MUST READS

An April 15, 2019 SingularityHub article spotlighted the potential of anti-aging senolytics therapy to help treat Alzheimer’s disease. A team at the National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program treated mice genetically engineered to accumulate amyloid clumps with senolytics and found fewer zombie OPC cells gathered around amyloid clumps, and no brain inflammation. According to the study authors, “Our findings pave the way for future preclinical and clinical studies that will test the hypothesis that senolytic therapies can … preserve brain function in [Alzheimer’s] and other age-related neurodegenerative disorders.”

An April 15, 2019 CNN article looked to a new study which found that among seniors showing no signs of dementia, those with little to no awareness of possible telephone fraud were at higher risk for developing mild cognitive decline and potentially Alzheimer's disease, compared to those with greater awareness. Participants completed a “scam awareness questionnaire,” and annual neuropsychological tests over the course of almost six years. According to lead study author Patricia Boyle, “Social cognition -- social judgment -- involves a diverse array of functions. [This] complicated behavior involves and integrates multiple different abilities, including cognition, including emotion regulation, including making inferences and perceptions about others’ behavior as well as of course regulating one's own impulses.” Also covered by Reuters, Cosmos, and others.

CLINICAL TRIAL SPOTLIGHT

An April 15, 2019 Globe Newswire article announced that Cassava Sciences completed patient enrollment in their phase IIa “PTI-125” clinical drug trial for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. The drug is anti-neuroinflammatory, stabilizing a critical protein in the brain, filamin A (FLNA), to improve cognition and slow disease progression, and improving multiple brain receptor functions. An altered and highly toxic form of FLNA is found in the Alzheimer’s brain, disrupting the normal function of neurons, leading to neurodegeneration and brain inflammation.

YOUTH FOCUS

An April 14, 2019 The Advocate Alzheimer’s Q&A looked at best practices for talking with children about Alzheimer’s disease. Speaking on an age-appropriate level is crucial, and there are good illustrated children’s books that can help. According to the article, “Your explanation of Alzheimer's, given the span of the disease, could become an ongoing process. Be sure to acknowledge any feelings or fears your children may be experiencing as they continue to witness the progression of the disease, and allow them to talk openly and freely about them.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Join the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation’s Thirteenth Annual Connoisseur's Dinner to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Diagnostics Accelerator, funding innovative Alzheimer's biomarkers and diagnostic technologies. Thursday, May 30, 2019 at Sotheby’s in New York City. Click here to purchase tickets.