March 31, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

The link between life purpose and Alzheimer's, a new digital game highlights life with Alzheimer's, and new numbers underscore the need for Alzheiemr's funding (read more). 
 

Must reads and play 

  • A March 30, 2014 Wall Street Journal article reported on research that links having a purpose in life to quality of health. According to the article, "[Researchers] found that people who had a weak purpose or no purpose in life were 2.4 times more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than people who had a strong purpose in life. People with a strong purpose have been shown to live longer, to be less likely to get heart attacks and less likely to get a stroke."
  • A March 29, 2014 The Verge article reported on a new online game called Alz that aims to put the user inside the mind of someone with Alzheimer's disease. According to the article, "You play the role of a nameless, faceless man walking through various parts of a house and city, trying to remember the details of what's around you, but failing." Play the game here
  • A March 28, 2014 Huffington Post piece by Dr. Howard Fillit underscored the need to fund Alzheimer's disease research in light of new numbers on the devastating impact of the disease. According to Dr. Fillit, "This in turn serves as a roadblock to funding -- funding that is desperately needed for new research and the development of effective treatments and a cure. The result of this roadblock couldn't be clearer than when one reflects on the fact that Alzheimer's receives only a fraction of the annual research funding dedicated to cancer and other diseases…As the increasing magnitude of the problem of Alzheimer's emerges, then and only then will we experience an appropriate focus on Alzheimer's research, with the hopes of conquering the disease and stopping its crippling burden on our society."