USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Congratulations to The Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s (YMAA) - winner of the LA2050 Grant for their YouthCare program! YouthCare is an intergenerational respite and memory care program which aims to help family caregivers reduce stress, address social isolation for people with dementia, and prepare students for careers in aging. YMAA is an UsAgainstAlzheimer’s coalition partner.

An April 29, 2019 Salud America! article by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Jason Resendez and Stephanie Monroe, LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s and AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s Leads, respectively, reflected on challenges, disparities and injustices in the U.S. healthcare system that people of color face, including social determinants. They draw inspiration from the Village HeartBEAT program in North Carolina, assisting more than 20,000 residents to access health resources and social services to reduce cardiovascular risk. According to the article, “This progress demonstrates the importance of taking a comprehensive approach to addressing pressing health challenges. It also provides an example of how we must address Alzheimer’s disease, one of the most complex health challenges our nation faces.”

MUST READS

A June 4, 2019 The Mercury News article reported that in 2015, researchers found that Pfizer’s rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel appeared to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 64 percent. Despite these promising results, Pfizer did not make the data public and opted against further investigation of the drug. According to the article, “Drug companies frequently have been pilloried for not fully disclosing negative side effects of their drugs. What happens when the opposite is the case? What obligation does a company have to spread potentially beneficial information about a drug, especially when the benefits in question could improve the outlook for treating Alzheimer’s, a disease that afflicts at least 500,000 new patients per year?”Also covered by Kaiser Health News.

ALZHEIMER'S IN THE MEDIA

A June 4, 2019 MediaPost article spotlighted the new “Our Stories” public awareness campaign, drawing attention to Alzheimer’s disease. The campaign features real people with AD, and the defining moment they knew something was wrong. According to the article, “The Ad Council aligned with the community for this particular campaign due to the agency’s long-standing multicultural expertise. The campaign has a focus on Hispanic and African-Americans because outbreaks of the disease are higher among those groups, which typically get diagnosed later.” Also covered by Associations Now.

DISPARITIES SPOTLIGHT

A June 3, 2019 Florida State University News article highlighted an upcoming African-American Alzheimer’s Caregiver Training and Support Project conference. This free event will celebrate caregivers, and offer new ideas and support for elder care professionals, future caregivers and all who are interested. “This is the first of what we hope will be annual conferences. The need for culturally sensitive caregiver training is a major goal of Florida’s Area Agencies on Aging,” said Lisa Bretz of Advantage Aging Solutions, a conference sponsor. Register here.