USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A September 7, 2017 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s statement spotlighted the Alzheimer’s XPRIZE, a world-class team of scientists and advocates joining forces to globally crowdsource a new 21st century approach to leapfrog scientific progress and overcome many of the obstacles to stopping this horrific disease. At the XPRIZE Visioneers Summit in early October, the Alzheimer’s Breakthrough team will present their innovative proposal to a group of 300 scientists, academics, visionaries and funders who will determine which of the prize concepts are “certified to launch.”

According to a September 6, 2017 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s statement, the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies has advanced a fiscal year 2018 funding bill that would increase Alzheimer’s research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $414 million, part of a $1.1 billion overall increase at NIH. “We are grateful for the leadership of the Labor-HHS subcommittee chairman, Senator Roy Blunt, and colleagues for prioritizing innovation against a disease that is poised to be a great burden on families, and the health care system, for years to come. The burgeoning Alzheimer’s movement will not wait for much-needed progress,” said UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg. Read more about the funding increase in Science Magazine.

MUST READS

A September 5, 2017 The Seattle Times article spotlighted John Janda, who has a family history of frontotemporal dementia but at age 68, shows no symptoms. Scientists want to know why, as they focus on potential protective factors in hopes of finding a treatment. According to Dr. Thomas Bird of the University of Washington, who has been studying the Jandas and other affected families for more than 35 years, “Our guess is he also inherited protective genes. There’s a lot more to learn about that.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A September 6, 2017 Nature article reported on a study published in PLoS Biology analyzing DNA from 215,000 people. According to the findings, “A huge genetic study that sought to pinpoint how the human genome is evolving suggests that natural selection is getting rid of harmful genetic mutations that shorten people’s lives… A variant of the APOE gene, which is strongly linked to Alzheimer’s disease, was rarely found in women over 70.”