December 23, 2015

Today's Top News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s and its networks released statements applauding presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s Alzheimer’s plan. According to UsA2 Chairman George Vradenburg, “In our first meeting with then Senator Clinton in 2004, she committed to support additional efforts against Alzheimer's and as a result, became co-chair of the Senate Alzheimer's Caucus. In the years following and again when we met with her in 2015, she committed to do everything she could to stop Alzheimer's and to support families struggling with the disease.  She understands that this disease is touching so many American families every day, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  We thank her for the consistency of her support of this cause and urge all presidential candidates to make comparable commitments.  Ending Alzheimer’s must not be political or partisan; it’s a family and community issue of enormous urgency.” Read statements from all of UsA2's networks here

A December 21, 2015 UsA2 blog post by co-founder Trish Vradenburg called on Alzheimer’s advocates to “turn up the heat” in 2016. According to Vradenburg, “So I have to thank Congress and tell them, NICE WORK. That leaves only $1 billion, 64 million dollars until they reach the $2 billion dollar mark that scientists say they need to defeat this disease. Just sayin.' Let's take a moment to appreciate a job well done and give thanks. And then turn up the heat in 2016.”

 


MUST READS 

A December 22, 2015 The New York Times article reported that Hillary Clinton announced a plan to double spending on Alzheimer’s research. According to the article, “Mrs. Clinton proposed a $2 billion-a-year investment in Alzheimer’s research, more than double the amount in the recently passed appropriations bill, to combat the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. The plan, which would be paid for by changes in the tax code, emerged out of conversations with voters who regularly ask Mrs. Clinton about Alzheimer’s at town-hall-style events in Iowa and New Hampshire. ‘We owe it to the millions of families who stay up at night worrying about their loved ones afflicted by this terrible disease and facing the hard reality of the long goodbye to make research investments that will prevent, effectively treat and make a cure possible by 2025,’ Mrs. Clinton said in a statement.” Also reported on by The Washington PostThe Wall Street JournalNBC News, and others.

A December 22, 2015 Popular Science article highlighted the link between the brain’s wiring and Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “A neuroscientist at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital, Beth Stevens knows how your brain is wired—quite literally. Because of her discovery that certain cells sculpt brain circuitry, making it more efficient, the Mac­Arthur Foundation awarded her a 2015 “genius grant.” She suspects those cells, called microglia, have other secret abilities—and she plans to uncover them too…We think certain disorders are the result of microglia pruning too much, or not enough. This has huge implications for diseases like autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s. If the microglia don’t prune properly, it can lead to faulty wiring.”

A December 22, 2015 Chronicle of Philanthropy article reported that the “Greater New Jersey chapter of the Alzheimer's Association is leaving the national parent group over its plan to reorganize from a loose federation of local charities into a single legal entity.”

 


INTERNET ROUNDUP

The New York Times: An Aging Society Changes the Story on Poverty for Retirees

The New York Times: $16 Million for Brain Research, but $0 from N.F.L.

ABC News: Will Smith Enlightened by Playing 'Concussion' Doctor

The Idaho Statesman: Should my kids visit ailing grandpa?

The New York Times: Jane Austen’s Guide to Alzheimer’s