USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Reminder: Our next Alzheimer's Talks will be on Friday, April 17th from 3 to 4 p.m. ET and feature Greg O'Brien. Greg is the author of On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's, and you may have heard him on NPR's All Things Considered or in webisodes about his life produced by USAgainstAlzheimer's. Sign up here.

MUST READS

An April 12, 2015 Minona Daily News opinion piece by Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) underscored the need for Congress to make Alzheimer’s a national priority. According to Sen. Klobuchar, “Of course, these numbers don’t tell the most important part of the story, that of the countless families shattered by Alzheimer’s and the enormous toll it takes on those living with the disease. Each of their experiences remind us that now is the time to stem the tide against this horrific disease. We can start by making investments in cutting-edge research today that will make a differencetomorrow. We need to make sure there are dedicated scientists, advanced research initiatives, and skilled doctors with the resources to conduct trials and care for patients until we finally find a cure. That is why I have joined with Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine to call on Congress to make the necessary investments. We are pushing to make combating Alzheimer’s a top national priority, including doubling the research funding by 2016 with a goal of developing effective treatments by 2025. This funding will build on the momentum and cutting-edge research already being done at great institutions such as the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic…Alzheimer’s disease presents one of the toughest medical, economic and social challenges facing our country. Solutions to problems this vast and devastating aren’t going to just fall out the sky. Instead, we need decisive and bold action that will bring the possibility for a cure within reach and finally end this horrific disease.”

An April 10, 2015 St. John Valley Times opinion piece by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) highlighted her support for Alzheimer’s funding and research. According to Sen. Collins, “Among my highest priorities as chairman of the Senate Aging Committee is to ensure that the goals set forth in the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s disease are achieved. That is why I recently authored a bipartisan amendment to the Senate Budget Resolution that calls for an increase in our federal investment in Alzheimer’s research.I have also been joined by my colleague, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, in introducing a resolution declaring that the goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s by 2025 is an “urgent national priority.” Our resolution calls on the Senate to double the amount of funding the United States spends on Alzheimer’s in fiscal year 2016 and develop a plan to meet the target of $2 billion in research funding recommended by experts.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

An April 12, 2015 Click2Houston.com article reported that researchers at the University of North Florida are exploring the relationship between tau protein and Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “She and fellow researchers at the University of North Florida are moving closer to a major breakthrough. "We looked at 1,400 brains that were donated to us to find if it is tau or amyloid (protein) that is causing this cognitive decline. The two hallmark brain diseases in Alzheimer's disease," Murray said. After years of studying, the team discovered it is the tau protein driving the relationship. Tau proteins are found in the central nervous system. Researchers describe them as railroad ties that help stabilize the train track that moves vital messages to the brain. "In Alzheimer's what happens is, those railroad ties become bulky and it causes that train to derail," Murray said.”

An April 12, 2015 Empire State Tribune article reported that a Mayo study has found that “a study has shown that painting, sketching, and sculpting in the olden times drops the probability of developing the first signs of dementia by 73%.” According to the article, “Those who crafted were 45% less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment, while socializing lowers the possibility by 55%, and those who uses the internet or computer regularly lowers it by 53%. “As a huge number of older adults are getting to the age where they may experience memories and thinking difficulties called Mild Cognitive Impairment, it is essential we look to find routine changes that may prevent the illness.”, implied the study’s author, Dr Rosebud Roberts. “The research encourages the idea that occupying the mind may protect neurons – the building blocks of the brain – from dying, cause the development of new neurons, or may help engage with new neurons to preserve cognitive activities in old age.””

An April 10, 2015 Washington Post article reported that “A surprising study contradicting all previous research found that being fat in middle age appears to cut the risk of developing dementia rather than increase it, the Lancet scientific journal has reported.” According to the article, “Underweight people had a 34 percent higher risk of developing dementia than those of a normal weight, the study found, while the very obese had a 29 percent lower risk of becoming forgetful and confused and showing other signs of senility.”

MINORITY PERSPECTIVES 

A March 15, 2015 New America Media article reported on the shortage of geriatric health professionals in the Latino community. According to the article, “Bonilla currently visits a neurologist, cardiologist and urologist, specialists whose medical groups don’t often communicate with one another about a patient’s care. A geriatric doctor could coordinate their treatments in ways that would minimize errors and improve their care. Research has shown for years that the fragmented system of care in this country, with little knowledge among health care professionals of elder care, often results in misdiagnosis, unnecessary or duplicate procedures and adverse drug reactions. By 2012, in Georgia there were 127 certified geriatricians, a shortage of 315 professionals in that field, according to statistics provided by the American Geriatrics Society…Flacker emphasized that there’s little chance there will be enough certified geriatric specialists to care for the nation’s rapidly aging population. But he said that caring for an elderly patient is a team effort. Because elder care involves both medical treatment and social services, it requires teamwork by doctors, nurses, working caregivers and others given essential training in geriatric care.”