MUST READS

An October 26, 2017 Medical Xpress article looked at a study on why some Alzheimer’s drugs work in the lab but not for patients. Osaka University scientists found that some potential γ-secretase inhibitors, designed to inhibit the enzymatic activity that produces amyloid-β peptide (Aβ), do not function as true inhibitors but rather cause accumulation of toxic intraneuronal Aβ. The study is in Cell Reports and provides an explanation for the failure of clinical trials for AD drugs, shedding new light on the discord between preclinical and clinical findings.

An October 25, 2017 Forbes article focused on “Julie,” who was starting to worry about her memory. She applied to enroll in the Anti-Amyloid in Asymptomatic Alzheimer’s Study (A4 Study), for which you have to be cognitively unimpaired, generally healthy and willing to learn the results of a positron emission tomography (PET) scan that measures amyloid. Researchers are identifying people at a heightened risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and then testing drugs in them that target the disease pathology.

YOUTH FOCUS

An October 23, 2017 Laboratory Equipment article and video spotlighted the 3M competition for “America’s Top Young Scientist.” Students presented ideas for better treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, improving cancer detection, cleaning up oil spills and conserving water use. Runner-up Rithvik Ganesh, from Plano, TX found that a single lead molecule in a natural compound in produce could be a potential AD treatment.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

An October 25, 2017 KJZZ audio segment and article, part of "The State of Aging in the Valley" series, explored the reality of an aging society. Entrepreneurs like John DenBoer, who founded Smart Brain University, are starting to use technology to revolutionize how we age. The online platform has brain games designed specifically to forestall the cognitive decline associated with dementia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as a social component. According to DenBoer, “We are mitigating the intensity of it over time and delaying the onset of the disease. And that’s the best the field we can do right now. If we can delay it by as much as a year and a half to two years, then that can offer somebody an increased quality of life.”

CAREGIVING CORNER

An October 19, 2017 Memory Well blog post by Stephanie Kanowitz wrote about being the daughter of a mom, 42 years her senior, with dementia. A mom herself, Kanowitz’s father passed away when she was young and all of her mom’s caregiving decisions are left to her. According to Kanowitz, “…Dementia is isolating, not just to the patients who can get trapped in their own world, but to the caregivers who try to navigate that world. In fact, it can be harder on caregivers than patients, because even though sufferers have dark moments, they soon forget them. Caregivers don’t.”