September 12, 2014
Today's Top Alzheimer's News
Alzheimer's top fear according to new poll, noted Alzheimer's researcher passes away, and the increasing threat of financial schemes targeting the elderly
(read more).
Must reads
- A September 11, 2014 USA Today article reported that a new survey conducted by Merrill Lynch in partnership with Age Wave found that more than half (54%) of the respondents viewed "Alzheimer's disease/dementia as the scariest health condition of later life — more fear this disease than cancer, strokes, heart disease, diabetes and arthritis combined." According to the article, "Their top concerns about Alzheimer's disease/dementia are being a burden on their family and losing their dignity."
- A September 11, 2014 Los Angeles Times article reported that "George Bartzokis, a UCLA medical researcher whose work found that a fatty substance in the brain could play a major role in the development of disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and schizophrenia, died Aug. 22 at home in Los Angeles. He was 58." According to the article, "His research indicated that poor quality myelin could be a key cause of mental disorders. An Alzheimer's study he led, published in a 2007 issue of the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia, ran counter to more widely accepted research that pinpoints the buildup of a protein, beta amyloid, as the primary cause of the disease."
- A September 5, 2014 New York Times article reported that financial schemes targeting the elderly are increasing. According to the article, "Financial crimes against elders are taking a toll on lives and pocketbooks. And trusted caregivers — the friends and relatives who offer support and guidance — are often the ones at fault, according to legal and financial specialists. The over-65 segment is expected to grow to 20 percent of the total United States population by 2050 from 13 percent today, according to the Census Bureau, and financial abuse is expected to rise in tandem, draining hard-won retirement money. In New York, which has the third-highest population of seniors in the United States, the number of financial abuse cases is expected to surge by 2030, according to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services estimates… As dementia and Alzheimer’s rates climb, the elderly may also be increasingly incapable of protecting themselves from fraud." Full article attached.