Must reads

• A September 15, 2014 Washington Post article reported that "Almost half, or 46 percent, of caregivers spend more than $5,000 a year on elderly family members, according to a study released Monday by Caring.com, a Web site for people who look after aging parents. Seven percent of caregivers say they spend $50,000 or more a year." According to the article, "The diseases people face in retirement are usually longer lasting than the health problems people face in their youth, researchers noted. Eighty-six percent of people over age 65 have chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, cancer and arthritis. The illness seniors feared the most: Alzheimer’s, which respondents said they worried would make them a burden on their family."
• A September 14, 2014 Huffington Post piece by Marie Marley profiled the work of USAgainstAlzheimer's and its founders George and Trish Vradenburg. According to the article, "Alzheimer's disease is a type of progressive dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. There is no cure. It's the great public health crisis of our time...There is hope on the horizon, however. It emanates from a remarkable association called USAgainstAlzheimer's - or USA2 as it's sometimes called - founded in 2010 by millionaires George and Trish, initially largely with their own money, though now drawing on many other sources. It is a 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organization bringing effective leadership, collaborative advocacy and strategic investments to the fight to stop Alzheimer's."
• A September CNN video segment and article profiled the life and work of ActivistAgainstAlzheimer's member and early onset Alzheimer's sufferer Sandy Halperin. According to the profile, "Halperin bristles at those images of the Alzheimer's patient. While they may capture what the disease looks like during later stages, he says, they ignore what could be many productive years leading up to them. In those years, he says, it is possible to live vitally, despite deficits. It is precisely the stage he is in…He also has become a fervent activist — giving talks about stigma, lobbying Congress — and has an online network of Alzheimer's patients, advocates and physicians numbering in the thousands." 
• A September 12, 2014 Washington Post article reported that a new study from the NFL found that "three in 10 ex-NFL players will develop “at least moderate neurocognitive problems” as they age." According to the article, "Their actuary expects 14 percent of all former players to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and another 14 percent to develop moderate dementia over the next 65 years, according to the data. There are more than 19,000 former players still living, meaning nearly 6,000 of them will fall into those two groups. Another 31 men will be diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and 24 with Parkinson’s disease during their lives, according to the data."