July 24, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

A July 23, 2015 The Take Away with John Hockenberry radio interviewfeatured UsAgainstAlzheimer’s board member and caregiver Meryl Comer in a conversation about living with Alzheimer’s. 


MUST READS

A July 23, 2015 Forbes opinion piece by Richard Harris underscored the need to invest in Alzheimer’s research now. According to Harris, “Dr. David Satcher, the Surgeon General in the Clinton Administration, hoped the 2009 Alzheimer’s Study Group report he helped write would be the “wake up call.” AMERICA MUST ACT NOW, read the headline. The report compared  the coming Alzheimer’s crisis to the prospect of an overwhelming hurricane. What if we’d strengthened the levies around New Orleans, La., before Katrina struck?…Who knows, this presidential election cycle may come to be known as the moment when Alzheimer’s took hold as an issue truly deserving our undivided attention.”

A July 23, 2015 The Kojo Namdi Show featured a discussion about Alzheimer’s impact on the African American community. According to the description, “We’ll talk to local researchers and advocates about why African Americans are especially susceptible to the disease, how proteins in the brain contribute to its demise and what the prognosis is for finding a cure.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A July 24, 2015 International Business Times article reported that “Two scientists from Northwestern University, Illinois, found a marker in the cells of the transparent roundworm, C. Elegans, which abruptly begins aging the worm's cells once it reached reproductive maturity.”

A July 23, 2015 Newsweek article reported that “Researchers say solanezumab, a drug that has been evaluated in a number of Phase III trials, may be effective for treating mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease.”

A July 23, 2015 Time article reported on the link between exercise and curbing Alzheimer’s symptoms. According to the article, “While the exercise regimen wasn’t an easy one — it qualifies as moderately intense physical activity, which for a group of older adults who are likely sedentary to begin with is certainly a challenge, both Hasselbalch and Baker say that with the right execution — by working with participants and by gradually increasing their exercise level — achieving the amounts of activity needed to help their brains is possible. Baker also points out that it’s time to start studying the combined effects of new medications that are being tested for Alzheimer’s and increased physical activity. Together, she says, they may hold the key to actually slowing down and possibly even reversing progression of the disease.”