USA2 SPOTLIGHT

November Challenge: This month, we urged our supporters to get more involved than ever in support of those battling Alzheimer’s disease and their loved ones – and you have! The UsAgainstAlzheimer’s 21-day #JumpIn17 Challenge has provided the perfect opportunity to share support and connect with the Twitter community. We’re thrilled to see your active participation in the Challenge that makes a habit of bringing Alzheimer’s into the spotlight every day. We’re looking forward to seeing what the remainder of the month will bring!

A Media Planet “Future of Personal Health” editorial by UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg looked at the findings in a new report by economist Nick Eberstadt, “Hiding in Plain Sight,” analyzing the the public costs and consequences of Alzheimer’s disease. According to Vradenburg, “The clear majority of families — a group much larger than generally recognized — won’t be able to afford to care for loved ones with Alzheimer’s, and the burden will shift to the government for care and treatment through Medicare and Medicaid. This is a costly trend that the government has not planned for and may be unable to meet.”

MUST READS

A November 27, 2017 The Washington Post article spotlighted the link between benzodiazepines (benzos) and death. Benzos are drugs prescribed to ease agitation, anxiety and insomnia experienced by people with Alzheimer’s disease, and have a stronger effect on the central nervous system of older people than younger ones. According to data recently analyzed, those taking benzos were 41 percent more likely to have died than people who did not take them, with the strongest mortality risk occurring within four months of starting the medication.

A November 27, 2017 Huffington Post article by Howard Fillit, MD of the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation looked at the Amyvid™ diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s disease, which was approved by the FDA in 2012, but remains underutilized because Medicare, Medicaid Services and most insurers won’t cover reimbursements, and most patients can’t afford it. This PET scan detects beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. Interim findings from the IDEAS study, using the Amyvid™ scan, show that nearly half of patients with mild cognitive impairment, and a third of those with Alzheimer’s disease, were misdiagnosed.

A November 26, 2017 Financial Times article looked at some drugs in the Alzheimer’s disease pipeline. The record of companies working on AD treatments stands out as “particularly abysmal,” but despite the high failure rate, drugmakers persist in their quest for a cure or disease-modifying drug. According to Ryan Watts of Denali, a company researching treatments, “When someone is successful, Alzheimer’s will become very quickly the single largest therapeutic area in drug development.” 

A November 26, 2017 Miami Herald article focused on the link between diabetes and cognitive decline, including increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Studies are underway to understand why 80 percent of people with Alzheimer’s disease also have some form of diabetes or disturbed glucose metabolism, but the scientific reason for the link is complex. According to Dr. Marc Agronin of the Miami Jewish Health memory center, “Our message to diabetics is that the better people can control their diabetes, the more they can reduce risk of other conditions… Of course, that requires a lot of education and close attention.”

A November 24, 2017 Courier Post commentary by Kris Kolluri of the Rowan University/Rutgers Board of Governors looked at the immediate need to focus on care for people with Alzheimer’s disease. In collaboration with Camden County College, the Alzheimer’s Journey Coordinator Certificate Program will provide a practical solution to help people today, as Alzheimer’s research continues to advance in the lab. It can serve as a sustainable, scalable model for improving Alzheimer’s care across the US, providing guidance about the healthcare system, managing care, preparing for the future and living the highest-quality of life possible.