Must reads and watch

• A December 8, 2014 CNN article reported that a small UCLA study has found a "glimmer of hope for those with what is often a hopeless diagnosis [Alzheimer's]." According to the article, "Nine out of the 10 patients involved in the study, who were in various stages of dementia, say their symptoms were reversed after they participated in a rigorous program. The program included things like optimizing Vitamin D levels in the blood, using DHA supplements to bridge broken connections in the brain, optimizing gut health, and strategic fasting to normalize insulin levels. A few months after starting the extreme program, patients in the study, aged 55 to 75, noticed their cognition had either improved or returned to normal. Only one patient, a 60 year-old female who was in the late-stages of dementia when she began the program, continued to decline."
• A December 8, 2014 CBS News article reported on the debate around cognitive training and brain health. According to the article, "So is playing fun video games really the answer to the threat of Alzheimer's?Many scientists think not. According to the Stanford Center on Longevity (SCL) and the Berlin Max Planck Institute for Human Development, there's no reliable scientific evidence to support the notion that cognitive training can improve overall brain performance (disclosure:The author is a research scholar at SCL). Indeed, 70 of the world's leading neuroscientists and cognitive scientists took the unusual step of signing a statement that directly challenges the claims made for brain games…To put it another way, these scientists are saying it's probably a waste of your time and money to think of brain games or other such activities as medicine, or as a vaccination against Alzheimer's or dementia. Instead, aging boomers should take a cue from their youth: Do what turns you on. Get better at skills and activities that have meaning for you. Even if you don't get smarter, you'll be enjoying your life."
• A December 8, 2014 USA Today video segment and article highlighted a Minneapolis choir of Alzheimer's patients called the "Giving Voice Chorus" and its performance of songs from memory.