October 21, 2013

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Banner Alzheimer's Institute works to sign up 250,000 research subjects across the nation to stop Alzheimer's, the next frontier in brain research combines technology, computer science, math, and physcis to replicate the human brain on a computer, Sandy Halperin calls on policymakers to "step up the fight against Alzheimer's," and the reason Obamacare doesn't address the nation's long-term care crisis (read more). 

 

Must reads

  • An October 21, 2013 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article reported on the efforts of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute to develop a registry of 250,000 people available to participate in research trials across the nation. According to the article, "The registry has not been used for any studies yet. One of the first will be for a Banner-led trial, funded in part by $33 million from the National Institutes of Health, that will begin tracking the progress in 2015 of some 650 people who carry two copies of the ApoE4 gene."
  • An October 18, 2013 Financial Times article reported on the next frontier in brain science and its impact on diseases like Alzheimer's. According to the article, "But these days, the next big frontier lies not in a distant galaxy – but deep inside our minds. For what neuroscientists are now trying to do is use the latest breakthroughs in computing, mathematics, physics and engineering to map how our brain operates, and then replicate this on a computer. If they can succeed in this goal, they could do more than just find ways to produce thought-controlled devices; this may also help them to combat brain diseases. And, for many ordinary people, it is that latter goal which is perhaps most heartening of all; particularly given the rising number of families today (like mine) whose lives have been blighted by modern scourges such as Alzheimer’s." [Behind Paywall: full article attached]
  • An October 18, 2013 Tallahassee.com opinion piece by Alzheimer's patient advocate Dr. Sandy Halperin called on readers and policymakers to "step up the fight against Alzheimer's." According to Dr. Halperin, "To conclude, this is not the time for any member of Congress or the Senate to “turn your head and pretend that you do not see” as Bob Dylan wrote in “Blowin’ in the Wind.” The members of Congress and the Senate must look directly forward at the Alzheimer’s problem. As the song also states, “how many deaths will it take before he (the members of Congress and the Senate) knows that too many people have died (from Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments)?” The answer, my friends, is in fact blowin’ in the wind. The facts are perfectly clear and documented on the devastation that Alzheimer’s and other cognitive impairments are causing in our nation.The time is now, immediately, for tangible action — to appropriately fund research to the National Institutes of Health, without excuses that make no sense."
 
Long-term care
  • An October 20, 2013 The Buffalo News article reported on what happened to the provision of the Affordable Care Act that was supposed to address the nation's long-term care crisis. According to the article, "Ironically, the enacting legislation was called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. But what happened to an initiative that was meant to address what is certainly going to be a huge financial burden for families as the population ages isn’t classy at all. It’s sad…Medicaid is now the only federal program that extensively deals with these services. But to qualify for the benefit, you have to be pretty poor. Medicare, except in very limited situations, does not cover long-term care, which includes assistance with daily activities such as eating, dressing and bathing, or help with someone who has a severe cognitive impairment such as Alzheimer’s disease…But there is no more CLASS Act. The Obama administration abandoned the idea because there was great concern that the voluntary nature wouldn’t make the program actuarially sound."d