March 16, 2016

Today's Top News

MUST READS

A March 15, 2016 Associated Press article reported that “Eli Lilly said Tuesday it's changed the outcome goals for a late-stage patient study of its closely watched experimental drug for Alzheimer's disease, solanezumab.” According to the article, “Eli Lilly and Co., based in Indianapolis, said in a statement it made the change because "emerging scientific evidence supports the idea that cognitive decline precedes and predicts functional decline" in Alzheimer's patients.”

A March 15, 2016 The Fiscal Times opinion piece by Michael Hodin highlighted the potential of immigration trends to feed the growing need for caregiving support. According to Hodin, “As longevity increases and 80-plus becomes the fastest growing age group in America, Europe, Japan and China, immigrants can be a source of elder care to those in need…Employing immigrants as caregivers for the elderly is win-win situation, in which we keep our borders open for immigrants who want to do jobs newly created by aging populations. Talk to anyone in the elder caregiving world and you’ll quickly learn that we need thousands of new caregivers to meet the growing demand.”

A March 15, 2016 NPR.org article highlighted a new book by a former NPR correspondent about her efforts to combat forgetfulness in midlife. According to the article, “Faced with her own forgetfulness, former NPR correspondent and author Barbara Bradley Hagerty tried to do something about it. She's written about her efforts in her book on midlife, called Life Reimagined. To her surprise, she discovered that an older dog can learn new tricks.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A March 16, 2016 Health Canal article reported that the April edition of the journal Lancet Neurology is devoted to “a detailed overview and recommendations about how patient care, as well as basic and clinical research on Alzheimer´s disease and other dementias should be organised in the future.”

A March 15, 2016 Portland Business Journal article reported on the possible link between computer use and signs of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “Oregon Health & Science University researchers…found a significant correlation between daily computer use and signs in the brain, detected by MRI imaging, that are commonly seen in Alzheimer’s patients. What isn’t yet known is whether computer usage itself may lead to changes in the brain or if the changes develop separately and dispose a person to moderate their computer usage.”