MUST READS

An October 27, 2017 CBS News Money Watch article spotlighted machine learning science and data storage as keys to speeding up the process of preventing or effectively treating Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. According to Dr. Michael Weiner of ADNI, "What scientists see going on is that there is just so much data exploration that you can't just see with the human eye -- see Jupiter like Gallileo did, or see evolution like Darwin did.”

According to an October 27, 2017 U.S. News article, caregivers to husbands, wives and partners with dementia may crave relationships with others, but it's a private matter which few discuss openly. Little social support exists for married caregivers who seek an intimate partner to share emotional, psychological and sexual intimacy. According to Eric Reeves, who sought out such a relationship, "Risking disapproval was worth it. "They should follow their hearts and do what they believe is true." "

An October 26, 2017 Alzforum article reported on a new prognostic tool which may add clarity to interpreting biomarkers as predictors of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam are starting to use statistical models that combine biomarker and demographic data to calculate the likelihood that a person with mild cognitive impairment will progress to AD or some other dementia. According to lead researcher Ingrid van Maurik, “It would provide more specific information than do group statistics, and help improve communication between clinicians and patients.” 

CAREGIVING CORNER

An October 26, 2017 Being Patient article looked at the National Poll on Healthy Aging’s 2017 Report about caregivers for Americans with dementia. 85 percent of family caregivers call caregiving rewarding, although 78 percent find it stressful. The poll was conducted by the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation, and sponsored by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center. Read more about the poll here, and download the full report here.