September 05, 2014

Today's Alzheimer's News

Alzheimer's and one man's "five-year nightmare", pro hockey player T.J. Oshie takes a stand against Alzheimer's, and more on Google and AbbVie's latest efforts to take on Alzheimer's and cancer (read more). 

Must reads and watch 

  • A September 4, 2014 Cincinnati.com opinion piece profiled the impact of Alzheimer's on one Indian Hill family. According to the piece, "The irony of his death from Alzheimer’s was that Ron was one of the brightest men I knew. He was an auditor for a Fortune 200 petroleum company; and, when he retired, he decided to go into the insurance business, as he loved sales. He was very successful.His progression through the many stages of this disease was a five-year nightmare. At first, it was just a slowing of his activity level, and later, a slowing of his speech. This was most unusual, as Ron would always “talk your right arm off” to get across his point of view."
  • A September 4, 2014 USA Today article and video segment highlighted professional hockey player T.J. Oshie's efforts to raise awareness of Alzheimer's, a disease his father was diagnosed with at the age of 49. According to the article, "Over time, the realization set in that the man who taught him how to skate was in the early stages of a serious illness."I think everybody looks at their dad as kind of a superman figure that will always be there, so I try not to think about the long-term effects mostly just enjoy our time here now," he said.For T.J., agreeing to be the honorary chairman for Saturday's Walk to End Alzheimer's in downtown St. Louis made perfect sense. It was personal."It's just something that's so close to my family and any way to be able to help prevent this in the future, it's something I'll be a part of and I'll always be a part of," he said."
Research, science, and technology 
  • A September 3, 2014 The Chicago Tribune article reported further on Google and AbbVie's partnership "to spend up to $1.5 billion to research and bring to market novel drugs and treatments for everything from cancer to Alzheimer's disease." According to the article, "In a statement on Google's social network, Google Plus, Levinson said the AbbVie pact will “turbocharge” Calico's efforts to bring new therapies to market that “help people stay healthier for longer.” AbbVie said the collaboration augments its internal research and development efforts, most of which are focused on drugs in the latter stages of development."