MUST READS

A June 6, 2017 The Mercury News article reported on the disproportionate burden on women as dementia caregivers. Women of the “Sandwich Generation” may find themselves taking care of children on one side of life and elderly parents on the other. According to Michele Boudreau, Northern California chapter of Alzheimer’s Association Communications Director, “It’s possible that the same cultural influences that make nursing a female profession also make family caregiving more likely to be carried out by women.”

A June, 2017 Health Affairs article focused on the story of Sandra Brannon, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2011. She was known as Subject 16019 in Eli Lilly’s experimental drug solanezumab clinical trial, developed to target mild cognitive impairment caused by Alzheimer’s. As a black woman, Sandra played a critical role in the trial because Blacks and Latinos are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s more often than whites and Sandra’s mom died of the disease. 90.8% of the trial participants who reported their race were white, and only 1.7% black.

MUST WATCH

A June 5, 2017 Medscape Neurology video spotlighted health and science journalist, Max Lugavere interviewing Dr. Richard Isaacson, Weill Cornell Medicine and New York Presbyterian's Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic Director, one of several Alzheimer’s prevention clinics in the U.S. Isaacson explained the FINGER study, which explored if doing multiple things together can have a positive impact on cognitive health. The results showed that combining brain-healthy nutrition, exercise and specific types of cognitive training led to improved cognitive outcomes. There were improved outcomes in cognitive function regarding processing speed or attention, as well as executive function.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A June 6, 2017 Science Daily article highlighted the work of Salk researchers in developing a a faster and more effective method of deriving astrocytes (star-shaped support cells) from stem cells that could yield breakthroughs for Alzheimer's or psychiatric disorder treatments. "There are other methods for differentiating astrocytes, but our protocol arrives at inflammation-sensitive cells earlier, which makes modeling more efficient and straightforward," said Carol Marchetto, Salk Senior Staff Scientist and paper author.

According to a June 5, 2017 UCSF article, researchers at UC San Francisco found that chronic pain could somehow be related to changes in the brain that contribute to dementia. “Elderly people need to maintain their cognition to stay independent. Up to one in three older people suffer from chronic pain, so understanding the relationship between pain and cognitive decline is an important first step toward finding ways to help this population,” said Elizabeth Whitlock, MD, MSc, Postdoctoral Fellow, UCSF Anesthesia and Perioperative Care Department, and the first author of the study.