September 03, 2013

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

The looming Alzheimer's baby boomer crisis, sequestration hinders university Alzheimer's research and innovation, and a geriatrician highlights her struggles with Alzheimer's patients and caregivers (read more).

 

Must Reads

  • A September 3, 2013 Vancouver Sun (Canada) article reported on the looming Alzheimer's baby boomer crisis. According to the article, "It recognizes no borders, doesn't distinguish between races and cares not a whit about income levels. It ignores, for the most part, lifestyle and diet. Unlike most terminal diseases, it leaves you ambulatory but, in its later stages, cruelly requires fully dependent care for longer than any other disease...As boomers age, dementia in its myriad forms is expected to ravage societies. After age 65, the risk of contracting serious cognitive impairment doubles every five years."
  • A September 3, 2013 Minnesota Daily editorial highlighted the negative impact of sequestration on university research and innovation. According to the editorial, "The cuts have already impacted ongoing research on leukemia, heart disease and diabetes here at the University. The Mayo’s studies on Alzheimer’s disease were also hit...It’s unlikely that Congress will come together to undo all of the damage the automatic budget cuts have incurred. However, Minnesota’s members of Congress should be made aware of how the NIH’s budget reductions are hurting the local economy and impairing vital research. They in turn should voice those concerns on the House and Senate floors."
 
Caregiving 
  • A September 2, 2013 Washington Post piece by geriatrician Dr. Ariel Green explored her struggles with Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers. According to Dr. Green, "I walked into the examining room and found my new patient, an 83-year-old woman, silently occupying the blue plastic seat of a wheelchair. Despite her neatly groomed appearance, her eyes were uncomprehending. She muttered some words, but they were devoid of meaning. Glaucoma and macular degeneration had taken her eyesight, and Alzheimer’s disease had ravaged her mind…My new patient was one of 5.4 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease. Another person develops the disease every 68 seconds. By 2050, there is expected to be one new case every 33 seconds."
  • A September 1, 2013 Sun Sentinel (FL) article reported that Alzheimer's sufferers and caregivers are unprepared for the upcoming hurricane season. According to the article, "As South Florida enters the heart of storm season, a new statewide report has found Alzheimer's caregivers are ill-prepared in the event of a natural disaster.The main concern: Alzheimer's patients are among the most vulnerable if a storm hits. They can become extremely agitated if their routines are disrupted (if they need to evacuate, for example) and are also at risk for wandering."
  • A September 1, 2013 Dallas Morning News article reported on the impending shortage of caregivers for aging boomers. According to the article, "A recent AARP report about the caregiving shortage that aging baby boomers will face should be a wake-up call to talk about this critical issue…AARP experts predict the ratio of potential family caregivers to elders needing care will plummet between now and 2050. It projects the ratio will drop from today’s seven caregivers for each person over age 80 to fewer than three caregivers per elderly person in 2050."
 
Alzheimer's Awareness Month
  • A September 1, 2013 ESPN article reported that Alzheimer's sufferer and advocate Pat Summitt joined forces with the New York Yankees to raise Alzheimer's awareness. According to Summitt, "My son, Tyler, and I want to thank the New York Yankees for stepping up in a big way to increase awareness and funding for the fight against Alzheimer's disease...We are honored to have been invited to stand with them and the Alzheimer's Association to launch this monthlong public awareness effort."