May 12, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

MUST READS

A May 11, 2015 Huffington Post article reported on B. Smith and her husband Dan Gasby’s efforts to raise awareness of Alzheimer’s as a “21st century civil rights issue.” According to the article, “Gasby went on to explain to HuffPost through his experiences raising awareness that African-Americans often express a significant amount of mistrust with the medical community. In fact, the television producer compared their apprehension to the ongoing mistrusts of policing in many of America’s black communities. “It’s all systemic. This is at the very root of race and government and feeling oppressed, and so we the people don’t trust these organizations,” he admitted to HuffPost. “And we gotta find a way to build trust, because it’s in our own selfish interest to get the best medical care because we deal with all the other issues that some people don’t have to deal with by the virtue of not being black.” “This is a 21st century civil rights issue in terms of understanding that Alzheimer’s have to be dealt with, and that we have to find a way to work with pharmaceutical companies and research companies to get involved so that the data that they collect is going to help us.””

A May 11, 2015 Detroit Free Press article profiled the benefits of at home support for individuals suffering from diseases like Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Hospice of Michigan's small but growing At Home Support program allows patients to continue their fight to live even as it extends traditional hospice services such as palliative care…Now, a cost analysis of the At Home Support program suggests that accepting even the sickest patients into the Hospice of Michigan program — long before they're ready to die — not only improves their quality of lives, it also reduces health care costs. That's especially important during that steep end-of-life cost curve. That's when diseases slip out of control — sometimes because of something frustratingly avoidable, such as a missed medication, prompting panicked runs to emergency rooms.”

A May 11, 2015 New York Post article reported that a new 10-year city Health Department study found cases of Alzheimer’s skyrocketed between 2004 and 2013. According to the article, “The latest Summary of Vital Statistics data show New Yorkers now live longer than the national average, 78.8 years…Bucking the trend were deaths from Alzheimer’s disease, which shot up 193 percent since 2004, which health officials attribute to more accurate reporting.”

A May 11, 2015 Sunrise Senior Living blog post underscored the importance of early diagnosis for Alzheimer’s. According to the post, “The Alzheimer's & Dementia Alliance of Wisconsin explained that patients who seek help early will get a more accurate diagnosis. Physicians can record a patient's detailed history when he or she is fully able to remember and communicate clearly. Seniors will be better able to express exactly what symptoms they're noticing, which will result in better treatment before further cognitive decline takes place…With the proper treatment early on in the development of the disease, it's possible that many of the patient's symptoms can be slowed. Medication and professional assistance can also lead to slower progression of the condition. As new and improved treatments become available, seniors who have been diagnosed will have the opportunity to benefit from these medicines.” 


FROM THE HILL

A May 11, 2015 Inlander Q&A with Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) highlighted the Senator’s commitment to research funding for diseases like Alzheimer’s. According to Sen. Murray, “There are investments I think are important. I’m not going to agree to a budget that block-grants education funding and allows kids to get lost in this country. I’m not going to compromise and allow investments to go away for things I think are important, like NIH research that helps us solve diseases like Alzheimer’s. I’m not going to compromise and say that people who have worked all their lives and are on Medicare, that we will take away that guarantee for them that is so important for their security. So yes, there are things I will not compromise on. But I can compromise when it comes to finding middle ground. When it comes to how much money may go into transportation, or how much we are going to cut taxes, or how much we are going to invest in research. Because that’s what compromising on a budget is.”