Must reads

• A November 13, 2013 BBC News article reported that "changes to specific cells in the retina could help diagnose and track the progression of Alzheimer's disease." According to the article, "A team found genetically engineered mice with Alzheimer's lost thickness in this layer of eye cells. As the retina is a direct extension of the brain, they say the loss of retinal neurons could be related to the loss of brain cells in Alzheimer's." Also reported on by Fox News. 
• A November 13, 2013 The Courier-News opinion piece by Cathy Edge, an Alzheimer's caregiver, called on Congress to approve $100 million for Alzheimer's research, care, and support. According to Edge, "Unless something is done, Alzheimer’s will cost an estimated $1.2 trillion in 2050, and costs to Medicare and Medicaid will increase more than 500 percent. The budget conference must report all budgetary findings and recommendations by Dec. 13, allowing Congress until Jan. 15 to pass the legislation. We must pass this budget, or our country will face the next round of sequester cuts, which will prove even more devastating to the health and human services community."
• A November 13, 2013 USA Today article reported on philanthropist T. Denny Stanford's $100 million gift in support of stem cell research. According to Stanford, "This, in my opinion, is the medicine of the future...The potential of stem cells is just unbelievable."