MUST READS

An April 3, 2019 Fierce Biotech article announced that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos signed onto the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation’s (ADDF) Diagnostic Accelerator “venture philanthropy” project, joining Bill Gates and bringing the funding to-date to almost $50 million. ADDF will soon name its first grantees and has begun taking round two applications, focused on fast-tracking digital tools. “The interest from the philanthropic as well as the scientific community has been tremendous,” said ADDF lead Howard Fillit. Also covered by EurekAlert!.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE  

An April 3, 2019 New Atlas article reported that scientists at the University of Minnesota developed the the “See-Shell” 3D-printed transparent skull, which allows them to see into the heads of mice to observe the effects of disease and brain injuries. The goal is to gain a clearer picture of how activity in one part of brain impacts other parts. According to the article, “What's particularly promising about all this is that, according to the researchers, mouse brains have a lot of similarities to human brains. Meaning that this could prove an invaluable tool in studying degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, or simply the effects of aging.”

An April 3, 2019 Fierce Biotech article offered new insights into the role of microglial phagocytosis, which is  fast becoming a popular research subject. Stanford University scientists, among others, are studying its link to cognition and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, because of its function cleaning-up debris such as damaged neurons and protein plaques. According to the article, “[Senior study author Tony] Wyss-Coray and colleagues screened nearly 3,000 genes that are currently targetable with drugs for clues as to which ones might contribute to age-related decline in microglial phagocytosis… Both experiments pointed to a single target: CD22.”

BRAIN HEALTH 

An April 3, 2019 Chicago Magazine article profiled Maria Carillo (Alzheimer’s Association) and her routine for staying brain and body healthy. She exercises religiously, eats well, including intermittent fasting, and stays mentally and socially active. “I keep chocolate in my office. It serves two purposes: One is to make sure I stay strong against temptation; I’ll have one piece a day, if that. Second, it ensures people come by and say hi,” said Carillo.

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Women’s Brain Health Initiative presents “Healthy Bodies Healthy Minds” panel event and charitable evening. The theme is “protecting ourselves against dementia, heart disease and cancer” in ways that are unique to women. April 29, 2019 in Toronto. Purchase tickets here.