MUST READS

An August 17, 2015 The Washington Post article highlighted science writer Carol Berkower’s efforts to keep her Alzheimer’s worries at bay after her mother was diagnosed with the disease. According to Berkower, “When my mother died five years later, following a rapid decline that left her unable to walk or speak, I began to detect what I was sure must be early signs of dementia in myself. If I failed to locate a word or recall the name of a casual acquaintance, I’d be swamped with anxiety. Eventually, to restore a sense of control over my mind and life, I decided to take a rational approach: I’d pack my worries away until I got closer to the age at which dementia struck my mother — by which time there would surely be a cure. I married, earned a doctorate, moved to Israel and back, embarked on a career in science, had two children. And then last year I turned 50…Annual testing might be a good strategy for keeping my own Alzheimer’s worries at bay — at least for as long as the results remain negative. In the near term, though, once I finish this cup of coffee, I’ll get on my bike and do what’s good for the heart. I’ll do the same thing the next day, a day or two after that and so on for as long as possible to stay healthy. And I hope that my brain will follow.”

An August 17, 2015 AFP article (via Yahoo! News)reported that a new study found that “More money is being spent on medical research but fewer new drugs are being approved and people are not living much longer than they did in the 1960s.” According to the article, “Among the multiple reasons suspected for the stall in medical progress: too much focus on getting published in prestigious journals and excessive red tape and regulation, said the findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…The study found that the number of scientists in the United States has increased more than nine-fold since 1965 and the NIH budget has increased four-fold to about $30 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, the number of new drugs approved by the FDA has about doubled, and life expectancy has stayed relatively constant, gaining about two months per year in the past half-century…Others argue that modern medical challenges are more complex than ever, and finding cures for Alzheimer's and cancer simply takes more time and effort. Casadevall said many of the best drugs used today were developed decades ago, including insulin for diabetes and beta-blockers for cardiac conditions.” Also reported on by The Washington Post. Read the report abstract here [full report behind paywal]

An August 17, 2015 Gazette (Wisconsin) editorial called for increased dementia funding. According to the editorial board, “Likewise, Washington must unite to boost funding for research dedicated to prevention and treatment. Current funding is less than $600 million, about one-third of what scientists believe is needed to reach their goal of prevention and effective treatment in 10 years.”

An August 17, 2015 Huffington Post piece by Alzheimer’s spouse and caregiver Allan S. Vann called for increased Alzheimer’s research funding to find a cure for the disease. According to Vann, “Why isn't the media reporting that only an additional $51 million is requested for Alzheimer's, the only disease among the top 10 causes of death that is not preventable or treatable, has no cure, and is the costliest disease for the federal government, but an additional $25.3 billion is requested for HIV/AIDS, a disease that is preventable and treatable and is not even among the top 10 causes of death in this country? Annual Medicare costs for the 5.2 million Americans already diagnosed with Alzheimer's already exceed $100 billion and if there are no medical breakthroughs as the baby boom generation ages, annual Medicare costs for Alzheimer's are expected to reach $589 billion by 2050. Where is the media coverage on the explosion in coasts to Medicare if we don't succeed in finding effective treatments for Alzheimer’s?”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

An August 17, 2015 The Washington Post article reported that researchers have discovered a “missing link” connecting the brain to the immune system. According to the article, “That physical link was long thought absent, confounding scientists who study neurological disorders with an immune component. The vessels were found in mice, by accident, by University of Virginia researchers who published their results in Nature. If confirmed in humans, experts say, the discovery could have profound implications for a range of conditions including chronic fatigue syndrome, autism, multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease. Lymphatic vessels, which piggyback on blood vessels, distribute immune cells to tissues to fight infection and carry fluid away from tissues to dispose of cellular waste. This complex drainage system has been found in nearly every part of the human body but not, until now, in the brain.”

An August 17, 2015 Health Data Management article reported that “A new clinical center at NorthShore University HealthSystem is using the organization’s electronic health records and advanced analytics to get ahead of the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.”

An August 17, 2015 MedPage Today article reported on a growing focus on targets outside of amyloid in Alzheimer’s research. According to the article, “After several failed attempts at targeting pathways involved in the accumulation of this protein in the brain, researchers are acknowledging that there's probably more to the Alzheimer's picture -- that it may be something else, or some other combination of factors, that causes the neurodegeneration that leads to the disease's characteristic cognitive impairment…It's not that amyloid has no role in Alzheimer's. It's clearly a culprit in genetic forms of the disease, and is present in the brains of the majority of patients with non-familial, or sporadic, forms. But that doesn't mean it's causative in all cases. Some researchers -- particularly those involved in the development of anti-amyloid drugs -- continue to support expensive tests of therapies founded on the amyloid hypothesis. They suggest that if they target amyloid earlier, before symptoms appear or when they're in extremely early stages, disease progression might be improved and prevention may even be possible. Others are moving on to other pathways that don't involve amyloid, including tau phosphorylation, lipid metabolism, and inflammation.”

An August 17, 2015 The Washington Post interview with molecular biologist David Sinclair discussed his work on an anti-aging pill. According to Sinclair, “The ultimate goal is to have a pill that can prevent or reverse all diseases of aging. The major diseases that I’d like to tackle are heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and cancer. I want to reduce those diseases by 10 percent. Eventually, I’d like to reduce diseases of aging by 50 percent or more in the general population.”