USA2 SPOTLIGHT

An April 29, 2019 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s blog post by UsA2’s Brain Health Partnership's Executive Director Kelly O'Brien tackled the idea of fundamentally changing how we approach brain health, and creating an "optimal system of care." According to O'Brien, “Our vision is one in which people and providers understand the importance of brain health in relation to overall health and are proactive in taking steps to maximize our cognitive ability. This [white] paper outlines a vision of what’s possible: a future system in which quality brain health services are widely available and regularly delivered to empowered people, patients, and providers. We pair this vision with concrete action steps we can take to make this future system a reality.” Read UsA2’s full paper, “Creating an Optimal System of Brain Health Care in the United States” here.

An April 26, 2019 Technical.ly DC article highlighted MemoryWell, which raised a $1 million seed round with participation from UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Chairman George Vradenburg. MemoryWell employs professional writers who interview seniors and their families and relay that information, provided in story form, to senior living communities and home care providers to increase empathy, in place of lengthy intake questionnaires. The funds will help improve the company’s artificial intelligence and machine learning tech, expand the team, and improve the core product and services.

YOUTH FOCUS

An April 26, 2019 ABC 7 NY broadcast video spotlighted Hailey Richman, the 12 year-old Alzheimer’s advocate who is inspiring kid caregivers across the country. Her grandmother is living with AD, and her grandfather died from it, so she provides specially-made jigsaw puzzles for caregiving facilities through “Puzzles to Remember.” She also created “Puzzle Time,” which connects people with Alzheimer's with young volunteers. “I want all kids to know that, don't think just because you're a kid that you can't make a difference,” said Hailey.

ALZ TECH

An April 26, 2019 UMaine News article reported the issuance of a patent for the SleepMove monitoring system, a device that detects brain injury by measuring sleep movement patterns, and has the potential to detect early symptoms of MCI and Alzheimer’s Disease. The system is a fitted mattress sheet with sensors, to be used in a person’s home as opposed to a clinic, that gathers information about sleep-wake and respiratory patterns. According to the article, “Through the funding they have received and the licensing opportunity, their next steps are to complete the ongoing clinical sleep study to test this technology. The results from the home sleep studies on early Alzheimer’s will allow them to then seek approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The impact of this project reaches beyond Alzheimer’s research.”

FINANCES

An April 28, 2019 MarketWatch article focused on the future for Biogen, which says it will forge forward with three tau-targeted therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The company’s stocks plunged almost 30% after abandoning its aducanumab trials last month.