USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A November 13, 2019 Forbes article spotlighted The Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s (YMAA) and their participation in UsAgainstAlzheimer’s 2019 National Alzheimer’s Summit in Washington last month. Medical student Nihal Satyadev started the organization in 2015 in response to the lack of young people he saw publicly engaging around the issue of Alzheimer’s. “We are youth advocates. We are youth caregivers. We are youth researchers… This will affect our health care system like no other disease has done in the past. And the craziest part is that Alzheimer’s has been represented in only one word in one presidential debate,” said Satyadev.

MUST READS

A November 13, 2019 The Scientist article highlighted the skepticism surrounding the recent announcement by China’s version of the FDA that oligomannate has been approved in China for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, and will be on the market this year. Some researchers claim the drug will actually increase inflammation, which is implicated in AD. According to the article, “A global phase 3 trial is in the works to further analyze oligomannate before it is approved in other countries. “We’re planning on [measuring] quite a few different biomarkers of blood . . . that cumulatively should help us understand the mechanism of [oligomannate],” says [Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Jeffrey] Cummings, who is assisting Green Valley with the design of the trial.”

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

A November 12, 2019 Futurity article looked at the potential of stem cells to treat Alzheimer’s disease. A team at Rutgers University–New Brunswick, led by Professor KiBum Lee, developed a unique biosensing platform, designed to be the simplest, fastest and most accurate way to characterize and utilize stem cells when combined with high-tech imaging (Raman spectroscopy). “A critical challenge is ensuring high sensitivity and accuracy in detecting biomarkers—indicators such as modified genes or proteins—within the complex stem cell microenvironment. Our technology, which took four years to develop, has demonstrated great potential for analyzing a variety of interactions in stem cells,” said Lee.

MUST WATCH

A November 12, 2019 KSHB 41 Kansas City broadcast segment spotlighted former Kansas congressman Dennis Moore, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Moore, whose father also had AD, and his wife Stephene went public after his diagnosis in 2012. “A lot of people think they can do this themselves. You’re a strong person, you love this person and you desperately want to take care of them and make it go away. Part of that is probably denying what is really going on, because you don’t want to see it, but you know it,” said Stephene.