USA2 SPOTLIGHT

In Case You Missed It: A September 13, 2016 The Hill article profiled UsAgainstAlzheimer’s co-founders Trish and George Vradenburg and their efforts to stop the spread of Alzheimer’s. According  to the profile, “Over the last six years, Trish and George Vradenburg have been working relentlessly to create a movement around Alzheimer’s disease. The couple ultimately hopes to eliminate the stigma associated with the condition and raise it up in the public discourse among other deadly diseases such as cancer and HIV/AIDS…The couple founded UsAgainstAlzheimer’s in 2010, and the group now consists of various networks aimed at connecting activists, researchers, faith-based groups, the pharmaceutical industry and other Alzheimer’s-serving organizations.”

MUST READS   

A September 16, 2016 STAT News opinion piece by Judith Graham highlighted the difficult end-of-life journey of individuals living with dementia and their caregivers. According to Graham, “Before my sister was struck by frontotemporal dementia, her wishes were very clear…But that was then, when the prospect of becoming infirm was abstract. When illness descended, my sister changed. And I found myself wondering whose wishes we should respect. My sister, as she had been? Or my sister, as she was now?”

A September 15, 2016 The Washington Post article encouraged current NFL players and alumni to make a “game plan” for Alzheimer’s and dementia. According to the article, “League figures say you have a 30 percent chance of contracting Alzheimer’s or dementia. You get lots of literature from the NFL Players Association about concussions and advice from agents and lawyers about estate-planning. But what you don’t get is the real picture of how people will treat you with a stigmatizing brain disease. Sam Huff is that picture. If you don’t want a judge to determine whether you have been abused, neglected or exploited and settle your family tensions, you better make a game plan.”

A September 15, 2016 ASU Now article interviewed Arizona State University professor Diana Bowman and her work on the ethical and legal questions associated with the “rapid expansion of neuroscience and neurotechnology.”