July 03, 2017

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A June 30, 2017 Univision News article [in Spanish] reported on the growing impact of Alzheimer’s on the Latino community and featured UsAgainstAlzheimer’s leadership and advocates, including Daisy Duarte, Dr. William Vega and Jason Resendez. The article quotes LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s advocate, Daisy Duarte, as stating, “I'm not married or have children, but if I can help my nephews by setting the example and motivating them to participate in clinical trials, I will. If I can change the life of at least one Latino and encourage him to enroll in these trials I will have accomplished my goal.”

MUST READS

According to a July 3, 2017 The San Diego Union-Tribune article, an iPad brain training game improves memory for people in the earliest stages of dementia. The findings made by British scientists, deemed strong enough to justify further research, were published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. The game trains episodic memory, which is used to remember things important for the day, but can be forgotten afterward, like where a car is parked.

A July 3, 2017 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial pointed out the gaps in the recent report from National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine about preventing cognitive decline and dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. The authors reviewed existing research and decided not to offer any definitive advice on how to avoid Alzheimer’s. According to the report chairman. Alan I. Leshner, “You can do these three things, or one or more, and you might — you wouldn’t want to say you will — but you might be able to delay cognitive decline.” 

A July 2, 2017 The Charlotte Observer article told the story of Peter and Sue Setzer. Peter, diagnosed in 2012, has moderate stage Alzheimer’s disease. Peter spends time at The Ivey Memory Wellness Day Center, which has allowed Sue to move forward in her life. She understands herself as a “care manager” with many partners and now focuses on what Peter has to offer, rather than what he lost. “Peter and I want to claim life today and thrive today and all the days ahead,” Sue said.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A June 30, 2017 Medical Xpress article cited a study from the Memory Disorders Clinic at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, and published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions, which finds that people with Alzheimer's disease who experience psychosis are five times more likely to be misdiagnosed with dementia with Lewy bodies, compared to patients who do not. Overall, AD was found to be misdiagnosed 24% of the time. According to lead study author, Dr. Corinne Fischer, “Psychosis can be a symptom of Alzheimer's disease, but it is a defining clinical feature in other types of dementia, including Parkinson's disease related dementia and dementia with Lewy bodies. Consequently, clinicians are more reluctant to diagnose a patient with Alzheimer's disease when they present with delusions or hallucinations."

A June 30, 2017 USC News article focused on research which finds that a combination of high blood pressure and decreased blood flow inside the brain may signal the onset of dementia. The brain vessels in Alzheimer’s patients are stiff and tight, inhibiting blood flow and enabling amyloid to accumulate. “If you have problems with the blood vessels in the brain, then you’re going to end up with difficulty with thinking skills, cognition, memory, and ultimately this can be related to other brain pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease,” said Daniel Nation, lead study author.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Partnering for Cures will be in Boston on July 12, 2017. Since 2009, Partnering for Cures has been the go-to meeting for accelerating patient-centered solutions and creating meaningful collaborations. Register here.