March 20, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

ICYMI: A March 19, 2015 New York Academy of Sciences statement announced that “the Global Alzheimer’s Platform (GAP) and the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) announced today that they will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to accelerate Alzheimer’s drug development by building a global, standing, trial-ready platform for Alzheimer’s drug development.” According to George Vradenburg, convener of the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease and co-founder of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, “This agreement represents an important commitment from major initiatives in Europe and the United States to expand and improve our capacity to conduct trials in Alzheimer’s in order to bring innovative medicines to patients faster.”

A March 19, 2015 WBUR NPR Boston article highlighted the global scope of dementia and the WHO’s first-ever ministerial conference on dementia. According to the article, “We often think of dementia as a private, intimate hell. A mother no longer recognizes her daughter’s voice. A father rages incoherently at a family dinner. But it’s worth remembering the global scope of dementia; it’s a looming, worldwide public health disaster, a ‘tidal wave,” as the head of the World Health Organization recently put it, that’s growing worse each year…The WHO’s Director General, Dr. Margaret Chan, offered some sobering perspective in her opening remarks and noted that there are three specific reasons to act now: “Dementia has a large human cost. Dementia has a large financial cost. Both of these costs are increasing.”” USAgainstAlzheimer’s chairman and World Dementia Council representative George Vradenburg represented USA2 and CEOi at this important meeting. 


MUST READS

A March 20, 2015 The New York Times article reported that Biogen Idec announced that its experimental Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab “sharply slowed the decline in mental function in a small clinical trial.” According to the article, “The drug…appears to have met or exceeded Wall Street expectations in terms of how much the highest dose slowed cognitive decline. However, there was a high incidence of a particular side effect that might make it difficult to use the highest dose. Alzheimer’s specialists were impressed, but they cautioned that it is difficult to read much from a small early-stage, or Phase 1 trial, that was designed to look at safety, not the effect on cognition. Also, other Alzheimer’s drugs that had looked promising in early studies ended up not working in larger trials.” Also reported on byThe Wall Street Journal among others. 

A March 19, 2015 Pine and Lakes Echo Journal article profiled ACT on Alzheimer’s and the organization’s efforts to catalyze a dementia friendly movement. According to the article, “…a group of national cross-sector leaders met in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 29 to explore the possibility of developing a National Dementia-Friendly Communities Initiative based on the ACT on Alzheimer's dementia-friendly community framework. "The meeting followed the collaborative process that has worked so well in Minnesota," said Seth Boffeli, Minnesota AARP. "I wasn't sure it would work inside the Beltway, but everyone came together, discussed and debated, and agreed on steps for taking action." The meeting was co-convened by AARP, USAgainstAlzheimer's and ACT on Alzheimer's. Throughout the meeting, ACT on Alzheimer's was praised for a well-designed program with robust community engagement and resources.”


POLITICS

A March 20, 2015 The Washington Post article reported on Jeb Bush’s nascent presidential campaign and his interest in Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Most Bush appearances last about an hour. He poses for a few pictures and shakes hands before giving about seven minutes of introductory remarks. Then he fields questions for at least 45 minutes on immigration, energy policy, Common Core education standards, Alzheimer’s research or the national debt.”