November 29, 2018

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Watch a November 28, 2018 Hilarity for Charity Facebook Live event [log-in required], hosted by Alzheimer’s advocate Lauren Miller Rogen, with guest UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Chairman George Vradenburg. As part of the month-long #ManyFacesOfAlzheimers campaign, Vradenburg talks about implementing a “check-up from the neck up,” and getting involved in clinical trials. 

MUST READS

A November 28, 2018 Men’s Health article looked at the case for cautious optimism regarding recent news of a future Alzheimer’s vaccine. According to study co-author and Professor of Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center Dr. Roger Rosenberg, “This study is the culmination of a decade of research that has repeatedly demonstrated that this vaccine can effectively and safely target in animal models what we think may cause Alzheimer’s disease. I believe we’re getting close to testing this therapy in people.” A vaccine wouldn’t be on the market for another decade.

FAITH SPOTLIGHT

A November 28, 2018 Shifting Margins blog post by Bishop Kenneth L. Carder reprinted his “Homily for Alzheimer’s Remembrance Service,” delivered in the chapel of the retirement community where he lives. According to Carder, “…Our identity and worth and dignity do not lie in our individual memory, our intellect, or our capacities. We live in a hyper-rational, intellectual society that places primary value on productivity. Our sense of worth is derived from what we know, what we can produce. We have bought into the Cartesian notion, “I think therefore I am.” Dementia relentlessly confounds our thinking and strips away our capacity to produce. But, it does not diminish our identity, our in worth, our dignity.”  

PROFILES IN COURAGE

A November 28, 2018 MemoryWell piece by Alzheimer’s advocate Phyllis Greenberger drew on her personal experience with the disease. Her husband is a well-known, retired Wall Street Journal journalist who has Alzheimer’s disease. “It has been a very long and devastating journey from first not realizing that something was wrong and blaming my husband for his mounting mistakes to finally accepting that something was indeed terribly wrong. Having spent most of my career in health care, I was terrified and panicked as I began to realize the truth. While my husband didn’t have any idea of what the future held, I did,” wrote Greenberger.

YOUTH FOCUS

A November 28, 2018 Al Día article spotlighted high school senior and creator of “Alzheimer’s Brain Box,” Victoria Da Conceicao. Da Conceicao lives with her grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, which inspired her to learn as much about the condition as possible. She subsequently created Alzheimer’s care packages, available for purchase, which include coloring books, essential oils and puzzles to help improve memory, mood swings and other symptoms of AD.

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

A November 28, 2018 National Institute on Aging blog post highlighted the International Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias Research Portfolio (IADRP), which compiles funded research projects and resources, from more than 40 public and private organizations in over 10 countries. It tracks current and emerging areas of dementia research to report how funding is allocated, help identify potential scientific gaps, and encourage collaboration. Any interested party can use IADRP data.