September 18, 2017

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A September 16, 2017 post in Medium by LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Lead Jason Resendez highlighted stand-out moments at the Advancing the Science of Community Engaged Research conference. The gathering of advocates, religious leaders, government executives and research professionals explored how scientific researchers and institutions can better partner with communities to examine and address health inequities.


MUST READS

According to a September 16, 2017 USA Today article, a recent report by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College found that retirees with cognitive impairment, especially dementia, need help managing their money. Social Security’s representative payee program, a family member such as a spouse or child, staff of a nursing home, and community-based organizations such as a local senior center or council on aging can assist in financial matters.


A September 15, 2017 The Inquirer article interviewed Anthony Iero, caregiver to his partner of 34 years, who passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. He remains active in his fight against the disease. According to Iero, “I knew long before he was diagnosed that he had Alzheimer’s. I just didn’t want to admit it. When he finally went to the doctor, it hit like a ton of bricks. I cried excessively. Paul didn’t know what was going on… I’ve always said that Alzheimer’s was worse than death. Death is final. It’s over. Every day I would see him get worse and worse. There was no end to it.”


A September 15, 2017 The Denver Post opinion piece by Rick Gardner (former Professor and Department Chair of the Psychology Department at the University of Colorado Denver, and current Professor Emeritus) told the story of his wife’s Alzheimer’s disease. “In July 2016, it became necessary for me to place my wife in an assisted living, memory care facility. The anguish that accompanied this is difficult to describe. The day I first took her to the facility and showed her the bedroom she would now be sleeping in I completely broke down. The stoic, objective, unemotional person I imagined myself was inconsolable… Her attempts to try and make me feel better only added to my feelings of incredible sadness. It was the worst day of my life.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A September 15, 2017 Forbes opinion piece spotlighted Jay Newton-Small’s MemoryWell, using the power of storytelling to improve long-term care for people living with Alzheimer’s and dementia. Care Communities are able to provide better care for patients by having access to their life stories, which are written by more than 400 journalists across the US. According to Newton-Small, “It became really clear that there was a huge demand for stories to be told, whether somebody has Alzheimer’s or ALS or Parkinson’s, or even someone with a grandpa that has an incredible story about fighting in World War II. We have all of these amazing people approach us saying ‘we really want our stories told’.”


REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES

Friday, September 22, 2017 UCI MIND and Alzheimer’s Orange County will co-host the 28th Annual Southern California Alzheimer’s Disease Research Conference, themed “The Elephant in the Room: Sensitive Subjects in Dementia Care.” It will highlight “taboo” topics that impact the daily lives of Alzheimer’s patients and their relatives.