MUST READS

A February 21, 2019 The Washington Post article via The Mercury Newslooked at how to find joy, openness, playfulness, wonder, humor, empathy and improvisation within the Alzheimer’s journey, by taking an adaptive approach. According to the article, “Jennifer Carson, director of the newly launched Dementia Engagement, Education and Research program at the University of Nevada at Reno, encourages this kind of engagement. Alzheimer’s can be a liberating event, an opportunity to fly,” she said. “This is in no way to dismiss the pain and suffering that comes from dementia, but to understand that a lot of that pain and suffering comes from the response.”

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A February 21, 2019 UPI article reported that bone marrow transplants of young marrow may help slow the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's disease. Transplantation deactivates microglia, keeping synapses connected and supporting healthy neuron activity. According to the article, “After receiving a bone marrow transplant from 4-month-old mice, a group of 18-month-old mice had higher cognitive ability than mice in the same age that didn't receive transplants from younger counterparts, new researched published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology showed.”

According to a February 20, 2019 New Atlas article, a new study explored the link between brain iron levels and Alzheimer's disease. Researchers examined brain samples from over 200 donors and found a strong correlation between elevated brain iron levels, severe cognitive decline and high amyloid accumulations. According to the article, “…There is no evidence to clearly suggest high brain iron levels actually cause the cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer's. It may just as well be a consequence of the neurodegenerative process.”

CAREGIVING CORNER

Join-in the conversation with Home Instead’s “Remember For Alzheimer's” live caregiver chat, with host Lakelyn Hogan, today on Facebook at 1pm (EST). Today’s topic, “Can I fall out of love with my spouse?” will delve into the complex emotions of caregiving. Send questions ahead-of-time to: [email protected].

A February 20, 2019 Channel 3000 broadcast segment spotlighted a new bipartisan proposal, the Credit for Caregiving Act, which would give a tax credit to family caregivers in Wisconsin. The Act creates a $1,000 non-refundable individual income tax credit for caregivers to a family member who is older than 18. “The caregiver tax credit is a really important recognition of the cost savings that family caregivers provide to the state of Wisconsin. Not everyone knows that Alzheimer's is actually the most expensive disease to care for,” said Kari Paterson of the Alzheimer's Association of South Central Wisconsin.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

A February 20, 2019 Medical Xpress article highlighted work from researchers at the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona, who looked at the link between astrocyte cells in the brain and Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “In this study, researchers studied BDNF [brain-derived neurotrophic factor] generated by astrocytes, a type of star-shaped glial cell in the brain and the spinal cord. Astrocytes are affected by one of the neuroinflammation processes of Alzheimer's, astrogliosis, in which the glial fibrillary astrocytic protein (GFAP) and its coding gene are the most altered.”

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

A February 21, 2019 Michigan Alzheimer’s Disease Center (University of Michigan) article spotlighted the Center’s first-ever mobile site to recruit research participants into UM-MAP (University of Michigan Memory and Aging Project). According to community partner and donor Marcia Haynes, “It took us many years to get everyone here to talk about dementia and understand the importance of research, but we made it happen.” 10 participants were enrolled into the study as a result of their efforts.