MUST READS

A July 30, 2017 Las Vegas Review-Journal article by Dr. Jeffrey Cummings gave an update of the work being done at the Cleveland Clinic on Alzheimer’s disease. Numbers project that nearly 75 million people worldwide will have AD by 2030, so the need for cures or treatments is urgent. Therefore, increasing the number of agents entering the drug development pipeline to accelerate the drug-testing process is crucial. The industry is currently in “a desperately slow period in AD drug development,” at only 105 in the pipeline.

According to a July 29, 2017 The Washington Post article (subscription required), experiments from Columbia University suggest that memories may not be wiped by Alzheimer’s disease, as has long been assumed, but just become harder to access. Forgotten memories have been reawakened in mice with AD by artificially activating the neurons they are stored in using a genetic engineering technique called optogenetics. In the future, targeted drugs or techniques such as deep-brain stimulation may help people access forgotten memories.

A July 29, 2017 Star Tribune article looked at the growing impact of Alzheimer’s disease on the workplace. According to Minnesota small business owner Sally Mainquist, “I’m not a big one for more laws, but I’m for employers being more empathetic toward employees facing these issues; listening, support groups, education.”  

A July 28, 2017 Huffington Post article spotlighted the gathering of the World Congress of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) in San Francisco last week, showcasing how aging is unlocking transformative innovation in healthcare. The convention brought together over 6,000 experts in geriatrics, gerontology, medicine, healthcare, and economics, including Fortune 100 Companies from industries such as technology, home care, financial services, and pharmaceuticals.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A July 28, 2017 Medical Xpress article focused on the association between delirium and long-term cognitive decline in patients with normal mental capacity before surgery. Research was published in the British Journal of Anaesthesia looking at patients over 65 who were assessed as cognitively normal prior to surgery, to try to assess if delirium forecasts or accelerates a decline into dementia.