June 01, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

Must ListenA May 30, 2015 NPR All Things Considered segment provided a glimpse into USAgainstAlzheimer’s patient advocate Greg O’Brien’s life with Alzheimer’s. According to the segment, “Greg O'Brien sees things that he knows aren't there, and these visual disturbances are becoming more frequent. That's not uncommon; up to 50 percent of people who have Alzheimer's disease experience hallucinations, delusions or psychotic symptoms, recent research suggests. At first, he just saw spider-like forms floating in his peripheral vision, O'Brien says. "They move in platoons." But in the last year or so, the hallucinations have been more varied, and often more disturbing. A lion. A bird. Sprays of blood among the spiders. Over the past five months, O'Brien has turned on an audio recorder when the hallucinations start, in hopes of giving NPR listeners insight into what Alzheimer's feels like.”


MUST READS

A May 31, 2015 San Francisco Chronicle article profiled one Alzheimer’s patient’s participation in the clinical trial process. According to the article, “The stakes are high, considering more than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s, and the number is expected to rise as the Baby Boomers age. The fatal disease ultimately impairs the body’s ability to swallow and breathe. Carolyn McLeese, 79, a retired elementary school teacher who lives in Bodega Bay, volunteered for a trial because, like others, she wants to help find potential treatments both for themselves and for millions of others with the disease…As part of the trial rules, McLeese does not know if she’s taking the placebo or solanezumab. But she and her husband say they haven’t noticed a decline in her mental function, as would be typical of the disease. Nor has she had any side effects. “I tell myself I’m on the real the stuff,” McLeese said. “Until something happens differently, I’m just telling myself I’m getting whatever will keep me right here. If I stay right where I am right now, that would make me satisfied.””

A May 30, 2015 Democrat & Chronicle article underscored the difficulties and rewards of caregiving for a loved one with Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Finding the joy in caregiving has to do with setting new priorities, letting go of old expectations, and accepting life as it unfolds. Even in some of our darkest moments joy surfaced because I allowed it to happen. That is how you find a sense of contentment and peace and love in the face of the horror this disease perpetrates. That is how you know it doesn't matter if they 'know who you are,' because you still know who they are.”


GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES  

A May 29, 2015 The Japan Times article reported that “The cost of providing health and social care for the nation’s dementia sufferers totaled ¥14.5 trillion in 2014, with nearly half of the cost borne by families, a health ministry panel said Friday.” According to the article, “The government is encouraging a shift from institutional care to home care for elderly dementia patients as a way to curb the demand on government-run nursing care insurance, which has grown to around ¥10 trillion per year. But the study suggests that without strengthening home nursing care services covered by government insurance, the result will be that households are forced to assume even more of the cost and responsibility.”

A May 29, 2015 EurActiv article reported on the healthcare challenges that Europe faces as its population ages. According to the article, “Poles are getting older. By 2050, 33% of Poland’s population will be over 65 years old, and 10% over 80. It reflects a broader trend in the whole Europe: people are living longer…High medical costs are one of the most visible effects of an aging society, and - depending on where you live - ineffective healthcare…People will live longer. But for those longer years to be actually happy and wholesome, the EU and the member states have to provide their population with information and, if required, help to make them healthy and able to appreciate their golden years.”