USA2 SPOTLIGHT

In an August 16, 2019 Psychology Today blog post, author, journalist and UsA2 advocate Greg O’Brien meets-up with his friend and fellow advocate, the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, for coffee. O’Brien and Lind both have dementia in common. According to O’Brien, “Confusion was having its way with me the other day as I was running late for coffee with her. Full disclosure: I forgot the appointment… After a quick shower, dripping wet, I thought I should call Rev. Lind to tell her I’d be about 15 minutes late… Sometimes, the easiest things in life, when coupled with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, can be insurmountable. I plugged Tracey’s name into my iPhone… Her phone rang. The only problem was I hit the FaceTime button!”

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

According to an August 16, 2019 Medical Xpress article, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences researchers developed a model to show how drugs inhibit the growth of protein fibrils, misfolded protein clumps, implicated in Alzheimer’s disease. “Our research highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between the chemical kinetics of protein misfolding, the mechanisms by which drugs inhibit protein aggregation, and the timing of their administration. This understanding could have important implications for intervention protocols to prevent pathological protein aggregation,” said Professor L. Mahadevan.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

An August 14, 2019 STAT opinion piece by Nancy Berlinger, PhD looked at some dementia-friendly initiatives in the UK, including classic film screenings, support communities and memory cafes, and involving people with dementia and their caregivers in designing dementia programs. According to the article, “Dementia-friendly initiatives are not care systems. They do not fix basic problems such as inadequate insurance coverage for services and supports needed by individuals with dementia. In the U.S., out-of-pocket costs are 81% higher for dementia compared to cancer or heart disease, largely because so many services needed for this common age-associated condition are not covered by insurers. These problems, which make a dementia diagnosis even harder to bear, need policy solutions.”

BRAIN HEALTH

An August 15, 2019 Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center news releasereported that a small pilot study showed “promising evidence” that mindfulness meditation may be able to help patients living with MCI. Mindfulness is defined as “maintaining a moment-by-moment, non-judgmental awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment.” According to Rebecca Erwin Wells, MD, MPH, “While the concept of mindfulness meditation is simple, the practice itself requires complex cognitive processes, discipline and commitment. This study suggests that the cognitive impairment in MCI is not prohibitive of what is required to learn this new skill.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Apply for a Dementia Home Care Grant from Hilarity for Charity and Home Instead Senior Care. The grants are available for US and Canadian caregivers to a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia.Apply here.