January 26, 2017

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A January 25, 2017 KPBS article reports on the state of Alzheimer’s disease research. More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease which costs more than $200 billion a year. The PBS documentary, "Alzheimer's: Every Minute Counts," explores the stories of families affected. Watch the full film online for the story of Daisy Duarte, LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s caregiver advocate, and her mother, who has early-onset familial AD. “There’s surprisingly large gaps in our knowledge that remain to be filled. One is this whole aging mystery,” said Dr. Jerold Chun, Professor and Senior Vice-President, Neuroscience Drug Discovery, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.


MUST READS

A January 25, 2017 Pensacola News Journal letter to the editor by Daniel Durkin calls on President Trump to commit to continue the fight against Alzheimer’s. Georgia Congressman Tom Price, if confirmed by the Senate as the next Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), will be crucial in the mission. Durkin urges the new administration to follow the recommendations of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease, to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. He calls AD a bipartisan issue where both parties can come together.


DISPARITIES SPOTLIGHT

A January 25, 2017 USC News article reports that Eucadorians who have a rare, growth-stunting gene, Laron syndrome, do not appear to experience memory loss to the same degree as other people, according to a study in The Journal of Neuroscience. The rare genetic mutation, a type of dwarfism, was identified in a group of Ecuadorians whose ancestors fled Spain during the Inquisition, more than 300 years ago. The mutation leaves them without a growth hormone receptor – and consequently they are short in stature. “This genetic mutation seems to be protective against age-dependent cognitive decline,” said senior corresponding author, Valter Longo, Biogerontologist, USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

A January 25, 2017 Science Daily article reports on a study, by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and published in Science Translational Medicine, which suggests that a synthetic molecule (antisense oligonucleotide) could potentially treat neurodegenerative diseases characterized by abnormal tau, including Alzheimer's. It targets the genetic instructions for building tau before the protein is made and reduces levels of tau, thereby reducing neurological damage. "We've shown that this molecule lowers levels of the tau protein, preventing and, in some cases, reversing the neurological damage," said the study's senior author, Timothy Miller, MD, PhD, David Clayson Professor of Neurology. "This compound is the first that has been shown to reverse tau-related damage to the brain that also has the potential to be used as a therapeutic in people."


GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

A January 25, 2017 The Source (Washington University in St. Louis) article reports on the “Forum for Greater China: An Aging Population” conference, which took place on January 21st in Shanghai, created by Washington University in St. Louis and its partner universities in Greater China. The goal was to stimulate collaborative research and conversation to advance solutions for China’s aging population. By 2050, there are projected to be 329 million Chinese citizens over the age of 65. About 120 million will be over age 80, with some 20 percent suffering from dementia. “There has been much talk politically about building walls in America,” said James Wertsch, Vice Chancellor for International Affairs. “We at Washington University in St. Louis are committed to building bridges — to working with our Chinese partner universities to continue to collaborate on addressing these global issues.”