October 14, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

The Romney's to launch the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, breakthrough replicates human brain cells for use in Alzheimer’s research, and the need to maintain focus on Alzheimer's in the face of ebola (read more). 
 

 

Must reads and watch

  • An October 14, 2014 Boston Globe article reported that Ann and Mitt Romney will launch the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with a substantial seed gift. According to the article, "Her goal is to create a new model for research and funding, setting out to raise $50 million over the next year to help find treatments and cures for five conditions: multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, Lou Gehrig’s (ALS), Parkinson’s, and brain tumors...When Romney caught up with Weiner, she asked about his efforts to find a cure for MS. A cure is within reach, but what surprised her the most was how MS research was leading to breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s…Already, the Brigham has about 200 researchers dedicated to studying MS, Alzheimer’s, and related brain diseases. They will now come together under the Ann Romney Center, which will become one of the anchors of the Brigham’s new building when it opens in 2016…Romney said she believes that we’re close to a treatment for Alzheimer’s, especially after visiting a Brigham lab last week where she met the researcher working on a vaccine for the dementia-causing disease that kills about half million Americans a year. She learned that we’re within five years of testing a vaccine. “How amazing would that be if we would not have to worry about Alzheimer’s?" she said with the zeal of someone about to launch a fund-raising campaign. “It would be huge.”"
  • An October 13, 2014 The Fiscal Times opinion piece by Michael Hodin underscored the need to maintain focus on Alzheimer's prevention in the face of Ebola. According to Hodin, "Think of this: Alzheimer’s affects tens of millions of people across the globe. It costs billions to treat. Alzheimer’s is already on its way to becoming much like that mother of all pandemics, the Bubonic Plague. The Black Death swept through Europe in the 14th century and killed some 25 million people, or 30 percent to 60 percent of the European population…Here’s another compelling point: While we generally associate health challenges in poor and middle income countries with such “traditional” diseases as TB, malaria and AIDs – there is an overwhelming prevalence of Alzheimer’s in these countries, as they, too, experience levels of longevity previously enjoyed in rich western democracies." Michael Hodin is the executive director of the Global Coalition on Aging.
  • An October 12, 2014 The New York Times article reported that "For the first time, and to the astonishment of many of their colleagues, researchers created what they call Alzheimer’s in a Dish — a petri dish with human brain cells that develop the telltale structures of Alzheimer’s disease." According to the article, "In doing so, they resolved a longstanding problem of how to study Alzheimer’s and search for drugs to treat it; the best they had until now were mice that developed an imperfect form of the disease.The key to their success, said the lead researcher, Rudolph E. Tanzi of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, was a suggestion by his colleague Doo Yeon Kim to grow human brain cells in a gel, where they formed networks as in an actual brain. They gave the neurons genes for Alzheimer’s disease. Within weeks they saw the hard Brillo-like clumps known as plaques and then the twisted spaghetti-like coils known as tangles — the defining features of Alzheimer’s disease…“It is a giant step forward for the field,” said Dr. P. Murali Doraiswamy, an Alzheimer’s researcher at Duke University. “It could dramatically accelerate testing of new drug candidates.”" Also covered by The Washington PostTimeBoston Globe, and others. 
  • An October 10, 2014 Today Show broadcast segment featured Seth Rogen and his efforts to raise awareness of Alzheimer's. According to Rogen, "Government does not prioritize Alzheimer’s." 
Surviving Grace
  • An October 10, 2014 The Flyer Group article highlighted the upcoming November 14 reading of Trish Vradenburg's "Surviving Grace." According to the article, "Based on Vradenburg’s experience as a caregiver to her mother who died of Alzheimer's in 1992, Surviving Grace is a brutally honest, irreverent and moving story — laced with humor — that sheds light on the emotional ups and downs that more than 15 million Alzheimer’s caregivers in the U.S. go through each day. The play has also been produced off-Broadway; in Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles; Raleigh, N.C.; and Sao Paulo, Brazil."
Research, science, and technology 
  • An October 13, 2014 Wall Street Journal article reported that "Doctors are devising new ways to shield patients from information about their odds for disease as genetic testing becomes more common in research, fertility treatment and other areas." According to the article, "Researchers presented the case Monday at the American Neurological Association conference in Baltimore. It is thought to be the first instance of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, for Alzheimer’s disease linked to the presenilin 1 gene, also known as PSEN1. It is also one of the ways researchers are expanding nondisclosure PGD testing, which is uncommon but increasingly in demand, experts say. The technological advance means that other prospective parents among the estimated 150,000 people in the U.S. carrying this and other hereditary Alzheimer’s genes, who make up about 2% of Alzheimer’s cases, also might be able to have babies with lowered risk of the disease. That is true even when the parents don’t want to know their own fate, says P. Murali Doraiswamy, director of Duke University’s Neurocognitive Disorders Program, who was to present the case."
  • An October 12, 2014 NPR article reported that "A new study suggests that people with Alzheimer's can hold on to happy or sad feelings, even if they forget what triggered them." According to the article, "A new study suggests people with Alzheimer's may keep feeling happy or sad even after they've forgotten why they feel that way. Researchers played movies for patients, like "When Harry Met Sally" or "Sophie's Choice." Five minutes later, many people forgot that they had seen the movie, but their feelings remained."