August 22, 2013

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Falling rates of dementia, Rep. Jim Moran advocates against sequestration, Broadway World covers USA2's Surviving Grace reading (read more). 
 
 
 

 

Must reads

  • An August 21, 2013 Forbes article reported on falling rates of dementia. According to the article, "Two major new studies have turned the popular perception of dementia on its head...But these new reports conclude that dementia rates may be falling, and suggest that some forms of the disease may be preventable...There are nearly 100 different forms of dementia and there is no reason to believe that the prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease has declined. But with education, better monitoring of blood pressure, and better diet and exercise, we can reduce the prevalence of certain other dementias, especially for those in their 80s. The Europeans already have."
  • An August 21, 2013 Falls Church News Press opinion piece by Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA) highlighted sequestration's negative impact on NIH projects. According to Rep. Moran, "The United States has long been a world leader in scientific innovation and NIH has led the way in biomedical research. This mindless sequester, ideologically driven, is injuring our future leadership and limiting future life saving breakthroughs. Scientists searching for cures to diseases and conditions such as muscular dystrophy, cancer, AIDS, and diabetes are having to turn to online crowd sourcing for funding, even taking out personal loans to avoid shuttering their labs. It’s a sad state of affairs, one unworthy of this great nation, and one we must resolve to bring to an end. The health of millions of Americans depends on investment we make at NIH."
  • An August 21, 2013 AARP article highlighted books to help kids learn about Alzheimer's. According to author Max Wallack, “Children need to understand that the person they loved is still there, that Alzheimer’s disease is not contagious and nothing they did is causing the problems."
 
Regional 
  • An August 21, 2013 Columbus Business Journal article reported that Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc. was awarded an NIH grant for an Alzheimer’s diagnostic drug it’s developing. According to the article, "Dublin-based Navidea (NYSEMKT: NAVB), which specializes in radioactive drugs used for more precise diagnoses, said Wednesday it was approved for $259,000 from the National Institutes of Health as it starts up the final phase of clinical studies of its imaging agent for finding telltale signs of Alzheimer’s."
 
USA2
  • An August 21, 2013 Broadway World article reported on USA2's September reading of Surviving Grace in Los Angeles. According to the article, "Based on Trish's experience as a caregiver to her mother who died of Alzheimer's in 1992, Surviving Grace is a brutally honest, irreverent and moving story laced with humor that sheds light on the emotional ups and downs that 15.4 million Alzheimer's caregivers go through each day in the U.S. The play comes to California after being produced at The Kennedy Center, off-Broadway, cross-country and in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The first star-studded reading was at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC last fall."