MUST READS

A June 28, 2018 Condé Nast Traveler article looked at traveling with dementia. Traveling, including curiosity and learning new cultures, can be good stimulus for the brain. According to the article, “For those who love to explore the world, a diagnosis of memory loss can be devastating—and interpreted as a sentence to stay home… But for many people for whom travel is an integral part of life, continuing to do just that can be a means to keep up normalcy—and maintain their passions and hobbies.”

A June 26, 2018 Being Patient article focused on firearms in the homes of aging Americans with impaired or declining mental faculties. Forty-five percent of people 65 and older have guns in their household. A four-month Kaiser Health News investigation uncovered dozens of cases where people with dementia used guns to kill or injure themselves or others, often during bouts of confusion, paranoia, delusion or aggression. Five states have laws where families can petition a court to temporarily seize weapons from people exhibiting dangerous behavior.

MUST WATCH

A June 28, 2018 WATE ABC 6 broadcast segment focused on the two-year anniversary of the death of Pat Summit from Alzheimer’s disease. The legendary basketball coach was memorialized with the Pat Summit Clinic at UT Medical Center, which treats Alzheimer's and dementia. According to clinical social worker Sallie Gentry, "When she announced that she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, it really brought attention to the disease. I really feel like she spearheaded the movement to make more people aware, more people get diagnosed, more people go to physicians, more people to ask questions.” 

Watch the Being Patient: Brain Talks conversation about the MIND diet, with Dr. Martha Clare Morris, who created the diet. Morris is the author of “Diet for the MIND: The Latest Science on What to Eat to Prevent Alzheimer's and Cognitive Decline.”  

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A June 29, 2018 News Medical Life Sciences article reported that scientists from Linköping University in Sweden identified exosomes as the main vehicle allowing the spread of toxic proteins that trigger the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Exosomes play a role in cellular communication and the transport of different types of molecules. According to the article, “The exosomes isolated from Alzheimer's patients were found to contain greater concentrations of toxic oligomer amyloid-beta compared to healthy brains.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Watch “GenomeWeb/ABRF 2018 Webinar Series: Analyzing the Human Brainome to Understand Alzheimer’s Disease Development.” Thursday July 12, 2018 at 1pm (EST).