USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A November 8, 2017 Research!America blog post by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Founding Board Member Meryl Comer argues that doctors who do not inform patients of an Alzheimer's diagnosis, because there is no cure available, are engaging in an “unwelcome degree of paternalism” and “is indisputably wrong.” She continues, “Withholding accurate diagnoses from approximately half of the Americans who have Alzheimer’s is significantly impeding the ability to conduct meaningful research. Given the growing consensus in the research community that pharmacological interventions will be more effective in the early stages of the disease, it places an even greater priority on recruiting clinical trial participants who are pre-symptomatic or at least in the early stages of dementia symptoms.”

A November 7, 2017 The Charleston Chronicle article spotlighted the award-winning “Forget Me Not” stage play, presented by AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s, which will run Saturday, November 11at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in Charleston, followed by a discussion with the play’s Director Garrett Davis and a local panel of Alzheimer’s experts. According to AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer’s Director Stephanie Monroe, “We need to band together to increase minority participation – and African American participation in particular – in clinical trials… By going straight to the heart of communities, we hope to spread the word and make a real difference.” Pre-register for the event here.

MUST READS

A November 8, 2017 People article spotlighted the Country Music Awards, which honored Glen Campbell with “Musical Event of the Year” for his duet with Willie Nelson, “Funny (How Time Slips Away).” Campbell died this summer from Alzheimer’s disease. His widow, Kim, accepted the award on his behalf. “Thank you, God, for just blessing our family in so many ways and sustaining us through our journey through Alzheimer’s disease. Glen would just be so pleased and proud to be a part of this… Glen, this is for you, and for everyone who’s dealing with dementia.” 

A November 8, 2017 Huffington Post article by Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation Chief Science Officer Howard Fillit, MD looked at cause for hope in the 126 drugs currently in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease. Disease-modifying means a drug can slow, stop, or reverse progression, yet the five drugs available now only address symptoms. The drugs being tested have diverse targets such as inflammation, metabolism, proteostasis, oxidation, cellular stress and epigenetics. 

A November 8, 2017 Being Patient article interviewed Laura Baker, PhD of Wake Forest, who is tracking patients to see if it’s possible to change the trajectory of an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Speaking about her NIA-funded Alzheimer center, “Our contribution is many of our people in the southeastern part of the United States have more severe cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Other parts of the country may not have that kind of prevalence so this helps the group study the contributions of cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease in this trajectory process.”

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

A November 8, 2017 The Daily Nonpareil article reprinted a November 1, 2017 The Dubuque Telegraph Herald editorial. “State and federal health care systems are woefully unprepared for what’s to come. The rise in Alzheimer’s coincides with changes in health care support at both the state and national level… Medicaid remains the only government program that covers nursing home care, something more and more Alzheimer’s patients will require.”

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

A November 8, 2017 Huffington Post article by Michael Hodin of the Global Coalition on Aging calls-out the World Health Organization (WHO) for not adjusting to transforming global health needs brought about by 21st-century longevity. The WHO currently focuses on the needs of children. According to Hodin, “But, with the proportion of old to young shifting, where there will be more over the age of 60 than under 15 by 2025, it is self-defeating, including for the children, not to give serious attention to the exploding health needs of their grandparents. By virtually ignoring older adults, the General Program effectively abandons this growing demographic to struggle with their health needs on their own, without needed support from the WHO.”