MUST READS

A September 27, 2017 Wired article spotlighted Judy Johanson, who is playing Stall Catchers, a crowdsourced science project/online game from the Human Computation Institute that helps researchers investigate how treating impaired cerebral blood flow associated with Alzheimer’s can help reverse memory loss. The creators hope to speed up lab research and find a treatment in a few years, as opposed to a few decades. 6,000 people have logged onto the game, many who have loved ones struggling with Alzheimer’s and want to do something to fight it. 

A September 26, 2017 WUSA 9 (CBS) article reported that former President Bill Clinton went to visit his high school history teacher, Dr. Paul Root, in a southern Arkansas nursing home. Root now lives with Alzheimer’s disease and Clinton wanted to express his love and admiration for him.

According to a September 26, 2017 Forbes article, the Social Security Administration’s Representative Payee Program program helps people with dementia manage their benefits. The agency appoints a “representative payee” for beneficiaries who need assistance. “I would think of Representative Payee as a very useful tool for people who can’t be around their family member,” said Geoffrey Sanzenbacher from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

A September 27, 2017 The Guardian article reported that dementia is now the leading cause of death for Australian women, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. “Improvements in treatments and prevention of heart disease have contributed to increased life expectancy, but this has also led to increased deaths from conditions such as dementia which affect predominantly very elderly Australians,” said ABS Director of Health and Vital Statistics James Eynstone-Hinkins.

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

The National Institute on Aging has released an Alzheimer’s caregiver guide in Spanish. The easy-to-read guide includes tips on care, safety information, common medical problems, and how to take care of yourself.