MUST READS

An October 29, 2017 The Washington Post article by ActivistsAgainstAlzheimer's Network member Michael Ellenbogen focused on his own journey with dementia. It began with memory and cognitive problems twenty years ago, then a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment and 10 years later, an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. “Despite my Alzheimer’s diagnosis, I always felt I had other issues — such as losing my temper, a lack of patience and being very reactive to minor issues — that aren’t normally related to Alzheimer’s. As the years wore on and I moved from one clinical trial to another, failing them all, I wondered whether I had been misdiagnosed.”

An October 28, 2017 BBC News article reported that marriage and a quality social circle may protect against dementia. The findings are based on a study from Loughborough University researchers which show that close friends can be a “buffer” against stress, which can lead to poor health. According to Professor Eef Hogervorst, "You can be surrounded by people, but it is the number of close relationships that is associated with a reduced risk for dementia... it's not about the quantity."

MUST WATCH

An October 25, 2017 Channel 3000 video segment and article spotlighted a new virtual dementia tour program for nurses to get a sense of what patients with dementia deal with. According to Meriter Hospital intensive care unit nurse Amanda Gosselin, “I’m going to be much more sympathetic to my patients with dementia, and specifically, I’m going to be a lot more patient.” 

INDUSTRY UPDATE

According to an October 30, 2017 Markets Insider article, NeuroCog Trials, a global cognition and clinical assessment consulting and technology company, received a 2017 Fast Track grant from the National Institute of Health. They will work to validate a performance-based measure of functioning in Mild Cognitive Impairment and early Alzheimer's disease using their Virtual Reality Functional Capacity Assessment Tool, developed to improve clinical trials by detecting functionally meaningful improvements in patient's everyday lives. 

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

An October 29, 2017 New Atlas article focused on two new studies investigating the connection between the gut microbiome and Alzheimer's disease. "By using DNA sequencing to take a 'snapshot' of gut bacterial composition, we found that individuals with dementia had decreased microbial richness and diversity in their gut microbiome compared to people without a diagnosis of dementia," says Nicholas Vogt, first author on the study.