June 25, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT  

Alzheimer’s Talks Today! Could boosting the brain’s immune system help fight Alzheimer’s? A breaking study found that microglia, the cells that make up the brain’s immune system, are suppressed with age – but the process can be reversed. In this study of mice they were able to reverse memory loss. Dr. Katrin Andreasson of Stanford University led the study, and she’ll be joining us for our June Alzheimer’s Talks to share her remarkable discovery and what it means for the future of Alzheimer’s treatment. Sign uphere to join the call from 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM EST.


MUST READS 

A June 24, 2015 Time article reported that Alzheimer’s may begin 20 years before symptoms appear. According to the article, “Studies so far have found evidence that the biological processes that cause the mental decline may begin 10 to 12 years before people first notice signs of cognitive decline. But in the most recent report published Wednesday in the journal Neurology, experts say that the disease may actually begin even earlier — 18 years earlier, in fact — than they expected.”

A June 24, 2015 The Wall Street Journal article profiled cookbook author Paula Wolfert and her battle with Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Her latest project, “Unforgettable: Bold Flavors from a Renegade Life,” is her most personal by far. Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago, Ms. Wolfert, 77, has entrusted the telling of her story and the assembling of 50 of her favorite recipes to fellow food writer Emily Kaiser Thelin, following a successful Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to put the biographical cookbook together. It will cover a remarkable career right up to the present moment, as Ms. Wolfert manages the disease in the place where she feels most comfortable—her kitchen—by preparing “brain-healthy” foods she hopes will combat the progress of dementia. At her Sonoma, Calif., home, Ms. Wolfert talked to us about her new routine, her enduring obsession with clay pots and what she learned from having her coffee grounds read.”


CAREGIVING

A June 25, 2015 Huffington Post article by Marie Marley outlined the basics of making final arrangements for a terminally-ill loved one. According to Marley, “No one wants to make final arrangements for a terminally -ill family member. It's painful to think about any loved one's eventual passing, but it's important to make the arrangements sooner rather than later. Why? Because once you have taken care of all the plans, you can just relax and enjoy spending whatever precious time you have left together. There are other reasons as well. One is that you'll save yourself untold stress when your loved one does pass away. When you're grieving and not functioning at your best, you won't have to rush around making a multitude of arrangements, gathering needed documents and information, making important decisions, and performing a whole host of other tasks, many of which have to be completed quickly.” Marie Marley is the author of the award-winning memoir, Come Back Early Today: A Memoir of Love, Alzheimer's and Joy.


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A June 24, 2015 Mirror article (UK) reported that British scientists unveiled “an atlas of the human brain which helps identify the first changes caused by Alzheimer’s disease.” According to the article, “The digital map, created using images from MRI scans of ageing brains, will help with early diagnosis of the condition and also boost treatment of other neuro-degenerative disorders such as schizophrenia. The Edinburgh University researchers have already used it to compare the neurons of healthy older people with those of dementia patients. It was able to pinpoint changes in brain structure that can be an underlying sign of the condition.”

A June 24, 2015 Slate article reported on the challenges and progress with the open data movement in research. According to the article, “And large data repositories have been the foundation of major biomedical discoveries and achievements. Joel Dudley, a biomedical informatics researchers at Mount Sinai, talked at the conference about a counterintuitive molecular similarity between skin disease and Alzheimer's that was discovered only because of large-scale data mapping. He also showed how broad access to patient medical histories and genotypes can reveal things like subpopulations within Type II diabetes patients in which each group is predisposed to have different types of conditions alongside diabetes.”