USA2 SPOTLIGHT

An October 19, 2017 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s press release announced that a world-class team of Alzheimer’s scientists and advocates joined forces to receive the highest honors at the 2017 XPRIZE Visioneers Summit. The goal is to globally crowdsource a new 21st century approach to diagnose, treat, cure and prevent AD. According to UsA2 Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg, “With this win, we will disrupt existing practice and change the sluggish business-as-usual approach to Alzheimer’s. The earlier we detect a disease, the better our chances are of stopping it and curing it. With the XPRIZE we will employ global crowdsourcing and harness emerging technologies to unleash a new era of interventions that would have the best chance of saving millions of lives.” 

An October 16, 2017 Being Patient video interview spoke with UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Board Member and former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher about the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease. He is caregiver to his wife Nola, diagnosed 17 years ago. “I think we’ve got a lot of work to do in the community. I mentioned caregivers. I think we’ve got to find a way to better support caregivers. I think we’ve got to integrate this approach, this laboratory research approach, with research in the community and research in terms of family care. All of these things have got to be looked at critically. What works best? Can we develop a community-based approach to care?”

MUST READS

According to an October 18, 2017 Science Daily article, scientists have characterized a new class of beta-amyloid reducing drugs (gamma-secretase modulators) as potential therapeutics for treating and preventing Alzheimer's disease. "Genetic, biochemical, molecular biological and pathological evidence all support the hypothesis that excessive accumulation of amyloid-beta -- particularly amyloid-beta 42 -- is the primary event leading to Alzheimer's related pathology," says Can (Martin) Zhang, MD, PhD from Harvard Medical School.

DISPARITIES SPOTLIGHT

An October 18, 2017 USC News article reported that USC is part of the “Health and Aging Brain Among Latino Elders” collaborative to better understand Alzheimer’s disease among Mexican-Americans. According to principal study investigator Sid O’Bryant, “This is the first project specifically attempting to understand how different biological causes relate to Alzheimer’s disease across ethnicities. By looking at different potential causes related to memory loss, we may be able to target the right pathway, at the right time, with the right intervention.”

MUST WATCH

An October 18, 2017 9News video segment spotlighted a ‘companion-bot’ named Ryan, who is designed to assist and make friends with our aging population, specifically those with Alzheimer's. Ryan can give caregivers a much-needed break by answering repetitive questions and reminding people to do things like take their medicine, go to appointments and meals.