USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A March 23, 2017 Medium article reported on the 2017 Aspen Summit on Inequality & Opportunity, which was convened to address the nation’s widening opportunity gap. It attracted a diverse mix of policymakers, thought leaders, social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and practitioners. According to Jason Resendez, Director of UsAgainstAlzheimer's Latino Network, "Brain health must be a priority public health concern as our nation grows more diverse and health threats like Alzheimer’s loom large. I’m encouraged to see this dialogue take place at the Aspen Summit on Inequality & Opportunity and it is essential that it continues in research labs, congressional hearing rooms, doctors’ offices, and community centers across the country." One noteworthy talk about the biology of adversity was given by Dr. Sarah Enos Watamura, Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Denver and Director, Child Health & Development Lab. She spoke about research by Dr. Kimberly Noble and Elizabeth Sowell, exploring the impact of poverty on the brain structure of children. Health practitioners, policymakers, researchers and community leaders need to better understand the intersections of brain development and income inequality, and research suggests that Latinos and African Americans face a higher risk for brain diseases like Alzheimer’s as they age.

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A March 24, 2017 Boston Herald article reported on a groundbreaking enzyme elixir that slows and could potentially reverse aging in mice. The study, by Harvard scientists and appearing in the journal Science, is the culmination of six years of DNA damage research. “We have found a reason why DNA repair goes down as we get older, and a way to reverse it. We’ve tested it on old mice, and we’re going to be doing a clinical trial in humans in the first half of this year,” said David Sinclair, Harvard geneticist and one of the head researchers. The scientists are part of a growing movement to convince federal health officials that aging should be officially classified as a disease and not inevitable. Their work could expand into an all-encompassing approach to age-related illnesses, including Alzheimer’s and coronary artery disease. “Research for Alzheimer’s disease has been dramatically underfunded,” said Susan Antkowiak, Vice President, Alzheimer’s Association Programs and Services. “We’d be concerned about the potential for Alzheimer’s disease to be lost in the shuffle here.”

A March 24, 2017 Medium article highlighted the work of two Austin doctors at Dell Medical, David Paydarfar, MD, and Stephen Strakowski, MD, who are planning a cognitive impairment clinic which will explore better ways to care for people with memory disorders and develop a system to help Alzheimer’s patients stay healthy at home. The clinic will focus resources on early intervention and in outpatient programs, and includes a home-based early detection system for persons with mild cognitive impairment. “Neurology has been shifting over the last several decades from a field of diagnosis to early intervention that can really change the trajectory of diseases. We are beginning to apply the knowledge we have learned to help people with Alzheimer’s and other memory disorders live independently as long as possible,” said Paydarfar, Head of Neurology, Dell Medical School.

A March 23, 2017 WKAR article reported on a discovery by Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy, Research Professor, University of Michigan, showing that parts of neuron cell membranes are vulnerable to amyloid-beta protein, which collects in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. Thinner parts of the membranes provide access for the protein, which then punctures and kills cells—effectively eliminating the ability to retain memories. “From our study it is clear that the cell membrane is the hot spot where amyloid-beta becomes crazy. The thickness of cell membranes is very important not only for Alzheimer's disease, but also for diabetes and other aging-related diseases,” said Ramamoorthy.

FEEL GOOD STORY OF THE DAY

A March 21, 2017 Refinery 29 article and segment highlights John "Sean" O'Malley, an often angry and agitated 78-year-old Australian man with dementia. He is part of Blacktown Hospital's Music & Memory music therapy program, where staff creates individual music playlists to help people with dementia recall memories. O’Malley’s therapy is Elvis. Research has found that music can ease pain, reduce stress, lessen anxiety and can boost mood for dementia patients.

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

BrightFocus will host a Twitter chat with EyesOnALZ founder, Pietro Michelucci, on Tuesday, March 28, 1-2pm (EST). Join the conversation: @_BrightFocus and @eyesonalz. #CitizensSolvingAlz. EyesOnALZ, supported by BrightFocus Foundation, is a new citizen science project launched by the Human Computation Institute. The project enables everyone to contribute to Alzheimer’s disease research and speed up drug discovery by playing a simple online game. Stall Catchers was designed to help researchers at Cornell University search the brain for stalled blood vessels that may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.