USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A September 13, 2017 Business Insider article reported that Connected Living, a provider of social networking services to families and senior citizens, has pledged to donate 15 percent of all proceeds from their app services to UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, in recognition of World Alzheimer's Day. According to UsA2 Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg, "The Connected Living mobile app is a terrific tool to keep families united and informed and help those suffering from Alzheimer's feel less alone and isolated. If we are going to solve this cancer-sized problem we need everyone to get involved. We are grateful to Connected Living and their partners for joining us in this fight and for coming together in this innovative way."

MUST READS

A September 14, 2017 Medical Xpress article looked at a new study from the Center for Vital Longevity at The University of Texas at Dallas, which finds a correlation between the integrity of “white matter”—the tracts that allow communication between different brain regions—and the ability to calculate finances. The study included more than 100 participants who were either healthy and elderly, had mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer's disease.

According to a September 13, 2017 BBC News article, deaths from Alzheimer's Disease in Scotland rose by more than a third in a year. The latest National Records of Scotland quarterly report found, “There has been a relatively large increase in the number of deaths from dementia and Alzheimer's disease with such deaths now accounting for around 10% of all deaths compared to 5% a decade ago."

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A September 14, 2017 CISION press release from the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation announced Dr. Roberta Diaz Brinton, PhD as the winner of the ADDF 2017 Melvin R. Goodes Prize, recognizing researchers developing treatments for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. The prize includes $150,000 to support Dr. Brinton's therapeutic development of allopregnanolone to activate "neurogenesis"—neural stem cells generating new brain cells—which  could restore lost cognitive function.

IN MEMORIAM

A September 12, 2017 St. Louis Business Journal article reported on the passing of (former) Emerson CEO Chuck Knight, who died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. According to David Farr, Emerson’s (current) Chairman and CEO, “Chuck was like my second father. We worked together side by side for 20 years. His accomplishments at Emerson are well known, but if you look at what Chuck did in the community, he stayed right here and kept giving back to the community up to his death. St. Louis was truly his home.”

VETERAN'S SPOTLIGHT

Come to “Igniting the Spark” on September 27, 2017 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, for a networking breakfast and public event that will explore the full spectrum of challenges that veterans and others face in the wake of physical and emotional brain trauma. It will be an interactive forum to address the research and clinical priorities for PTSD, TBI, and other mental health disorders in military and veteran's communities. Noteworthy speakers include: Steven A Cohen, Chairman & CEO, Point72 Asset Management; Frank Larkin, US Senate Sergeant at Arms; Admiral Robert (Bob) Harward, CEO, Lockheed Martin UAE; and Dr. David Shulkin, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.