MUST READS

A February 18, 2015 Star Tribune opinion piece by state legislators Sandy Pappas and Carla Nelson called for Minnesota to take the lead in dementia research. According to the authors, "Minnesota is already preparing for the human costs of Alzheimer’s. In 2011, Minnesota created ACT on Alzheimer’s, where people from all sectors of our state came together to accomplish transformative work in building dementia-capable communities. The program is being considered for broader adoption throughout the country, as well as internationally.Yet only research can change the trajectory of Alzheimer’s disease. Much of the pioneering and trendsetting work done on dementia is conducted in Minnesota, but researchers need additional support to continue their excellent work…Minnesota has led the nation in addressing many issues related to this disease. Now we must step up and help support research. A commitment to research today will yield savings tomorrow."

A February 19, 2015 The Los Angeles Times article profiled Glen Campbell's life with Alzheimer's. According to the article, "It wasn't until 2012 that Campbell was formally diagnosed with Alzheimer's, a condition he often joked about — "I don't have Alzheimer's," he often said, "I have part-timers," an acknowledgment of the way memory loss comes and goes in the disease's early stages. "He acted at times like he wasn't aware of the Alzheimer's," Keach said. "But he knew what was going on. I'd see it in his eyes. He knew.”…He's now in an Alzheimer's care facility near the family home in Nashville. He's in the sixth stage of Alzheimer's, which progresses in seven stages. Kim said her husband has lost his ability to communicate but says, "He still understands the universal language of smiles and laughter and joy." He also perks up to the sound of live music when one of his musically inclined kids — daughter Ashley and sons Cal and Shannon — drops by with guitars or banjos to play for their father and other facility residents."

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A February 18, 2015 Boston Globe article reported on several advances in medical research resulting from the mapping of the "epigenome," a map of where chemicals are attached to the genome. According to the article, "The insight into Alzheimer’s disease comes from studying a mouse version of the disease. Counter to expectations, the genetic predisposition to Alzheimer’s was rooted in immune cells. “If somebody asks you, ‘What is the basis of Alzheimer’s disease?’ you’d say something about the brain,” said Manolis Kellis, a professor of computer science at MIT who led the research. “This map seems to disagree. . . . The reason why you get Alzheimer’s is that you are unlucky in your immune system, not unlucky in your neurons.” The hope is that these papers are just the first step, and the resource will open up many corners of human disease and biology as researchers are able to use it as a reference book to help guide and understand their experiments." Also reported on by The Washington Post.