USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A June 20, 2018 Roll Call article spotlighted a meeting Tuesday in Washington, D.C. helmed by West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito and California Democratic Rep. Linda T. Sanchez which focused on bringing awareness to the Concentrating on High-Value Alzheimer’s Needs to Get to an End (CHANGE) Act. UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, policy advocates and medical professionals rallied with the lawmakers for earlier assessment and diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. CHANGE would “require Medicare service centers to develop a standardized cognitive impairment detection tool and incentivize physicians to screen and detect Alzheimer’s in the earliest stages.”

Take our UsAgainstAlzheimer’s CHANGE Act Quiz. See how much you know about Alzheimer's diagnosis by answering some quick questions.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A June 21, 2018 Los Angeles Times article looked at the connection between Alzheimer’s disease and the human herpes virus (herpesvirus 6A and herpesvirus 7). Scientists found higher levels in the brains of people with AD at the time of their death than in people with no signs of dementia. Researchers mined data from a genomic data bank archived by the National Institutes of Health to develop new ideas for treating AD with drugs designed for other diseases. According to the article, “Dr. Sam Gandy, an Alzheimer’s disease researcher at Icahn School of Medicine and one of the paper’s authors, said that if further research confirms that herpes virus is a predictable feature of Alzheimer’s disease, anti-viral treatments already in wide use might prove to be useful.” Also covered by Science News, CNN, Business Insider, News Medical Life Sciences and others.

MUST READS

A June 22, 2018 ABC News article spotlighted Michael Clayburgh, who is at “double risk” for developing Alzheimer’s disease - he has Down syndrome and his family has a history of AD. He is participating in a clinical trial for an Alzheimer's prevention vaccine for people with Down. According to Dr. Brian Skotko, who is leading the clinical trial at Massachusetts General Hospital, "We have known about the connection between Down's syndrome and Alzheimer's for several decades, but it's only recently that scientists are beginning to unravel why that is on a molecular basis… We believe that people with Down syndrome might have the key to unlock the mysteries of Alzheimer's for all of us.”

MUST WATCH

Watch “Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer’s: Reducing Risk, Detecting Early Symptoms, and Improving Data,” a June 19, 2018 United States Senate Special Committee on Aging video.

MUST LISTEN

Listen to “Caring for Someone with Lewy Body Dementia” from Help for Alzheimer’s Families. Angela Taylor of the Lewy Body Dementia Association and host Lakelyn Hogan of Home Instead Senior Care talk about caring for individuals affected by Lewy body dementias (LBD). LBD are the second most common form of degenerative dementias after Alzheimer’s disease.

PROFILES IN COURAGE

A Carlen Maddux blog post shared a conversation with Dr. Steven Cohen, the neurologist for Maddux’s wife Martha for 17 years. Their conversation focused on anxiety about Alzheimer’s disease. According to Cohen, “I’ve told my patients that something may actually be worse than Alzheimer’s, and that is worrying about it. They could spend the next 30 years worrying about getting this disease and then be hit by a bus at age 100, and as a result of all their worry they will have experienced a much less enjoyable life… If worry, fear, anxiety, or depression is impairing your behavior and relationships, a professional counselor could be of real help.”