USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A January 30, 2017 Disruptive Women in Healthcare post honors 17 Disruptive Women to Watch in 2017, including UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Founding Board Member and Vice-Chair, Trish Vradenburg, and Board Member, Jill Lesser, who is also President of WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s. All of the women honored personify DW’s mission “to serve as a platform for provocative ideas, thoughts, and solutions in the health sphere.”

Must READS

An Alzheimer’s Readiness Project Lilly guest blog by Phyllis Ferrell of Lilly and Global Alzheimer’s Disease Platform (GAP), explores the true cost of Alzheimer’s in America. The total estimated direct cost in 2016 of Alzheimer’s and other dementias is $236 billion. The largest lotto jackpot in US history would barely make a dent to the financial impact Alzheimer’s is taking on our economy. Researchers are likely on the cusp of a new generation of treatments and therapies aimed at earlier stages of AD. But the question remains, will diagnosis for most patients happen early enough for this potential new era of medicines to make a real impact? 

A January 30, 2017 Kaiser Health News article reports on the current state of Alzheimer’s research and drug development. Despite increased federal funding, no new Alzheimer’s therapies have won federal approval since 2003, and Alzheimer’s clinical trials have had a 99% failure rate. There are only four Food and Drug Administration-approved Alzheimer’s drugs that alleviate symptoms, yet they do not prevent, slow or reverse brain damage. 77 AD drugs are currently being investigated or developed, and other experiments seek to repurpose FDA-approved drugs for other conditions. There are 468 open AD-related clinical trials and more than 100 more in progress (on ClinicalTrials.gov). “I think slowing the progression and/or delaying the onset, are realistic goals,” said Dr. Ron Petersen, Director, Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Mayo Clinic.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

A January 30 2017 ALMAC article reports on an immunotherapeutic treatment now undergoing testing for the prevention, treatment and cure of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders. Dr. Cao, Neuroscientist, USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and USF College of Pharmacy, has developed a vaccine showing promise in combating nervous system dysfunctions in AD. “Our research team has developed a therapeutic vaccine that can both combat the disease and improve the immune system,” Dr. Cao said. “The most recent results have proved that such therapy can improve memory and avoid an unwanted vaccine associated reaction in a mouse model, so it could be a very promising therapeutic for Alzheimer’s disease patients.”

CAREGIVER CORNER

A January 30, 2017 News & Record article reports on a new $2 million grant, from the Merck Foundation, for the Center for Outreach in Alzheimer’s, Aging and Community Health (COAACH) in North Carolina. The money will be used to create a “Caregiver College,” the expansion of ongoing efforts to educate caregivers for people with Alzheimer’s disease, broaden its outreach efforts and create a new program that helps  early detection of AD.

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

The New York Academy of Sciences hosts “The Need to Accelerate Therapeutic Development — Must Randomized Controlled Trials Give Way?” in conjunction with the NYU School of Medicine. March 15-16, 2017 in New York City.  The event is free, but registration is required.