February 06, 2017

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

ICYMI, a January 22, 2017 Ozarks First video and article tells the story of Daisy Duarte and her mom, Sonia, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s three years ago. Her mom’s AD led Daisy to become an advocate through LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s, part of the UsAgainstAlzheimer’s network. Daisy says the worst part was seeing her mother go from a happy woman who loved to dance, to someone entirely different. "Seeing her deteriorate... A strong independent woman that's now co-dependent on me. That's been the hardest," she said. Daisy is part of a clinical trial out of St. Louis aimed at delaying AD by 10-15 years.

MUST READS

A February 6, 2017 NPR Morning Edition segment reports on the story of Kay Schwister, who was diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare, incurable brain disease. Schwister was diagnosed while still alive, a relatively new development, which could lead to better ways of diagnosing more common brain diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. "Not knowing what we were dealing with was probably one of the hardest things to ever go through in life," says Tim, Kay’s husband. "We really wanted to know what we were up against, and if there was anything that we could do."

A February 6, 2017 Washington Post article reported on the current state of Alzheimer’s disease research. Many different types of solutions are being explored, including non-pharmaceutical. Trials are underway to measure the effects of exercise and diet, as observational studies show people who exercise more and have healthier diets seem to get the disease later in life. Meanwhile, the question remains: is the rate of Alzheimer’s decreasing? A study published in JAMA in November found that even as scientists have made no progress in changing the course of Alzheimer’s, overall dementia rates (AD and other dementias) appear to be dramatically declining. At the same time, pharmaceutical trials continue. “Rumors of the death of the amyloid hypothesis have been around for many years, and they’re probably premature,” said Keith Fargo, Director of Scientific Programs and Outreach, Alzheimer’s Association. And that despite the latest failure (of Lilly’s solanezumab), “there’s still more optimism in Alzheimer’s research right now than there has been for 10 years.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

A February 3, 2017 Temple University article reported on significant discoveries in the study, and potential treatment, of Alzheimer’s disease. The study, from the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, was recently published in the journal, Translational Psychiatry. It shows that that glucose deprivation in the brain induces the formation of toxic tau fibrils, which triggers the onset of cognitive decline and memory impairment. It also identified p38, a protein causing the negative effects of AD, activated in response to glucose deprivation as a possible defense mechanism. “It is an exciting avenue of research,” said Domenico Praticò, Professor, Center for Translational Medicine. “A drug targeting this protein could bring big benefits for patients.”