USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A September 22, 2019 NR Times article reported that the Youth Movement Against Alzheimer’s (YMAA) will hand-deliver signed MoveOn.org petitions to congressional leaders and candidates on Capitol Hill in their ongoing efforts to put Alzheimer’s front and center in the 2020 election. The call-to-action will be part of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s annual Advocacy Day on October 24, 2019, and includes demands for increased support and resources for family caregivers, and increased federal funding for research. “We want to tell our presidential candidates and elected leaders that young people care about the Alzheimer’s crisis. 1.5 million young people provide Alzheimer’s-related care, and 40 percent go into debt doing it. We should not be punished for becoming caregivers, and these numbers are way too high to go unacknowledged,” said YMAA Chairman and Co-Founder, Nihal Satyadev. YMAA is an UsAgainstAlzheimer’s coalition partner.

A September 21, 2019 NBC News Today Show broadcast segment featured UsAgainstAlzheimer’s advocate, author and journalist Greg O’Brien, sharing his personal journey with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. “It’s not for me, it’s for the next generation. It’s for my kids, my granddaughter. We've got to stop this demon,” said O’Brien. New research shows that healthy lifestyle habits can reduce AD risk by up to 60 percent. AD expert Dr. Rudy Tanzi recommends “SHIELD” (sufficient sleep, handle stress, social interaction, exercise, learn new things, healthy diet) to promote brain health and ward off dementia.

A September 16, 2019 Tap Into New Providence article spotlighted UsAgainstAlzheimer’s advocate The Very Reverend Tracey Lind, who spoke about living with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) at St. Michael's Episcopal Church (Wayne, NJ). She spends her time traveling and speaking-out to de-stigmatize dementia. “I believe that denial isn't useful, honesty is important, early diagnosis can result in a higher quality of life… I want to be a torch bearer who curses the darkness of dementia and lights the path of grace filled living with this disease. Where is the grace of God in all of this?… Acceptance is one of the most difficult but critical aspects of living with any complicated impairment,” said Lind.

CLINICAL TRIAL SPOTLIGHT

A September 19, 2019 UCI Mind article announced positive Phase 3 trial results of Acadia Pharmaceuticals’ pimavanserin, for the treatment of dementia-related delusions and hallucinations. Delusional thoughts and hallucinations are common for people with cognitive issues, yet there are no FDA-approved drugs to treat psychosis in dementia. According to the article, “Those who showed improvement were then assigned to either continue taking the drug or cross over to placebo treatment. The study then compared relapses, or return of symptoms, in the two groups over time –  the pimavanserin group had a “highly statistically significant” longer time to relapse, indicating benefit.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Attend the Second Annual Glen Campbell Memorial Golf Outing. October 11, 2019 at the Arizona Biltmore Golf Course. Stay for the Awards Dinner and music entertainment. Register here.