USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A January 19, 2020 The Catholic Register article spotlighted Matthew Dineen of Dementia Advocacy Canada. Dineen is consulting with UsAgainstAlzheimer’s advocate and ClergyAgainstAlzheimer’s founder Lynda Everman about how to make Canadian places of worship more dementia-friendly. According to Dineen, “I have been busy preparing guidelines as part of my Dementia Advocacy Canada work on how to make places of worship in Canada more dementia-friendly and inclusive. I have been speaking with key experts from across the world to learn more on this subject.”

In a January 16, 2020 Psychology Today blog post, UsAgainstAlzheimer’s advocate Greg O’Brien spoke with his dear friend Margaret Rice Moir, who is writing about her experience losing her husband to Alzheimer’s disease. “Love becomes more complicated, intimacy more challenging, patience more ephemeral… So, lover, mother, nursemaid, nag, we caregivers are lost somewhere, floating in and out among our many, often conflicting, roles. While love can be ever so much more challenging in these times, it can also be richer, deeper, and more mature. And in our best moments, there is joy in that,” wrote Moir.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A January 20, 2020 Medscape article spotlighted new research on utilizingultrasound-guided transcranial pulse stimulation (TPS) to treat Alzheimer’s disease. TPS, delivered via an over-the-skull, handheld device, was found to increase neuromodulatory effects, which were dose-dependent as pulses increased. Memory and verbal scores were significantly improved after treatment. “TPS is a promising new brain therapy worthwhile to be further investigated in larger clinical studies on AD and other diseases like Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, and stroke,” said study investigator Roland Beisteiner, MD of Medical University of Vienna, Austria.

A January 20, 2020 Evaluate article predicted that 2020 will be “the year of Alzheimer’s disease.” Shares of Novo Nordisk, a Danish diabetes specialist, hit an all-time high last week in the wake of media coverage about the link between insulin levels and Alzheimer’s. Novo’s drug, Victoza, is the subject of the Elad trial out of Imperial College London. According to the article, “Two other academic studies have been completed recently – one of Victoza and another of Astrazeneca’s Bydureon – but no data have been published. And beyond Elad only one other trial is ongoing: a US study in over-55 non-diabetics is testing whether Boehringer Ingelheim/Lilly’s Jardiance elevates levels of ketone bodies and has an effect on brain metabolism as measured by magnetic resonance.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

A January 15, 2020 Community Care Corps press release announced a request for proposals, which will be open from February 10 through April 3, 2020. The Community Care Corps will award grants of up to $250,000 for innovative local models where volunteers assist family caregivers or older adults in helping them maintain their independence. File a Notice of Intent to Apply here through February 21, 2020.