MUST READS

A December 3, 2015 The Times of Israel article profiled Dr. Eitan Okun’s efforts to develop a vaccine for Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Dr. Okun is confident that eventually there will be a vaccine to protect people from Alzheimer’s, and he has developed one such vaccine that works in mice. But it will be too late for his father, who is 69 and already suffers from dementia…Earlier efforts to vaccinate against Alzheimer’s failed, Dr. Okun said, because they didn’t properly consider what he called the “two-edged sword” of the immune response, which can both protect the body and also damage it. ‘Previous attempts caused some sort of mortality,” he said, but “eventually we will get there. Researchers throughout the world are doing their best to promote therapeutics for Alzheimer’s.’”

A December 3, 2015 The Non Profit Times article reported that “Two Southern California affiliates of the Alzheimer’s Association today became the latest to defect from the national organization, six weeks ahead of a deadline to sign a merger agreement.” Also reported on by the San Diego Union-Tribune. 

A December 2, 2015 Huffington Post piece by Lisa Hirsch highlighted the impact of Alzheimer’s on her mother and her decision to be grateful despite the situation. According to Hirsch, “In many ways my family has a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. Occasionally friends will ask this one question of me. ‘How is your mom doing?’ I often answer, ‘my mom is doing good considering that she's had Alzheimer's for the last 12 years.’ Several weeks ago I stopped to really think about this question. I thought about mom, a lady who has no idea about the life she once lived. She no longer understands that she needs to get dressed each day, brush her teeth, or comb her hair…She does not understand that her only grandchild just got married. In fact she does not really remember that she has a grandchild…Mom has no understanding of how her life has been wiped away by such a horrific disease. So how is my mom doing? She'd doing good, and how am I doing? I'm also doing good, which is a conscious decision that I have made. Today there is no cure for Alzheimer's. So as long as I believe that my mom is "happy" and not in any pain the only thing left for me to do, is to love her completely.”

A December 3, 2015 Forbes.com article reported on the efforts of the banking sector to combat elder abuse. According to the article, “An increasing number of banks and credit unions are implementing fraud-prevention initiatives to prepare for the onslaught of aging Americans expected to develop Alzheimer’s disease…Bank managers, tellers and associates are being taught to report their suspicions to Adult Protective Services, Legal Aid, state attorneys general and, in some cases, even the local police.”

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