January 06, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 Chairman George Vradenburg calls on US to commit one percent of the cost of care to Alzheimer's research, new research on the impact of Alzheimer's on the Mexican American community, the impact of cuts to pharma R&D spending, and the need for a New Year's Resolution to tackle Alzheimer's (read more). 

 

 

Must reads

  • A January 6, 2014 South Coast Today opinion piece by USA2 Chairman George Vradenburg called on the US "to rise to occasion in Alzheimer's research." According to Vradenburg, "If we are to have even a shot at stopping Alzheimer's, it will require the U.S. and other nations to commit to at least 1 percent of the cost of care to research. Beyond this, we'll also need to advance new and innovative financing mechanisms that diversify our funding portfolio, and create new technology tools and processes to accelerate scientific discovery and drug development…Now is the time for the United States to seize this historic opportunity and mobilize the world in the fight against a horrific epidemic that stands to destroy families and shake the financial stability of the planet.
  • A January 4, 2014 The Austin American-Statesman article (via The Seattle Times) reported that "new research suggests Mexican Americans might develop memory problems that could lead to Alzheimer’s disease as much as a decade earlier than non-Hispanics." According to the article, "Haan has studied cognitive impairment in older Mexican Americans in Sacramento, Calif., and found that they have an earlier onset of certain chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, she said. Those conditions are risk factors for dementia, so “It’s reasonable to think they might have an earlier onset” of MCI as well, she said."
Research and science 
  • A January 4, 2014 CBS News article and broadcast segment reported on the latest developments in Alzheimer's research and included an interview with Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of the Genetics and Aging Research Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. According to the article, "While Tanzi, who discovered the first Alzheimer’s genes, has spent his entire career trying to end the disease, he told the co-hosts that treatment is “really back to square one.""
  • A January 3, 2014 Forbes article reported on the negative impact of pharmaceutical research and development spending cuts on advancements in cures for diseases like Alzheimer's. According to the article, "More importantly, for patients, these cuts will lessen the chances of coming up with new medicines for diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, etc. Ironically, this is coming at a time when new insights into the cause of disease are occurring on a daily basis. Yet, as part of these cuts, major companies are getting out of research in key areas like antibacterials, depression, schizophrenia and AIDS. While some of this work is being picked up by small biotechs and start-ups, this situation is far from ideal."
Opinion 
  • A January 3, 2014 Syracuse.com opinion piece by Bruce Holroyd called on policymakers to make a "New Year's Resolution to increase the badly needed funding for Alzheimer's disease research and community based programs and services." According to the piece, "The investment will help to combat the Alzheimer's public health crisis and will make a significant difference in so many people's quality of life. As a caregiver for my father and mother-in-law, I can assure you the increased funding is long overdue and is badly needed by the Alzheimer's community."