December 09, 2015

Today's Top News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

Must ListenA December 9, 2015 Morning Edition interview with talk show host Diane Rehm discussed her plans for retirement, including her future work with UsAgainstAlzheimer’s

A December 8, 2015 The Kansas City Star opinion piece by LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s patient and caregiver advocate Daisy Duarte underscored the need to invest in Alzheimer’s research. According to Duarte, “More than 1.8 million Latino family members care for an individual living with Alzheimer’s or dementia. The majority are daughters like me, providing high-stress, around-the-clock care for loved ones who often don’t remember who we are and too often cannot dress, feed or bathe themselves. It’s a tough job that we take on with love, a sense of duty and honor, but it’s a job that we need help with. We need a cure.”

A December 8, 2015 The Hill article highlighted political donors backing both Carly Fiorina and Hillary Clinton, including UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Chairman George Vradenburg. According to the article, “George Vradenburg, a former attorney and chairman of the advocacy group USAgainstAlzheimer’s, said he identifies as a moderate Republican who ‘admires Carly Fiorina’s fiscal savvy and Hillary Clinton’s social positions.’…’I have also talked to Clinton a number of times before, and both candidates are supportive of the [National Institutes of Health], and that’s something I care most deeply about.’” Also reported on by MyTechBits.com

MUST READS

A December 9, 2015 AFP article (via Yahoo! News)reported that “Nearly 10,000 more people died of Alzheimer's disease in the United States last year than in 2013, a significant rise of 8.1 percent, according to US health data released Wednesday.”

A December 9, 2015 The Fiscal Times article reported that 84 percent of primary care physicians said their practices “lacked the training and experience to manage the care of patients with severe mental health problems, such as dementia and Alzheimer’s,” according to a Commonwealth Fund survey of US physicians. 

A December 8, 2015 BBC.com article reported that “A molecule can clear Alzheimer's plaques from the brains of mice and improve learning and memory, Korean scientists have found in early tests.”