December 02, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Arizona county examined as a test case as baby boomers nationwide retire, the UK unveils fund to kickstart dementia research, and new research links diabetes and mental decline (read more). 

Must reads

  • A December 2, 2014 Al Jazeera article highlighted La Paz County, a rapidly aging area of Arizona, as a "test case as more baby boomers nationwide retire." According to the article, "As of October this year, there has been an eightfold increase in the number of people on the waiting list for adult day health care and respite services like home-delivered meals and help with bathing and laundry — totaling 2,345 for Arizona and 425 in the tri-county area bordering California that includes La Paz County. The elder care crisis in far western Arizona is significant, professionals believe, since it may hold some clues to the demographic challenges faced by the United States as a whole in coming years as millions of members of the baby boom generation reach 65 at a rate of about 10,000 a day…More than 1 in 3 residents of La Paz County are seniors, over twice the national average and more than 10 percentage points above the proportion in the county in 2000. Despite the growing need for help, state and federal funds to area aging services in the state have been slashed by nearly a fifth since 2010, as state and federal authorities balanced their budgets amid an economic downturn. The cuts have devastated these services’ ability to provide vital services to needy seniors like the Bakers, according to the Area Agency on Aging at the Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG)."
  • A December 2, 2014 The Guardian article reported that the UK government will unveil a £15 million fund to kickstart dementia research. According to the article, "The education session, which was the idea of the prime minister, took place the day before the autumn statement, in which £15m of funding for research into a cure for dementia is to be announced.The spending will kickstart a multimillion-pound fund focused on boosting investment to tackle the disease. The fund will bring together investors from the public, private and philanthropic sectors who will pool their money in a scheme that will invest in projects identified by global scientists as having the best chance of success.The government has already increased the amount the UK will spend on dementia research to £66m by next year."
  • A December 2, 2014 Fox News article reported that "Having diabetes in midlife appears to age the mind about five years faster than usual, scientists at Johns Hopkins University have found." According to the article, "In the study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers drew data from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) to follow about 15,800 middle-aged adults in the United States. They then evaluated their cognitive function during three of five periodic visits throughout the study, which began in 1987 and ended in 2013…They saw a 19 percent increase in mental decline among those patients with poorly controlled diabetes, and smaller declines for people with controlled diabetes and pre-diabetes."
  • A December 1, 2014 Fiscal Times opinion piece by Michael Hodin suggested Japan extend its "dementia friends" program to help address issues with its steadily aging population. According to Hodin, "Japan has committed to building and implementing such a program – but it must go further and unlock the potential of its Silver Economy, as should other aging countries. Abe must get to the heart of keeping Japanese citizens active, healthy and working past age 60, since it is unsustainable to have upwards of 40 percent of the population receiving benefits and social welfare. Tax incentives to keep people working longer and new approaches to education, urban planning and healthy aging are at the core of economic engagement for an entire society." Michael W. Hodin, Ph.D. serves as Executive Director of the Global Coalition on Aging.