USA2 SPOTLIGHT

(ICYMI) A USC University of Southern California blog focused on the unique struggles Latino families face when caring for relatives with Alzheimer’s disease, according to William Vega of the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging and LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Board Member. 63% of Latino family caregivers are in a high-burden care situation (compared with 51% of non-Latino caregivers) because of language barriers, limited access to health care services and insurance.

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An October 22, 2017 Los Angeles Times article looked at the ability of sensory experiences, including trips, music and interactions with children and animals to revive memories and spark emotional reactions. Props such as a battery-operated lifelike cat or therapy baby dolls trigger nurturing instincts and bring comfort. According to Dr. Anjan Chatterjee of Pennsylvania Hospital, "What that means is that you can have people engaged in activities -- being at a beach or a garden or looking at art -- that still gives them pleasure, and they (experiences) can trigger those long-term memories.”

According to an October 21, 2017 Salon article, connections are emerging between the functioning of the APOE gene and amyloid beta in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. These new findings give strong support for a drug therapy that lowers brain ApoE. If you lower ApoE early in life, it could prevent or slow amyloid deposition. If given later in life, it could potentially have a big impact on tau pathology and inflammation.

An October 20, 2017 Futurism article reported on study results from UCLA (released last summer) about a new approach in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The protocol consists of lifestyle modifications to optimize metabolic parameters like inflammation and insulin resistance including healthy diet, exercise, stress management and improved sleep. This approach works on the premise that AD is a manifestation of a highly complex system in disarray, and the answers lie in changing the inputs.