USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A June 26, 2018 Today Brain Power broadcast segment with Alzheimer’s advocate and journalist Maria Shriver looked at the connection between millennials and Alzheimer’s disease. Shriver talked with Nihal Satyadev of The Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s (YMAA) about how young people are a hallmark solution to our nation’s biggest public health crisis. Click here to cast your vote for YMAA’s YouthCare program, which pairs trained undergraduate students with older adults living with Alzheimer’s, to provide respite care for caregivers and help people living with Alzheimer’s age in their own homes. YMAA is a co-convener with UsAgainstAlzheimer’s of the Youth Against Alzheimer’s Coalition.

(ICYMI) A June 25, 2018 Today Brain Power feature looked at why women are at higher risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease than men. Research shows that menopause may be a trigger. UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Board Member Karen Segal joined a Weill Cornell study looking at the menopause-AD link. Segal talked with Maria Shriver about her journey caregiving for her mom.

MUST READS

A June 26, 2018 University of Virginia article focused on the role of microglia in Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers from the School of Medicine developed a new model to study microglia in the context of acute injury, showing that they are “precision cleaning machines protecting the central nervous system.” “Whether the microglia activity is detrimental or not is really just starting to be teased out,” said Geoffrey Norris, PhD.

LIFESTYLE

A June 25, 2018 CBS Chicago broadcast segment featured dance therapy for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia at the Balmoral Care Center in Lake Forest. Dance Therapist Erica Hornthal leads the group, “The brain, the body takes over and then they’re singing the song and engaged with each other. It takes them away from the day in and day out of the disease.” 

CAREGIVING CORNER

A June 15, 2018 Being Patient article by Melissa Price-Williams, caregiver for her mom, addressed the ‘relief’ of the death of a loved one from Alzheimer’s disease. According to Price-Williams, “To say that my mom’s death will come as a relief to someone who has never been on a journey like this would be like confessing my sins to the checkout clerk—it would probably make no sense, and I imagine they would look at me in disgust. However, as I’ve connected with other Alzheimer’s caregivers over the past year and found my voice while letting go of my fear of judgment, I found none of them spoke to me with disdain or disgust; rather, I was met with, “Thank you for saying this out loud,” “I feel this, every day,” and “I know exactly how you feel.””