USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Today's Alzheimer’s Talks: Today 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. Just last week, they appeared on TODAY and The Dr. Oz Show, and their story is featured in the latest edition of People and in a Huffington Post piece by UsA2 co-founder Trish Vradenburg. Sign up here.

A January 25, 2016 Convergence RI article highlighted the efforts of the Global Alzheimer’s Platform to develop “new public-private partnership efforts..to support development of a national brain registry to speed enrollment in clinical trials.” According to the article, “Last week, ConvergenceRI sat down with Salloway in his office at Butler Hospital to discuss one of the latest initiatives: the partnership between Global Alzheimer’s Platform, or GAP, and the Brain Health Registry, seeking to enroll some 40,000 new members in a clinical trial registry before the end of the third quarter of 2016, using social media and an online presence to do so.”

Partner Spotlight: A January 26, 2016 NJ.com opinion piece by Dr. Yanira Cruz underscored the need to help Hispanic seniors overcome health challenges like Alzheimer’s. According to Dr. Cruz, “Making matters worse, older Hispanics are generally ill-equipped to manage their health conditions due to low levels of health literacy  and limited access to long-term care, among other challenges.  In short, our health system is failing Latinos in their later years. Addressing these issues requires policies that empower Hispanics to remain healthy as they age…At the same time, this population faces distinct challenges when it comes to managing their health. Among patients with Alzheimer's, for instance, Latinos are less likely to be diagnosed than white patients, which makes coping with this debilitating illness substantially more difficult.” Dr. Yanira Cruz is the executive director of the National Hispanic Council on Aging(NHCOA), an anchor member of the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Coalition. 

MUST READS

A January 26, 2016 Colorado Public Radio article reported on the growing interest and willingness of researchers and policymakers to tackle Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Researchers spanning the globe are fighting to solve Alzheimer’s. In Australia, a team of scientists are using ultrasound technology to treat the disease in mice. In England, a new vaccine trial is underway…Potter said researchers are making progress. But just as important, he said, is that the political system is waking up to the problem.”

A January 26, 2016 KCUR.org article highlighted the impact of Alzheimer’s on one Kansas community and its efforts to address the challenge through music. According to the article, “Clay County, in north-central Kansas, has the nation's highest rate of people on Medicare diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. At 22 percent, it’s roughly double the rate in surrounding counties as well as state and national averages. The director of the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Dr. Russell Swerdlow, doesn’t have a ready explanation. But he thinks it’s unlikely the difference is due to genetic or environmental factors unique to the north-central Kansas county…The Linn Community Nursing Home north of Clay Center is one of about two dozen in Kansas participating in a program called Music and Memory. Residents with Alzheimer’s are given iPods loaded with music tailored to their preferences.”

A January 25, 2016 Psychiatry Advisor article reported that “Researchers from University College London have developed an algorithm that uses medical data to predict a 5-year risk of dementia, according to a report published online Jan. 21 in BMC Medical.” Read the journal article here. 

INTERESTING READS FROM AROUND THE WEB

PoliticalNews.me: Senator Collins Announces Staff Changes for Senate Aging Committee

Nature: More evidence emerges for 'transmissible Alzheimer's' theory

BioNews.org: NIH launches $280m genome-sequencing project

Independent Journal: Caregivers Torture Comfort Dolls Belonging to Elderly Dementia Patients Right Before Their Eyes