MUST READS

An August 1, 2018 NIH National Institute on Aging blog post by Richard Hodes recounted his presentation of the Fiscal Year 2020 NIH Professional Judgment Budget for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias at the meeting of the HHS Secretary’s Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Research, Care, and Services this week. This “Bypass Budget” seeks to support the goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. According to Hodes, “This year, we discuss progress in building a national research infrastructure. We have new tools, technologies, and approaches—from supporting the ideas of individual investigators to the collection and analyses of vast amounts of data from populations worldwide. These advances are largely a result of unprecedented partnerships among government, advocacy groups, foundations, thought leaders, and pharma, biotech, and technology companies.” 

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A July 31, 2018 Medical News Today article reported that researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital conducted a series of experiments to identify a better way of targeting beta-amyloid. These experiments further the search for effective antibodies to interfere with beta-amyloid and prevent the formation of plaques in the brain, which are major hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. According to Principal Investigator Dominic Walsh, "Many different efforts are currently underway to find treatments for Alzheimer's disease, and anti-[beta-amyloid] antibodies are currently the furthest advanced. But the question remains: what are the most important forms of [beta-amyloid] to target?" Also covered by Psych Central. 

A July 30, 2018 Medscape article highlighted new research from the Center for Neuroimaging at Indiana University School of Medicine which finds additional evidence that the gut microbiome may play a role in the etiology of Alzheimer's disease. According to Lead Investigator Kwangsik Nho, PhD, "Bile acid signaling pathways may lead to the identification of metabolites that are protective against Alzheimer's and could foster novel therapeutic strategies, if a causal role can be demonstrated in future studies.”

CAREGIVING CORNER

A July 30, 2018 WFMZ-TV 69 News broadcast segment and articlespotlighted the Caregiver Retreat at DeSales University in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania. The event, for people who are caregivers to loved ones with Alzheimer's and other dementias, featured Kim Campbell, widow of country music legend Glen Campbell, and Lori LaBey, Founder of Alzheimer's Speaks, as the keynote speakers. “There’s a lot of resources, there’s a lot of social change, there are a lot of gifts wrapped in this disease,” said LaBey.

OPINION

An August 1, 2018 The Columbus Dispatch opinion letter by caregiver Jennifer Blough of Dublin, Ohio called on voters to examine and support candidates addressing Alzheimer’s disease as a national crisis. According to the letter, “As a voter, my role is to assess where candidates stand on addressing Alzheimer’s as a national crisis. Alzheimer’s is the most expensive disease in America, costing taxpayers $21 million every hour. Every. Hour… What will be done to increase our nation’s investment in Alzheimer’s research?… My vote will depend on their response, as will the continued impact of this disease on future generations.”

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

According to an August 1, 2018 The Hoosier Topics article, the Indiana University School of Medicine is expanding the size and scope of their DNA and other biological samples biobank. It supplies samples for researchers globally who are working on treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, and will be boosted by $12 million in funding from the National Institute of Health’s National Institute on Aging. The National Centralized Repository for Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias biobank will move into larger, newly renovated facilities.