USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A May 23, 2019 Newsweek opinion piece by Lee Habeeb, host of “Our American Stories,” looked to the future of dementia prevention with healthy lifestyle changes, especially in light of the World Health Organization’s newly released Alzheimer’s guidelines. According to the article, “Why is so little written about the coming deluge when it comes to Alzheimer’s? Much of it has to do with the nature of the disease itself. “I used to avoid sharing the details of the dark side of Alzheimer’s because most people don’t want to hear them,” [Meryl] Comer explained in her [AARP] essay.” But with the new guidelines, there is some hope on the horizon. Comer is a Founding Board Member of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A May 23, 2019 Newsweek NIH/National Institute on Aging article reported on a new discovery in the developing field of cell senescence in Alzheimer’s research. Researchers found a drug combination which helped clear out malfunctioning oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC’s), special types of protective brain stem cells. According to the article, “As Alzheimer’s-related amyloid plaque buildups get close to healthy OPCs, the insulative cells stop dividing—a process known as senescence—and have breakdowns in their normal helpful functions. As the disease progresses, the senescent OPCs don’t die, but instead go rogue and send inflammatory signals to neighboring cells and escalate the cascade of damage to surrounding neural tissue.”

ALZ TECH

A May 23, 2019 Science Daily article focused on virtual reality which can help predict early Alzheimer’s disease by monitoring participants’ navigation skills. Navigation is controlled by the entorhinal cortex, one of the first regions of the brain damaged in Alzheimer's disease. According to the article, “In the test, a patient dons a VR headset and undertakes a test of navigation while walking within a simulated environment. Successful completion of the task requires intact functioning of the entorhinal cortex, so Dr Chan's team hypothesised that patients with early Alzheimer's disease would be disproportionately affected on the test.” Also covered by Big News Network.

MUST WATCH

A May 22, 2019 CNY Central broadcast video spotlighted Bryn Durgin, a millennial caring for her father who has Alzheimer’s disease. At the age of 27, she quit her job and moved back home to care for him. Durgin is not alone in facing such a ‘critical life choice,’ as many young people are facing similar ones with few viable options. “It doesn’t matter if he called me a different name, or doesn’t know that I’m his daughter. The bond really is stronger than ever,” said Durgin.

CAREGIVING CORNER

A May 21, 2019 Help For Alzheimer’s Families webinar featured Beau Rusk, talking about how to successfully transition a loved one to a specialized memory care center. He shared what to expect during the transition, and how family caregivers can adapt.

NOTE FROM USA2

There will be no Alz Dailies on Monday, May 27, 2019 in observance of Memorial Day.