USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Press Release: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced this week that people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias will now be able to access critical assessment and care-planning services and have it paid for as part of their Medicare benefit. According to UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman, “Despite the fact that there are no disease-modifying therapies for Alzheimer’s, it’s encouraging that people will have a more seamless way to learn about and access care and lifestyle interventions that may mitigate the effect of Alzheimer’s and dementias, in coordination with their physician. Just as we have pushed for the passing of the HOPE Act, we are eager to realize the benefits for families and caregivers promised by the new provisions included in the Medicare Fee Schedule.”

Upcoming Webinar: Please join us at 1pm ET on November 15th for an important 1-hour webinar session for all 43 Advisory Council Member Organizations of the AD-PCPRN, as well as PCORI representatives. We will be discussing our new Clinical Trial Recruitment Tools, launched at Connected Partners Conference in Boston on October 20th. To register, please click here. 

MUST READS

A November 7, 2016 STAT News article and video segment profiled Rob Moir, his life with Alzheimer’s, and his determination to vote in this year’s presidential election. According to the article, “Rob is one of millions of Americans with dementia. And like many of them, he’s had to navigate the voting process alongside a caregiver this election season. For people like Rob in the earlier stages of the disease, voting can be at once empowering and challenging. And it can grow increasingly fraught as the disease advances.”

A November 4, 2016 The Wall Street Journal article reported that Alzheimer’s researcher Dr. Susan Lindquist died of cancer at a hospital in Boston. According to the article, “Her studies of deformed proteins have spurred research that may lead to treatments for certain types of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, colleagues say. She also explored the role of proteins in cancer and evolution.” [behind paywall] 

A November 4, 2016 MedPage Today article reported that “In the INDIA-FBP study of 228 patients clinically diagnosed with cognitive impairment in Italy, 46 patients previously diagnosed with Alzheimer's (79%) were negative on amyloid PET with [18F]-Florbetapir, and 16 (53%) of those with non-Alzheimer diagnoses had positive scans -- resulting in changed diagnoses, according to Marina Boccardi, PhD, of the University of Geneva, and colleagues.”

A November 2, 2016 U.S. News & World Report article highlighted the unique perspectives of LGBT caregivers. According to the article, “Caregiving and advocating for family members or friends is a challenging and sometimes heart-rending labor of love. According to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, 9 percent of America's caregivers identify as LGBT. When LGBT people give or receive care, new dimensions and unexpected issues can arise.”