August 13, 2018

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

MUST READS

An August 13, 2018 Boston Globe article [subscription] focused on first-in-the-nation legislation signed into Massachusetts law last week which aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “The legislation requires physicians, physician assistants, and nurses to undergo training in diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, before they can obtain or renew their licenses. It also requires physicians who have diagnosed Alzheimer’s in a patient to inform a family member or legal representative about the diagnosis.”

An August 12, 2018 Futurity article cited a new study from Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health which finds that older kidney disease patients, who are sick enough to require blood-filtering dialysis, have a substantially higher risk of dementia. As kidney function declines, cognitive functions tend to decline, especially in the areas of attention, impulse control and working memory. Kidney disease has been linked to poor blood flow in the brain. Also covered by Science Daily

SEX MATTERS

An August 10, 2018 KOMO News article reported that women who have miscarried may be at higher risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The exact nature of the link is still unknown. According to Neurologist Dr. David Gill, “There may not be a simple answer. Is it related to the immune system, related to hormones, or its related to stress? It may be many of those things.”

PROFILES IN COURAGE

An August 12, 2018 The Hamilton Spectator opinion piece by Dave Davis, (quasi) retired physician, medical educator, writer and speaker, reflected on experiences which help him care for his older brother, who has dementia. According to Davis, “That outer man is diminished now of course, crippled by his disease and arthritis. He hasn't used my name in ages. But his eyes are the same. Between bites (he was doing a number on a pretty good-looking beef stew), he looked at me. For a fraction of a second, a lifetime in the world of synapses, we connected.”

DEMENTIA AND THE ARTS

An August 12, 2018 1011 NOW article featured the "Music and Memory" program at Sumner Place in Lincoln, Nebraska. The pilot program from Brown University began in January, and brings back music from youth to people with Alzheimer’s or another dementia. According to Life Enrichment Coordinator Monika Gall, “We use it especially when we notice someone hasn't been eating, so 30 minutes before a meal we let them listen to the music and they can usually actually feed themselves. It really helps with sun-downing, when they start to get antsy the later in the day it is.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

According to an August 11, 2018 The Meridian Star article, Alzheimer’s advocate Kim Campbell, wife of country music legend Glen Campbell, will speak at the 19th Annual Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias in Tupelo, MS. The conference, August 21-24, is hosted by The MIND (Memory Impairment and Neurodegenerative Dementia) Center at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, and will focus on caregiving, and modifiable risk factors for cognitive decline to improve brain health. Register here.