December 15, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Trish Vradenburg calls for more Alzheimer's funding, Alzheimer's Research UK launches a $31 million global clinical trials fund, and the hidden world of caregivers (read more).

USA2 spotlight 

  • A December 14, 2014 Alzheimer's Reading Room post by USA2 co-founder Trish Vradenburg underscored the need to invest in Alzheimer's research. According to Vradenburg, "Robin Williams was suffering from early onset Lewy Body disease (LBD), a form of dementia, with 1.2 million sufferers second on the spectrum only to Alzheimer’s with 5.2 million sufferers…It is painful to think of anyone losing the ability to remember things, but imagine Robin Williams whose gift was taking in a thought, searching his memory bank and instantly restating it in a hilarious, brilliant way? That was his public identity and it was suddenly being ripped away from him…We need to get our Congress to fund Alzheimer’s and related dementia as the national emergency it is. Because if this can happen to Robin Williams, let’s face it this can happen to any of us."
Must reads
  • A December 14, 2014 Fresno Bee editorial called on President Obama and Congress to do better in the fight against Alzheimer's. According to the editorial, "Last week, though advocates begged for a $200 million increase in federal funding, Congress parted with just $25 million extra for the coming fiscal year. It’s a drop in the bucket. And it’s particularly frustrating given the bipartisan momentum that seemed for a while to have gathered amid promising clinical trials on early diagnosis and prevention.Since the 2011 passage of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act, the federal government has focused more aggressively on the disease, with the stated goal of finding a way to treat and prevent it over the next decade. Believe it or not, the current, sad level of federal funding is $122 million higher this year than it used to be, thanks to that attention.But even conservative estimates indicate that meeting that goal would take a research commitment of some $2 billion annually. That’s why it’s so crucial for President Barack Obama and, particularly, the Republican-controlled Congress to do better."
  • A December 12, 2014 Pharma Letter article reported that Alzheimer's Research UK launched $31 million global clinical trials fund. According to the article, "The fund is aiming to make £20 million ($31 million) available for early-stage trials over the next five years, and will support worldwide studies into new treatments. It is part of the charity’s £100 million Defeat Dementia fundraising campaign and has just opened for its first applications."
Caregiving 
The arts
  • A December 14, 2014 Reuters article reported on Julianne Moore's efforts to portray early Alzheimer's in the new film "Still Alice." According to the article, "At 50, the brilliant lecturer and beautiful redhead will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, and the audience has a front-row seat to her terrifying decline…Moore is known for meticulously researching her roles, a penchant that paid off with her uncanny, Emmy-winning portrayal of vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.For "Alice," she told the directors, Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, that she would not represent anything she hadn't witnessed in her work with Alzheimer's patients. One woman in particular, who used to have a big job and prided herself on her intellect, shared the difficulty of being redefined by people after she was diagnosed. "That idea, to give people the space to be who they are and not judge them for what is happening to them with their disease, that was something I was very moved by," said Moore."