USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

A July 14, 2015 press release from Prince George’s County Marylandshares that the County became one of six national communities to pilot the Dementia Friendly America Initiative at the most recent White House Conference on Aging. According to the release, “Prince George’s County is 1 of 6 communities, nationwide, to pilot the dementia friendly initiative.  Other communities include: Tempe, AZ; Santa Clara County, CA; Denver, CO; Knoxville, TN; and the state of West Virginia. “Becoming dementia friendly must be a priority for all of our hometowns in order to remove stigma, enable people with Alzheimer’s to come out of the shadows and engage in their communities, and help families effectively manage all that comes with the critical task of caregiving,” said George Vradenburg, founder of USAgainstAlzheimer’s, who worked closely with DFA to launch the effort and was a major catalyst behind its inception. “This hometown Dementia Friendly America initiative sends a message to American families experiencing dementia: ‘You are not alone, we are your neighbors, we care about you, and we want to help.”

MUST READS

A July 14, 2015 The Hill article reported on advances in research and policy solutions that address neurological diseases like Alzheimer's. According to the article, “In the case of Alzheimer's, recent research on the plaques and tangles that form in the brains of patients with the disease could lead to treatment that delays its onset, sparing millions of patients and families the indignity of dementia, and saving more than $350 billion per year in health care costs by 2050.”

A July 14, 2015 The Hill story reported that Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) “made a personal plea for the federal government to spend more to cure diseases like Alzheimer's, which took the life of his grandmother.” According to the article, “In a subcommittee hearing he convened, Cruz struck a dramatic tone as he lambasted the government’s current spending levels for diseases like Alzheimer's and cancer. But members overall spoke little of the House’s cures bill, which also includes a nearly $9 billion increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health.”

A July 14, 2015 Mississippi News Now article reported that Mississippi Senator Wicker introduced a new proposal for a public-private partnership to cure Alzheimer’s called the EUREKA Act (Ensuring Useful Research Expenditures is Key for Alzheimer’s). Senator Wicker said. “By 2050, more than a trillion dollars a year will be spent, mostly by taxpayers, to treat Alzheimer’s. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and the House on my ‘EUREKA Act.’ It is time for us to consider alternate approaches to government-funded breakthroughs, and prize-based challenges are an excellent investment for the government. With the prize, you pay only for success.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A July 14, 2015 LA Times article reported that USC is seeking a restraining order against UC San Diego in an ongoing battle that highlights the importance of Alzheimer’s research and funding. According to the article, “The two universities have been trading accusations for weeks, all centered on oversight of a $100-million, multicenter study that tests drugs and other experimental therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer's. Last week, Superior Court Judge Judith Hayes ordered USC not to tweak data or change any computers involved in the Alzheimer's study.”

A July 14, 2015 The Denver Post article highlighted promising news on Acera Inc., a Colorado-based company, whose late-stage clinical trials for an Alzheimer’s drug are moving forward. According to the report, “Broomfield-based Accera Inc. has reached 75 percent enrollment in one of its late-stage clinical trials for an investigational new drug that company officials hope could be the sixth-ever Alzheimer's drug to receive FDA approval.”

A July 14, 2015 Seattle Business Journal article reported that billionaire Paul Allen is trying to out-spend Alzheimer’s. According to the news, “The Seattle billionaire's Paul G. Allen Family Foundation announced Tuesdaythat it is awarding grants totaling $7 million to five teams of researchers. Those teams will work on projects over three years focused on understanding the disease's elusive biological roots.”

A July 14, 2015 Boston Business Journal article reported that Biogen will release new Alzheimer's research data next week. According to the article, “It’s safe to say that whatever company comes up with the first-ever drug to stop or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease will become a dominant pharmaceutical firm for decades to come. Next week, we could get a big clue as to whether Biogen will be that company.”