November 30, 2015

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

MUST READS

A November 30, 2015 MarketPlace.org article highlighted Minnesota’s efforts to become more dementia friendly and inclusive. According to the article, “Minnesota has a long tradition of taking the needs of the elderly seriously. In fact, Paynesville takes those needs so seriously, it greets visitors with a billboard announcing that it’s a dementia-friendly community. Programs offer shopping assistance at the local grocery store, education for first responders and training for local businesses…And there’s another plus. Keeping dementia patients independent means keeping them out of nursing homes, which translates into big health care savings.”

A November 30, 2015 Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Marc E. Agroninis underscored the changing vocabulary of age and aging care. According to the article, “No one wants to be labeled as “demented” given these connotations—so why do we still use the term? We should no longer, according to the American Psychiatric Association, which has replaced “dementia” with the broader, more accurate and less pejorative term “neurocognitive disorder” in the latest diagnostic manual. With time, “dementia” may go the way of antiquated medical terms such as “imbecile” and “retarded.” This new name is but one of many changes to the nomenclature of aging, driven in part by concerns about how the words we use to talk about our aging selves influence self-image…Too often, the focus at this stage is more on how to cushion the final slide rather than on elevating oneself from the rut. And yet, the findings of age researchers show how cultivating positive attitudes can bring greater function, form and even longevity. In the end, changing the names of a geriatric disease, manager or community won’t immediately change the way we age. Nonetheless, the words we choose are powerful symbols along the road to shaping how we anticipate and perceive aging.” Marc E. Agroninis a geriatric psychiatrist at Miami Jewish Health Systems and the author of “How We Age” and the newly released “The Dementia Caregiver: A Guide to Caring for Someone with Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Neurocognitive Disorders.”

A November 28, 2015 The St. Louis Post-Dispatch opinion piece by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) announced his commitment to boosting NIH funding for Alzheimer’s research. According to Sen. Blunt, “I have been proud to lead efforts in the Senate to boost funding for the National Institutes of Health, including a 60 percent increase for Alzheimer’s research, and hope my colleagues will answer Daly’s call and join me in this critical effort…In the coming weeks, the Senate will take up legislation to fund the government for the coming year. I urge my colleagues to listen to their constituents, like Daly, who have experienced firsthand the heartache that comes with caring for a loved one with an incurable disease, and support increased funding for NIH and Alzheimer’s research.”

A November 29, 2015 Wall Street Journal article profiled Japan’s efforts to turn its aging population into an asset as its workforce ages. According to the article, “But a growing number of Japanese executives, policy makers and academics challenge that proposition. They are exploring whether modest adaptations can ease the woes of an aging society, or even turn the burdens into benefits. The optimists’ case starts with steering the growing number of healthy 60- and 70-year-olds from retirement into work. That makes them more productive members of society while helping staff jobs that otherwise would be impossible to fill as the population shrinks.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A November 27, 2015 MedicalNewsToday.com article reported that “During the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, when individuals appear to be free of symptoms, toxic changes are nevertheless taking place in the brain - including synapse loss.”