MUST READS

An August 27, 2018 Next Avenue article looked at “a welcome trend” — the declining prevalence of dementia in the U.S. About 10 percent of people age 65 and older had dementia in 2012, compared with 12 percent in 2000. College graduates can expect more than 80 percent of their years after 65 with good cognition, but less than 50 percent for people who didn’t complete high school. According to the article, “Improvements in education and nutrition, better control of hypertension and cholesterol, cognitively demanding jobs in middle age, and social engagement in later life may all contribute to this expanded period of good brain health.” 

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

An August 29, 2018 ResearchGate article reported that researchers at the University of Florida developed a new potential ‘path to treatment’ for Alzheimer’s disease. According to Study Co-Lead Paramita Chakrabarty, “Most scientists agree that inflammation in the brain can play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. Microglia and astrocytes, the immune cells of the brain, respond to the build-up of toxic proteins (amyloid β and tau) using specialized receptors called Toll-like receptors (TLR)… In our experiments, we created a version of the TLR that would recognize and bind to toxic amyloid β but would not stimulate the immune cells. We reasoned that this would clear amyloid β by scavenging these toxic molecules without causing bystander damage.” Also covered by EurekAlert! 

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

An August 27, 2018 Metro article featured the story of Rachel Potter, who was 31 when she was diagnosed with dementia. She has Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker syndrome and is one of the youngest people in Britain with dementia. Rachel’s daughter, Brooke, can get tested for the syndrome gene when she turns 18. Rachel’s mom has the condition, and her grandfather died from it.

An August 22, 2018 The New York Times Europe article featured an “unorthodox approach to dementia treatment” in the Netherlands, which includes relaxation, childhood memories, sensory aids, soothing music and other tools to nurture patients at care facilities. Up to 270,000 Dutch people have dementia, and the number is expected to double in the next 25 years.

ALZ TECH

According to an August 27, 2018 Medical Design & Outsourcing article, Three Square Market vending machine company is working on a GPS-enabled chip to track Alzheimer’s patients, that will seek FDA approval in early 2019. The chip would be body-heat activated, have voice recognition, the ability to track vital signs, capability to store medical and personal information, and provide security and tracking of prescription drug access. Three Square Market President Patrick McMullan said dementia patients would only have the chip inserted if they could give informed consent.