October 19, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

An October 18, 2015 Boston Globe article reported on municipal efforts to prepare for dementia, including  Dementia Friendly America, a national initiative supported by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. According to the article, “In the coming year, similar programs will roll out nationwide as part of a major initiative, Dementia Friendly America, touted by the White House at this summer’s Conference on Aging. Nineteen regions, ranging from the city of Denver to the entire state of West Virginia, have committed local resources. Massachusetts communities such as Brookline and Mashpee are joining the movement as well. The goal: to support the 5.3 million Americans who have Alzheimer’s — and to help communities prepare for the 16 million expected to have the disease by 2050. Supporters compare the movement to the push 25 years ago to build ramps and other accommodations for the physically disabled.”


MUST READS

An October 17, 2015 News4Jax.com article profiled emergency physician Dr. David Kramer and his journey with early onset Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “He began to see specialists at 54. A neurology colleague said he didn't see a problem, and another specialist told Kramer he was too young to have dementia. A battery of tests - blood work, a CT scan, an EEG - showed nothing. Kramer asked if he could keep working and was told he could…For Nicholas, then in his late teens, it was becoming harder to ignore that their usual witty banter was dissolving. On a cruise, he tried to explain a card game and watched as his father failed to understand its rules. Distraught, Nicholas pulled his mom aside. ‘I can't believe that's my dad," he said. "That's the guy I could never beat at chess.’”

An October 16, 2015 PBS Newshour article highlighted dementia’s toll on caregivers. According to the article, “Unpaid caregivers and family members spend more than 100 hours a month, on average, assisting elderly people with dementia who live in the community and not in residential care or nursing homes, according to a new study. The time commitment was significantly higher than for similar caregivers who helped elderly people without dementia, who themselves put in an average 73 hours each month.”

An October 17, 2015 NPR.org article reported that “A drug that's already approved for treating leukemia appears to dramatically reduce symptoms in people who have Parkinson's disease with dementia, or a related condition called Lewy body dementia.” Also reported on by Latino Health and other outlets. 

An October 16, 2015 CBS News article reported that a new study finds that “participants who ate a mix of healthy foods and less-healthy foods -- including red and processed meats, sugar, and beer -- still fared better on brain tests over a six year period compared to those who ate diets heavy on less-healthy foods.”