MUST READS

A June 2, 2016 Eurekalert.org article reported that “A Johns Hopkins study on data from more than 7,000 older Americans has found that those who show signs of probable dementia but are not yet formally diagnosed are nearly twice as likely as those with such a diagnosis to engage in potentially unsafe activities, such as driving, cooking, and managing finances and medications.”

A June 1, 2016 New America Media article reported that “Poverty, low educational attainment and other socioeconomic factors put blacks at a much higher risk than whites of developing dementia and other cognitive impairments later in life, says a national study out this week.” According to the article, “Zhang and the co-authors of the MSU study believe that although the exact biological, behavioral and psychosocial mechanisms linking childhood conditions and late-life cognitive impairment remain unclear, two general mechanisms suggest there could well be a link.”

A June 1, 2016 U.S. News & World Report article reported that “Brain researchers gathered in Boston on Wednesday to kick off a seven-year, $16 million research project designed to find a way to diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy in the living.” According to the article, “Researchers are moving ahead with efforts to develop a diagnostic test for chronic traumatic encephalopathy — even without the NFL's help. Some of the nation's top brain scientists gathered Wednesday at the Boston University School of Medicine for the start of a seven-year, $16 million research project designed to find a test for CTE and identify its risk factors. For now, the disease increasingly found in former football players can only be diagnosed during an autopsy.”

A June 1, 2016 Chicago Tonight article profiled clinical trial participants enrolled in Alzheimer’s studies at Northwestern Medicine’s Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center. According to the article, “Roland Marquis, trial participant:We believe that my mother was an Alzheimer's victim and that got me interested in it. I heard about Northwestern’s Alzheimer's unit years ago and I've been participating in several small trials since then. We're talking about decades now of doing this.”

A June 1, 2016 MedScape.com article highlighted the need to address caregiver health. According to the article, “With their focus on the patient's well-being, healthcare professionals may not recognize that caregiver stress and burnout can lead to detrimental outcomes not only for the caregiver but also for their patient. Persons with dementia whose caregiver suffers from burnout are more likely than non-caregivers to experience depression, early institutionalization, and increased risk of dying.[4] Thus, the quality of medical care provided by physicians and other healthcare professionals is inextricably linked to the health and well-being of the patient's caregiver.”

A June 1, 2016 Science Daily article reported that “People with Alzheimer's disease could benefit from earlier diagnosis if a long-term memory test combined with a brain scan were carried out, a study suggests.”