May 05, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News



USA2 SPOTLIGHT

In Case You Missed It: At our April Alzheimer’s Talk, we heard from Greg O’Brien, who shared his struggles with early onset Alzheimer’s and his work to give voice to the millions of others suffering from the disease. A journalist, Greg says his latest assignment is to be “embedded inside the mind of Alzheimer’s.” He paints an unflinching portrait of life with this cruel disease. If you missed it, you can listen to the call or read the recap here. Want to know more about Greg’s story? Our co-founder Trish Vradenburg reviewed his memoir, On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s. Read the review here.


MUST READS

A May 5, 2015 Deseret News opinion piece by Dr. Dean Li underscored the importance of government-funded science. According to Li, “Even fiscal conservatives — likely presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and tea party Republican Reps. Matt Salmon, R-Arizona, and Kevin Yoder, R-Kansas — are pushing for more science funding as a means to improve health care and defend America’s pole position in the innovation economy. Now we need to translate their enthusiasm to GOP budgets. The latest version of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act would increase NIH funding by $10 billion over five years. Congress would still have to appropriate the cash. But it moves the debate forward. As a biomedical researcher in academia and private industry, my chief concern is we’ll stop debating the value of federally funding research…That investment pays off in cost-saving treatments. Scientists are on the cusp of therapeutic breakthroughs for near-epidemic diseases, such as, Alzheimer’s, heart disease and diabetes. Alzheimer’s alone costs the U.S. $200 billion a year, and without a game-changing treatment is projected to cost $1 trillion by the year 2050…We are a nation of inventors and explorers and we are at a crossroads. For us to continue to project strength and leadership in a rapidly changing world — to champion free minds, free elections and free markets — we must invest in the enterprises that contributed to this country’s greatness. By shortchanging research, we shortchange our ability to foster and defend these values.” Dean Li, M.D., Ph.D., is associate vice president for research and chief scientific officer for University of Utah Health Sciences and the co-founder of several biotech companies.

A May 5, 2015 The Hill article reported that Sen. Bill Cassidy expressed interest in shifting funding from HIV to Alzheimer’s research. According to the article, “Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) had seen the projections on Medicare costs for people with Alzheimer’s disease, and he didn’t like what he saw. Pressing officials from the National Institutes of Health at a hearing Thursday, Cassidy asked if it was time to shift research funding away from HIV.” According to Rep. Cassidy, “We’ve got this balloon note on Alzheimer’s, $200 billion and climbing…Are we going to wait until we figure out a vaccine for [HIV] before we begin shifting to the new battle?”

A May 4, 2015 Huffington Post blog highlighted ways that millennials can “change the face of Alzheimer’s.” According to the article, “Millennials are typically savvy when it comes to all things technology. Caregivers often don't have time to attend support groups or read resources online. Millennials can provide a caregiver an extra hand by reading and sending articles on the latest research and innovations in care, finding helpful videos online, listening to webinars directed towards caregivers, and reporting back highlights. For example, Banner Alzheimer's Institute hosts a monthly webinar series called "Dementia Dialogues," discussing different aspects of the disease with caregivers on topics like Alzheimer's medications and traveling with an Alzheimer's patient.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

A May 5, 2015 Pittsburg Post-Gazette article highlighted the University of Pittsburgh’s efforts to advance Alzheimer’s research. According to the article, “The new research is examining both treatment and prevention, using the latest technology of imaging a person’s brain. In addition to the changes in the way a person thinks, Alzheimer’s is associated with physical changes, including beta amyloid plaque and tau protein “tangles” in the brain…Oscar Lopez, a professor of neurology at Pitt and director of the University of Pittsburgh Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, said he is concerned that, despite improved technology, it will still take another 10 years to get useful results. There are a handful of studies, including the multisite A4 Study at Pitt, that are examining people without any sign of Alzheimer’s and following them for 10 years with brain scans. They hope this will explain why one person develops the disease and another doesn’t. Dr. Lopez is the principal investigator in Pittsburgh.”

A May 5, 2015 Scottish Express article reported that Aberdeen University researchers have claimed to develop a drug that could slow the progression of Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Initial studies of the drug – developed by Scottish scientists – show it can greatly slow or even halt the progression of the illness. Administered early enough, it could stop Alzheimer’s from ever developing. If it proves effective, people could take LMTX daily from the age of 60 to protect against getting dementia even if they have shown no symptoms. Its inventor, Professor Claude Wischik of Aberdeen University, said: “In the phase two tests, this drug achieved a 90 per cent reduction in the rate of progression on clinical measures, and it achieved a similar effect on the rate of loss of brain function, as measured by brain scans.”" 

A May 5, 2015 Medical Xpress article reported that “A ground-breaking study has now, for the first time anywhere, characterized early-stage changes that occur inside individual, Alzheimer's-affected cells in the intact brain.” According to the article, “Remarkably, the study indicates that even if only a small number of cells is affected, the result is a reduction of electrical activity throughout the cerebral cortex - the area of the brain that serves as the center of higher mental function and cognition…The researchers - Drs. Edward Stern and Dana Cohen of Bar-Ilan University and Dr. Tara Spires-Jones of the University of Edinburgh - published their findings in the academic journal Neuron on February 19th, 2015.”