MUST READS

An August 27, 2018 USA Today article confirmed that legendary comedian Tim Conway has dementia. His daughter filed documents to establish legal guardianship. According to the article, “Kelly Conway wants to be in charge of administering her father's medications "for the care and treatment of dementia," asserting that he cannot “properly provide for his personal needs for physical health, food, and clothing” and is “almost entirely unresponsive.”” Also covered by Huffington Post, People, and others.

POLITICS

An August 24, 2018 Endpoints News article reported that lawmakers passed a 2019 budget proposal that gives the NIH a 5 percent budget increase, with an extra $425 million earmarked for Alzheimer’s disease. They voted 85 to 7 in support of the budget bill.

CAREGIVING CORNER

An NIH National Institute on Aging post looked at end-of-life care for people with dementia and the special challenges they present. According to the post, “Because people with advanced dementia can no longer communicate clearly, they cannot share their concerns… When a dementia like Alzheimer’s disease is first diagnosed, if everyone understands that there is no cure, then plans for the end of life can be made before thinking and speaking abilities fail and the person with Alzheimer’s can no longer legally complete documents like advance directives.”  

PROFILES IN COURAGE

An August 27, 2018 The San Diego Union-Tribune article by Tim and Margaret O'Leary recounted their personal Alzheimer’s “adventure.” Margaret has Alzheimer’s-related dementia and Tim is her caregiver, as his father was for for his stepmother who had AD. According to Tim, “I liken the role of caregiver, a task my father shouldered prior to his death, to that of riding a roller coaster or the bumper cars ride of old.”

OPINION

An August 24, 2018 Tennessean opinion piece by Leah Acuff-White, caregiver for her mother who has Alzheimer’s disease, expressed that her mom would have benefited from early detection and diagnosis. Acuff-White thanks Sen. Lamar Alexander for his commitment to the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, which would provide a more effective nationwide AD public health response by increasing funding and resources, especially for early detection. 

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

An August 27, 2018 KVUE ABC broadcast segment and article featured the Generation Program study at Senior Adults Specialty Research in Austin, which is conducting DNA swabbing to see how many copies of APOE4 participants are carrying. People with one or two copies are eligible to participate further. According to the article, “While there is currently medication that can help people function longer and help their memory, it can't fight the progression of the actual disease. The goal of this study is to develop a new medication that can be tested on the participants and create something to reverse the disease before it even starts.”