USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A February 13, 2018 Kaiser Health News article and video featured the “Navigating Aging: Living Well With Dementia” event, focused on improving care and services for people with dementia and supporting their caregivers. Topics included understanding the stages of dementia, finding help, managing difficult behaviors and understanding medications. Panelist Yvonne Latty, BFA, MA is a journalist and professor, who is dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s and is an advisor to the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s network.

MUST READS

A February 13, 2018 The Telegraph article reported that pimavanserin, an antipsychotic, has been successfully tested to treat people with Alzheimer’s disease experiencing hallucinations and paranoia. Around half of patients with AD experience psychosis, but mainstream drugs cause serious side-effects including stroke and unnecessary death. It is now undergoing wide-scale phase III testing in the US.
 

According to a February 13, 2018 Bloomberg article, Merck will stop its final-stage test of verubecestat for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease because it “was unlikely that positive benefit/risk could be established if the trial continued.” This trial was for people with early symptoms, and a trial of the same drug for those with advanced disease was abandoned last year. Merck has several other potential AD drugs in early development. 

FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE DAY

A February 13, 2018 Make Dementia Your Bitch post delivered a Valentine’s Day message for dementia care partners. “Chocolates, plush animals, and romantic cards. Those are the staples of Valentine’s Day. But want to see real love in action? Watch a care partner for someone with dementia… My faith gives me the strength to do some pretty difficult things. My hope helps me to persevere, because I am optimistic that this journey will continue to yield positive and surprising lessons. But it is my love for my care partner, the greatest of the three, that make it all complete.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A February 12, 2018 News Medical Life Sciences article looked at a new study funded through the Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet) investigating how sugars in the human body are connected to Alzheimer's disease. The study combines glycomics, the study of carbohydrates, and a mass spectrometer. Receptors for sugars present in microglia can serve as an indicator of who gets AD. According to study co-researcher Professor Matthew Macauley of the University of Alberta, "The immune system is involved in so many diseases, so if this new approach works, there could be a lot of work to do beyond the link of this one receptor to Alzheimer’s.” 

VETERANS SPOTLIGHT

A February 12, 2018 The Selma Times-Journal article spotlighted Selma’s Alzheimer’s-Autism Outreach Group, which provides tracking bracelets to the Sheriff’s Department for people with Alzheimer’s disease who may wander and get lost. The American Legion, a veteran’s organization, made a $300 donation for one bracelet specifically reserved for a veteran in need. The bracelets are further funded by the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department and Alabama State Troopers.

DEMENTIA AND THE ARTS

A February 12, 2018 Royal post highlighted a concert at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the power of music to enrich people's lives, especially those with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Choir and Wigmore Hall all came together for the special event, and featured “Singing for the Brain” for people with dementia. 

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Participate in MindCrowd’s virtual test to help researchers learn more about brain-related diseases. The MindCrowd research project from TGen is the first research project of its kind to study millions of individuals by harnessing the power of the internet to get closer to a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.