USA2 SPOTLIGHT

BrightFocus Foundation is hosting the second annual “An Evening of BrightFocus” to celebrate advocacy and showcase some of the world’s most promising science to end Alzheimer’s disease, macular degeneration and glaucoma on Thursday, June 8, 2017 in Washington, DC. BrightFocus will recognize outstanding scientists and advocates who have advanced research and raised public awareness for these diseases of mind and sight. Advocates George and Trish Vradenburg, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-founders, will receive the Public Leadership Award for their bold commitment in the fight to end the disease.

MUST READS

A June 5, 2017 Slate article looked at Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate exploring the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. Our phones can provide health-relevant information, such as what our speech sounds like, how we communicate, where we go, how fast we move and how we change our facial expressions. This provides opportunity to leverage data for improved decision-making and diagnosis in medicine, for example, algorithms applied to emails that a doctor uses to track Alzheimer’s disease progression.

A June 5, 2017 USC News article highlighted the work of USC Stem Cell Scientist Justin Ichida, looking at the role of microglia in the onset of Alzheimer’s, with support from a $100,000 gift from the John Douglas French Alzheimer’s Foundation. Ichida and his team are “reprogramming” small samples of patients’ blood or skin to transform these cells into microglia. They will then use a gene-editing tool called CRISPR to introduce two genes associated with Alzheimer’s disease into the patient-derived microglia.

MUST WATCH

A June 5, 2017 HuffPost article spotlighted a video made by Christine Stone, whose mom has Alzheimer’s disease. When Stone found out she was pregnant for the first time she was excited to share the news with her family. The video shows her sharing the news over and over with her mom. Stone said hopes people get a sense of hope and encouragement. “I also hope people take time out of their schedule to spend time with their parents, because they won’t be around forever.”

A June 2, 2017 Univision Kansas City segment focused on the work of the University of Kansas Alzheimer's Disease Center and its efforts to enroll Latinos in Alzheimer's research. The KU ADC is collaborating with LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's and the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation to better engage Latinos and African Americans in research opportunities.

INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT

A June 5, 2017 Indianapolis Monthly article looked at the 24 hours surrounding Eli Lilly’s “unblinding” of the results of their solanezumab Alzheimer’s disease clinical drug trial results late last winter. We now know that the drug failed, Lilly’s press release announcing, “patients treated with solanezumab did not experience a statistically significant slowing in cognitive decline treated with a placebo.” Despite the disappointing results, the trial team believes they moved Alzheimer’s science forward. Lilly has eight other Alzheimer’s molecules in its drug development pipeline and two phase-three trials underway.

IN MEMORIAM

According to a June 5, 2017 Newswise post, Robert D. Terry, Co-Founder of U.S. Alzheimer’s Research, died at age 93. A WWII vet, Terry studied Alzheimer’s since the 1960’s.