USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

A special insert on Alzheimer’s went into USA Today newspapers in large media markets across the country today, including New York City, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Boston, Denver, and Dallas, among others.  An article by George Vradenburg focussed on advocacy is included in the centerfold alongside an interview with Seth Rogen.  The campaign also includes a robust digital platform, which features theUSAgainstAlzheimer’s article.

A June 18, 2015 Huffington Post Latino Voices blog post by LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s director Jason Resendez and advocate Lisette Carbajal highlighted the bond between families even as they struggle with Alzheimer’s. According to Resendez, “As many of us rush to pick out ties and tool sets to make father's day extra special for our dads, my thoughts turn to those struggling to celebrate and honor their fathers living with - and dying of - Alzheimer's. LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's, a network of USAgainstAlzheimer's, works to bring Alzheimer's disease out of the shadows in the Latino community where stigma and misunderstanding stand in the way of diagnosis and advocacy.” According to Carbajal, “While the next couple of years will be the hardest ones for my family, and especially my mother, I plan to be there every day. I will be there even when he doesn't remember my birthday or my name. I plan to be there for him as he was for me when I fell off my bike or when I walked across the stage to receive my diploma. When I look at him, I still see the man that taught me everything I needed to know about growing up and being strong. Thanks for being my best friend, dad.”

A June 17, 2015 General Board of Church & Society of the United Methodist Church blog post highlighted the launch of Faith United Against Alzheimer’s Coalition. According to the post, “USAgainstAlzheimer's and the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) of The United Methodist Church today announced the launch of the Faith United Against Alzheimer’s Coalition (FUAAC), a cooperative effort to mobilize all elements of the faith community in the fight against Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.As founders of the coalition, USAgainstAlzheimer’s and GBCS will work with faith-based organizations to promote dignity, compassionate care and quality of life for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, provide support for families, and call on industry leaders, community stakeholders and policymakers to work urgently to find disease-modifying treatments and a cure.”

MUST READS

A June 19, 2015 Parade article highlighted the importance and power of dementia friendly communities. According to the article, “This kind of grassroots movement is key to helping patients and caregivers cope with a disease on the rise. Every 67 seconds, someone in the U.S. develops Alzheimer’s, according to the Alzheimer’s Association; an estimated 5.3 million Americans of all ages already have the disease in 2015. One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or other dementia, it’s the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and it’s the only cause of death in the top 10 in America that can’t be prevented, cured or slowed, the association says. Enter people power. ‘A lot of unmet needs are being responded to spontaneously—to fill the needs for inclusion, for less stigma about the disease and for more focus on quality of life,’ says Lisa Gwyther, education director at Duke University’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. “People want to give to others.’”

A June 19, 2015 Quartz article by Sarita Gupta highlighted the impact of her father’s Alzheimer’s on her family. According to Gupta, “It’s exorbitantly expensive to care for someone with Alzheimer’s. For now, my family is still able to care for my dad at home without additional (read: hired) assistance. While I’m at work, my mom is there, and my brother, sister, and I share the responsibilities for managing the selling of their home, their finances, their medical needs, and other legal matters. But I know we’ll have to hire a home care aide soon to help care for him, especially as my mom ages. But the shocking reality is: unless you’re very poor or very rich, you can’t afford a home care worker. Medicare, which most people assume covers elder care costs like home care or assisted living or nursing homes, doesn’t actually pay for any of this. It’s Medicaid that pays for long-term care costs—but the catch is: you need to go broke and be below the poverty line before you qualify. The out-of-pocket costs, if you pay on your own, are staggering—the average cost of a private room in a nursing home is approaching $100,000 per year, and home care, while more affordable, will still run you tens of thousands a year.” Sarita Gupta is the Executive Director of Jobs with Justice and Co-Director of Caring Across Generations. 

A June 18, 2015 Dupage Policy journal article reported that “U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL) announced the launch of a social media campaign Thursday, designed to assist Alzheimer’s disease caregivers with better understanding and navigating the 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).”

A June 18, 2015 The Dallas Morning News article highlighted the risk of financial abuse that seniors with dementia face. According to the article, “An estimated 5.1 million people age 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias that eat away their ability to manage their financial affairs. With 10,000 people turning 65 every day for the next decade and half, the number of seniors dealing with cognitive decline is expected to keep rising. That means that seniors, with a median household net worth of $170,500, will be more vulnerable to financial exploitation, whether it’s a scam by crooks who prey on the elderly or theft by someone they trust.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A June 1, 2015 Chemical & Engineering News cover story highlighted Biogen’s drug aducanumab and the direction of Alzheimer’s research. According to the article, “At a neuroscience conference in March, the company provided more details: The Phase Ib study of 166 people included about 30 people each at four dosage strengths and 40 who were given a placebo. PET scans showed that the higher the dose, the more plaque that was removed from the brains; even better, the higher the dose, the better that people performed on cognitive tests. For scientists who have been plugging away at the amyloid hypothesis for decades, the results were gratifying. ‘No doubt there’s a little over-the-top enthusiasm,’ Harvard’s Selkoe says. ‘You have to be measured, but I think these results are hard to explain away, scientifically, and that’s all that matters to me.’ Still, much work lies ahead, Selkoe cautions. For starters, Biogen will need to repeat the results in far more patients. One big question for aducanumab is whether brain swelling, a side effect observed in all amyloid-clearing antibodies, will keep patients from being given the highest, most effective dose.”