Today's Top Alzheimer's News
MUST READS
A June 21, 2016 New York Times Well Blog highlighted medical anthropologist Dana Walrath's efforts to chronicle three years of caregiving for her mother with Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Refusing to accept the dominant narrative of Alzheimer’s disease as a horror story, Dr. Walrath used the techniques of graphic medicine to create “Aliceheimer’s,” an 80-page, 35-picture tribute to her mother’s animated mind. Graphic medicine uses text and graphics to, as she writes in the book’s introduction, “let us better understand those who are hurting, feel their stories, and redraw and renegotiate those social boundaries.””
A June 21, 2016 The Wall Street Journal article encouraged financial advisors to help clients develop better habits that can make a meaningful difference over the course of their lives, including being prepared for Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “In addition, advisers should encourage their younger clients to talk to their parents about issues such as long-term-care insurance and health-care powers of attorney. We’ve seen an alarming increase in the number of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, and if children can have conversations about aging issues with their parents early on and in small bits, it will make the experience less stressful.”
A June 20, 2016 The State opinion piece by April Hamilton underscored the need to fund Alzheimer’s research. According to Hamilton, “My mother has had Alzheimer’s disease for more than 10 years. I’ve watched her forget how to put on a seatbelt, my name and eventually how to walk. I’ve watched her lose her dignity. It wrecked finances as well, and caused us to lose our childhood home…The federal government must take bold action to confront this epidemic now. Please contact Sens. Lindsay Graham and Tim Scott and tell them to continue the fight against Alzheimer’s disease by increasing research funding by $400 million in 2017.”
RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY
A June 20, 2016 Scientific American article reported that “preliminary results from a Phase I/II clinical trial suggest that a small implant that emits ultrasound waves can safely open the blood-brain barrier in people, potentially allowing drugs.” According to the article, “CarThera will start a Phase III trial in 2017 to assess how ultrasound treatments can improve chemotherapy for brain cancer patients. Also, Carpentier is interested in determining if the device can help treat Alzheimer’s disease. Some studies in animals suggest that ultrasound can clear out toxic protein plaques from the brain, in part, by temporarily opening the blood-brain barrier.”
A June 20, 2016 Science Daily article reported that a new brain map could enable novel therapies for autism, Huntington's disease, and Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “The big data project is publicly available at the Mouse Connectome Project and will aid in the leap toward precision medicine, Dong said. Next on his team's mapping list is the hippocampus, which is the center of emotion, memory and the autonomic nervous system. A detailed atlas of this area could further Alzheimer's disease research.”
UPCOMING EVENTS AND RELEVANT WEBINARS
June 21 from 2:30-3:30 p.m. EST - The Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) and UsAgainstAlzheimer's invite you to a Congressional briefing on Tuesday in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room SD-430. The focus of the briefing is on: shifting Alzheimer’s disease research from a researcher-driven to patient-centered focus to help accelerate the development of effective treatments, improve quality of care, and support family caregivers. The briefing is presented by PCORI with UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, a partner with Mayo Clinic, UCSF/Brain Health Registry, and the University of Florida in the first ever Alzheimer's and Dementia Patient and Caregiver Powered Research Network. The briefing's aim is to: raise awareness of caregivers’ needs, highlight PCORI’s research and provide health care professionals and advocates an opportunity to discuss where additional research is needed.
June 28th, 12:00pm EST - 1PM EST - Alzheimer's and Dementia PPRN: Opportunities for Collaborations in PCORnet | Join WebEx meeting here(Meeting number: 733 558 176 | Meeting password: 1234) Join by phone: 1-855-244-8681 Call-in toll-free number (US/Canada) 1-650-479-3207 Call-in toll number (US/Canada) Access code: 733 558 176