October 02, 2017

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

An October 2, 2017 GoLocalProv article reported on the release of an USAgainstAlzheimer’s (UsA2) issue brief, “Veterans and Alzheimer’s Meeting the Crisis Head On,” indicating that many older veterans will face a unique risk factor for Alzheimer’s as a direct result of their military service. Tomorrowwill mark the launch of VeteransAgainstAlzheimer’s, a national network of veterans and their families, military leaders, veterans groups, researchers and clinicians, raising awareness of the impact of AD and other dementias on active and retired military service members. “We need to understand so much more about why brain injuries sustained in battle put veterans at greater risk for Alzheimer’s. We must encourage veterans to participate in clinical studies to learn about the long-term effects of brain injuries, so we can do everything in our power to mitigate the impact on those who have given so much to this country,” said UsA2 Chairman and Co-Founder George Vradenburg.    


A September 29, 2017 KJZZ 91.5 article spotlighted "Forget Me Not Project,” a play raising awareness within the African American Community about Alzheimer’s disease. According to AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s Executive Director Stephanie Monroe, ”One of the things that our community, especially the faith community prides itself on when you Wake up in morning thank god for having your right mind. So when you begin to show challenges in mind, tis really scary, people wonder have you been cursed in some way and they don’t tend to seek help.” 


MUST READS

An October 1, 2017 Los Angeles Times article looked at the toll the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is taking on the elderly inhabitants of Puerto Rico. Their homes destroyed, and without electricity, supplies, clean water, medications and cell communications, many are in shelters. The Garden of Eden nursing home is full of bedridden Alzheimer’s patients, some on ventilators and requiring oxygen, a challenge without electricity and rationed generator diesel. According to Owner Carmen Lopez, “If I use them all, it will break the generator.”


According to an October 1, 2017 MD Magazine article, 99 percent of studied deceased former NFL players suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A new report out of Boston University and VA Boston Healthcare System finds that a new biomarker could help diagnose CTE in living patients via a comparative study of CTE and Alzheimer’s disease patients versus normal aging. “There’s a direct relationship between inflammation and tau pathology. One of the good possibilities for this progression is this persist — this sort of out-of-control inflammatory response,” said Ann McKee, MD of the Boston University CTE Center.


A September 30, 2017 The Advocate-Messenger article featured Alzheimer’s care advocate Kim Campbell, wife of late country music star Glen Campbell, who toured The Lantern, the Morning Pointe retirement community’s specialized Alzheimer’s unit, and was later honored for her advocacy. According to Danville Mayor Mike Perros, “I had the pleasure and privilege of seeing him… in 2011, and while he dealt with the Alzheimer’s, he still had it. It was a high point in my life and you make another very high point in my life. I appreciate you for being here and I understand the challenge of dealing with an Alzheimer’s victim. Anybody that does that is a warrior and I very much appreciate you for that because he was kind of my hero.”