June 02, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

MUST READS

A June 3, 2015 Daily Pilot article by Alzheimer’s caregiver David Schnur honored the memory his wife Arelene during Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month. According to Schnur, “With Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month beginning this week, thoughts spring to mind of the times when my wife struggled with memory loss. And my heart goes out to the thousands of Orange County residents who are affected by Alzheimer's or are at risk of developing other types of dementia. The repercussions can be dire for families. The disease is costly to manage. Psychological and physical stress can whiplash those diagnosed, as well as their family and caretakers…The best advice I can give to others is to remain placid and learn how to improvise in those absurd moments. Many times Arlene would call me the name of her ex-husband, but deep down I sensed that with the repetition of my care, she could still recall that I would always be her partner.”

A June 1, 2015 PBS.org Nova Next article reported on the link between brain evolution and Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “A new study shows that this memory-robbing disease may have evolved alongside human intelligence, a finding that could eventually help us eradicate it… They found that six genes drove evolution in brain development between 200,000 and 50,000 years ago. Tang speculates that Alzheimer’s is a byproduct of an intelligent, energy-hungry brain paired with an aging metabolism.”  


GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES  

Must WatchA June 1, 2015 The Guardian article highlighted Alzheimer’s Research UK’s first national TV campaign featuring the late Sir Terry Pratchett. According to the article, “The TV ad campaign, which aired in the final of Britain’s Got Talent on Sunday night, also features famous faces including Hollywood actor and charity ambassador Seth Rogen, James Nesbitt, choreographer Arlene Phillips, Dame Joan Bakewell and broadcaster Katie Derham. Rogen, whose mother-in-law is living with early on-set Alzheimer’s, said that tackling the disease is a global challenge. “It doesn’t respect ethnicity or wealth,” he said. “And with a rapidly ageing global population, it’s one of our biggest threats. Alzheimer’s Research UK’s campaign is a bit of a wake-up call to the scale of the challenge, but also a call to arms for us to back research to beat it.””


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY  

A June 1, 2015 Phoenix Business Journal article reported that the Banner Alzheimer's Institute is getting $10 million focused “on two separate therapies and how they may work on a specific gene — APOE-e4 — that is considered to be present in people who have an increased risk of developing the disease.”

A June 1, 2015 Medical Xpress article reported that “researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have determined that the brain is directly connected to the immune system by vessels previously thought not to exist.” According to the article, “That such vessels could have escaped detection when the lymphatic system has been so thoroughly mapped throughout the body is surprising on its own, but the true significance of the discovery lies in the effects it could have on the study and treatment of neurological diseases ranging from autism to Alzheimer's disease to multiple sclerosis.”


INDUSTRY UPDATE  

A June 2, 2015 The Denver Post article reported that Dr. Charles Stacey, the new CEO of Accera Inc., is focused on Alzheimer’s prevention. According to the article, “Stacey's appointment headlines a shift in management and strategy for Accera, which previously gained mixed reaction — and, eventually, an FDA warning letter — for its Axona "milkshake," a medical food to improve cognitive functions in patients suffering from mild to moderate symptoms of Alz heimer's. Accera now is focused exclusively on advancing a new therapy, AC-1204, through the regulatory process, Stacey said. Accera currently is enrolling for late-stage clinical trials related to AC-1204.”


AGING  

A May 29, 2015 Wall Street Journal article highlighted six ideas to enhance social innovation in addition to life extension. According to the article, “Life extension without social innovation is a recipe for dystopian disaster—what one critic characterizes as “the coming death shortage,” invoking images not only of endless (and unaffordable) retirements but of a society loaded down by a population explosion of the idle old. As thousands of baby boomers each day surge into their 60s and 70s, it’s time to focus on enriching lives, not just lengthening them; on providing purpose and productivity, not just perpetuity. We need to marshal imagination and ingenuity to devise new strategies for enhancing the whole range of experiences in later life, including education, faith, housing, work, finance and community.”

A May 29, 2015 Latino USA radio segment explored “the special bond between Latinos and their grandparents.” According to the description, “We talk about the importance of grandparents, from our ancestors to today. We hear stories of grandparents raising their grandchildren, including a Dominican grandma that supported her transgender granddaughter when no one else would. We talk to Chilean writer Isabel Allende about how her grandparents put the magical in her magical realism. We hear memories and grandparent stories from our listeners, and we end with sabiduría or words of wisdom, about saying goodbye.”