August 30, 2017

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

MUST READS

An August 29, 2017 R&D article by Diane Bovenkamp, PhD, Vice-President of Scientific Affairs at BrightFocus, took a look at some of the foundation’s Alzheimer’s research endeavors. Among the nearly 100 research projects worldwide currently being funded, a major focus is understanding the cause(s) of neuron death. Looking at immune factors and clearance mechanisms, blood vessels and inflammation, preserving the brain’s communications network, and understanding how lifestyle factors can contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s are just some of the ways that BrightFocus is looking for answers about AD.


YOUTH FOCUS

An August 28, 2017 Fox 47 video segment focused on a group of students at Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota, who started Purple Orchard to help create a generation of dementia friendly teenagers. Yohan Alexander started the group in response to his own grandmother’s Alzheimer’s disease to teach others how to identify symptoms of dementia and interact with people in a caring and compassionate way. 


GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

An August 30, 2017 New America Media article reported on Latino participation in last month’s 21st World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics in San Francisco, where they acknowledged that Latin America is falling behind in its response to a rapidly aging population. According to Dr. Enrique Vega, a Pan-American Health Organization official of Cuban nationality, “We are in a race against time. We are aging faster than the rest of the world.” People are living longer and having fewer children, and estimates show that 27 countries in the Americas will have a greater proportion of older people than children under 15 by 2060. 


EVENTS AND RESOURCES

A press announcement from Transcendental Meditation spotlighted a new bestselling book, “The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline,” by Alzheimer’s expert Dr. Dale Bredesen from UCLA. The book documents the “Bredesen Protocol,” a comprehensive treatment program, including transcendental meditation, to prevent and reverse the effects of cognitive decline associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Transcendental meditation has been shown to improve neuro-plasticity and global brain wave coherence associated with improved cognitive performance, intelligence, and memory, as well as significant reductions in stress and anxiety.