection of dementia conversion was published in 2021. Declining SAGE scores of 2-3 points indicated a high risk for eventual dementia and this was noted at least six months earlier than changes in the Mini Mental State Examination. Its use in primary care visits was published in 2024. SAGE is available free online for clinical use (www.sage.osu.edu), and BrainTest is available through EPIC for health care systems and online for individual use (https://braintest.com). SAGE has been downloaded over 4 million times.
One current project is my NIH R01 grant exploring the integration of eSAGE (BrainTest) with electronic medical record data using machine learning for the early detection and monitoring of cognitive impairment in individuals including those underserved. Ongoing studies also include therapeutic trials for those with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer's Disease dementia, frontotemporal dementia, Lewy body disease, behavioral disturbances with dementia, and those at risk for dementia conditions, utilizing medications, gene therapies and devices.
I have studies involved with biofluid banking, genetic testing, and testing for new fluid, imaging and cognitive biomarkers. My future research goals include investigating best practices to collaborate with patients, families and primary care providers to speed up the time from first cognitive complaint to identification of a cognitive issue, diagnosis and then appropriate treatments.
The overall patient satisfaction rating is an average of all patient responses to the six doctor communication related questions shown below from the Clinician and Group Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems survey. For additional information about the patient satisfaction survey, please visit our Patient Satisfaction Survey page.
The comments are submitted by patients and reflect their view and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ohio State Wexner Medical Center.
At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, we support a faculty member’s research and consulting in collaboration with medical device, research and/or drug companies because a faculty member’s expertise can guide important advancements in the practice of medicine and improve patient care. In order to provide effective management of these relationships, the University requires annual disclosures from all faculty members with external interests related to their University responsibilities.
As of 11/3/2025 Douglas Scharre has reported relationships with the companies or entities listed below. If you have questions about the relationships listed below, please ask the faculty member. If you have questions about how these relationships are monitored by The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, please contact our Compliance Office.
Dr Scharre is the type of doctor we would all like to have . Attentive, friendly, knowledgeable, and personable
Good
Always kind , understanding, and never in a rush
No bad experience
He is the very Best
Good
Very caring
The doctor was so wonderful and spent a lot of time with us
Dr Scharre has been very thoughtful and helpful
Good experience
Dr. Scharre Only provides good experiences for his clients. It was a wonderful visit.
Very knowledgeable and relates well to family and patient
Good
Dr. Scharre is simply, the best there is, in every aspect of patient care.
Excellent !
Very attentive, caring, life changing when separated patient while questioning caregiver about patients symptoms so as to not upset the patient out of courtesy and compassion for the both patient and caregiver
Dr.Scharre is the best
First time visit and he made me feel right at ease. Very friendly even while asking questions. Covered a lot of ground discussing my issues
Great job