USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Tomorrow's Alzheimer’s Talks: On Tuesday, January 26, from 1 to 2 p.m. ET, caregiver Dan Gasby will be our special guest. Gasby and his wife, model and restaurateur B. Smith, are the co-authors of Before I Forget: Love, Hope, Help, and Acceptance in Our Fight Against Alzheimer's, which shares their unfolding story after B.’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Gasby will share their day-to-day challenges, ways of coping and coming research that may tip the scale, as well as lessons learned along the way. Sign up here.

MUST READS

A January 25, 2016 Scientific American article reported dementia “cases are more prevalent but the risk of cognitive decline shows a surprising drop in some countries.” According to the article, “Looking more closely, though, new epidemiological studies reveal a surprisingly hopeful trend. Analyses conducted over the last decade in the U.S., Canada, England, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark suggest that “a 75- to 85-year-old has a lower risk of having Alzheimer’s today than 15 or 20 years ago,” says Langa, who discussed the research on falling dementia rates in a 2015 Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy commentary (pdf).”

A January 25, 2016 BU Today article highlighted the impact of increased federal Alzheimer’s funding on advancing once stalled projects at Boston Univision. According to the article, “The new budget, coupled with an unexpected infusion of federal funds last summer, means “funding for research on Alzheimer’s disease has almost doubled in the past six months, from $448 million to $936 million, which is amazing, and at least to me, unexpected,” marvels Wolozin, who heads BU’s Laboratory of Neurodegeneration, which researches Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. The timing was fortuitous, given a new hypothesis from his lab: that Alzheimer’s brain-crippling effects stem from tau protein the organ accumulates to defend against the disease, but which then becomes dysfunctional."

A January 23, 2016 Discover Magazine article reported on the efforts of “citizen science” initiatives to fight Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Citizen scientists have already proven they’re up to the task – mapping neurons to reverse-engineer the human brain, discovering impossibly tiny pieces of stardust, or deciphering an HIV-related protein structure that eluded professional researchers for 15 years.  So why not take up Alzheimer’s disease (AD) too? Michelucci has teamed up with collaborators at Cornell University, Princeton University, University of California Berkeley, and WiredDifferently to develop WeCureALZ – a citizen science project aimed at making breakthroughs in the search for an Alzheimer’s treatment.”

INTERESTING READS FROM AROUND THE WEB

The Sacramento Bee: Dan Morain: Loretta Sanchez runs against Kamala Harris and herself

CNBC: Cancer's on the march but 'we've got its number': NIH director

Today: Bride opts for wedding reception at Alzheimer's home so ailing mother can attend

Los Angeles Times: Orange County Alzheimer's group breaks with national organization

Eurekalert: Pursuing Alzheimer's dsease from the periphery