April 04, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

IBM develops nanotechnology to tackle Alzheimer's, a dozen things you didn't know about Alzheimer's, and a sportscaster's efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's (read more). 

Must reads

  • An April 4, 2014 Fast Company article reported on IBM's use of nanotechnology to battle diseases like HIV, MRSA, and Alzheimer's. According to the article, "The result was IBM's unusual nanomedicine program…The project is tackling a range of ambitious projects: creating better antimicrobial and antifungal agents, new methods of drug delivery, and novel ways of combating such diseases as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis…Inspired in part by the recent launch of an IBM Research lab in Africa, Hedrick is excited about deploying nanomaterials to fight illnesses that disproportionately afflict the region, including tuberculosis, dengue fever, and HIV. He also hopes to look at ways to use nanocontainers to deliver drugs across the blood-brain barrier--a major challenge in treating conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's."
  • An April 4, 2014 Huffington Post piece by Michael Hodin highlighted "a dozen things you didn't know about Alzheimer's." Among the twelve, Hodin highlighted the potential of technology to help manage dementia, stating, "High-tech solutions are coming. Technologies may re-write the possibilities of life with dementia. Houses are becoming dementia friendly with the help of digital technologies -- like fall sensors, "smart" reminders, etc. These technologies will drastically extend a person's capability of living a life of independence -- or even semi-independence. One of the greatest advocates, George Vradenburg, has begun to talk about how Google Glass can be a prosthetic for Alzheimer's." Michael Hodin is the executive director of the Global Coalition on Aging. 
Opinion 
  • An April 3, 2014 Orange County Register opinion piece by Jim McAleer underscored the need to act now on Alzheimer's. According to McAleer, "Without intervention, Alzheimer’s disease will have a devastating impact on our world. Aside from the devastating impact to individuals and families as loved ones slip away, one memory at a time, the rising incidence of the disease, coupled with the massive cost of care and loss of worker productivity for caregivers, will have a shattering societal impact…Research dollars have reduced the incidence of our top two prevalent diseases, and others as well. We see declines in cancer, heart disease, AIDS/HIV and strokes. Drugs have been developed, tested and brought to market.They are working and we applaud this progress. But similar progress has not occurred with Alzheimer’s – no new drugs have entered the marketplace in a decade and none have had much impact for those afflicted." Jim McAleer is president and CEO of Alzheimer’s Association, Orange County.
Sports
  • An April 3, 2014 Star-Telegram blog post reported on sportscaster Jim Nantz's efforts to find a cure for Alzheimer's after the disease claimed the life of his father. According to the article, "So in 2011, Nantz and The Methodist Hospital in Houston launched the Nantz National Alzheimer Center, which was named after his father, Jim Nantz Jr…Alzheimer's, and what it did to his family, indeed changed Nantz and his outlook on life. For him, it’s truly personal.“I want to see a difference in our lifetime,’’ Nantz  said, referring to Alzheimer's. “I want to be able to get our hands around this insidious disease and find a way to ultimately one day find a treatment and, of course, even better, one day find a cure.""