MUST READS

An October 23, 2018 USA Today article revealed that trailblazing retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announced she is ‘in the early stages of what is likely Alzheimer's disease.’ She retired at age 75 to care for her husband who had AD. According to O'Connor, “While the final chapter of my life with dementia may be trying, nothing has diminished my gratitude and deep appreciation for the countless blessings in my life. How fortunate I feel to be an American and to have been presented with the remarkable opportunities available to the citizens of our country. As a young cowgirl from the Arizona desert, I never could have imagined that one day I would become the first woman justice on the U.S. Supreme Court." Also covered by Reuters, WSAW-TV, and others.

According to an October 23, 2018 McKnight’s Long-Term Care News article, Harvard Medical School researchers concluded that admission into dementia special care units brought measurable drops on quality indicators, including reductions in inappropriate use of antipsychotics, physical restraints, pressure ulcers, feeding tubes and hospitalizations. 50 percent of nursing home long-stay residents are diagnosed with dementia. According to the article, “Only about 4.5% of all nursing home beds are part of such specialized care units, which are designed specifically to provide a more supportive social and physical environment for residents, the study notes. Features can include everything from color-coded walls to assist with navigation to therapeutic programs that help with memory impairment.”

An October 22, 2018 UPI Health News article spotlighted the use of a new algorithm, Subtype and Stage Inference (SuStaIn), which can spot different patterns of progression in a range of dementias, including Alzheimer's disease. Via MRI scans, SuStaIn identified three separate subtypes of AD, and several subtypes of frontotemporal dementia. "One key reason for the failure of drug trials in Alzheimer's disease is the broad mixture of very different patients they test; a treatment with a strong effect on a particular subgroup of patients may show no overall effect on the full population so fail the drug trial,” said Dr. Daniel Alexander of the University College London Center for Medical Image computing. Also covered by Medical Express. 

MUST WATCH

Watch this short video about the work of Respite Ministries, which provides a safe place for people with dementia to feel community and purpose. According to Founder Daphne Johnston, “We saw the need in the community to have a place where people could go to still find fellowship, to feel a sense of community, to have a place where they still belonged.  We wanted to create a space where people could come to feel a part of something bigger than themselves.”

ALZ TECH

An October 18, 2018 The Irish Times article reported that Belfast-based BrainWaveBank developed new technology that may help to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease earlier, cheaper and in a less invasive manner than PET scans or spinal taps. Their portable “Fitbit for the brain” monitors brain function in the patient’s home, testing different aspects of cognitive function including memory, decision making and executive function. “By adding lifestyle information such as how well the person has slept or how much caffeine they have consumed that day we can put the data in context to deliver a much better assessment of their cognitive health. A person might just be tired during a particular week and that might explain what appear to be symptoms of a neurodegenerative disease,” said Ronan Cunningham.

FINANCES

An October 22, 2018 Forbes article looked at the true cost of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. By 2050, it may exceed a trillion dollars, based on current projections. Rick and Sandy, a retired Massachusetts couple, are facing this reality. According to the article, “In Massachusetts, where the couple lived, the average annual cost of a nursing home is over $140,000 and the median hourly rate for in-home care is $25. That was much more than Rick and Sandy could afford. And that’s not atypical. People with dementia who need institutional or home-based care can incur enormous expenses that are often borne by family members, most often spouses.”

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

An October 21, 2018 KOB 4 “Eye on New Mexico” broadcast segmentdiscussed the impact of Alzheimer’s disease in New Mexico. Host Emily Jaceks talks with Chris Chaffin and Tina De La Luz from the New Mexico Alzheimer’s Association chapter, and family caregiver Dale Perinni.