January 02, 2018

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Please take our A-LIST needs assessment survey and let us know your opinions on paid nursing support. Decisions about care are deeply personal for those living with dementia and their families. Whether you are living with dementia, are a current or past caregiver, or just concerned about your memory, please take this survey and let us know what matters to you when it comes to professional home care. The A-LIST is an online community of patients and caregivers making their voices count for research. It is an initiative of AD PACE, a patient-focused drug development collaborative of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. 



WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s is hosting a call to review the events of 2017 and share plans for growth in 2018, including efforts in brain health. January 10, 2018 from 2-3pm (EST). We will be joined by special guest Michael D. Devous, Sr, PhD from Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, on the importance of imaging biomarkers in Alzheimer’s Disease research today, including the challenges of developing a tau imaging agent as a diagnostic tool for patients.  



A December 27, 2017 T&D article cited three ways you can get involved with advocating for Alzheimer’s dementia (aside from a Bill Gates-sized donation), including educating yourself, helping reduce stigma by talking to others, and/or volunteering for a clinical study. According to UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg, who is also a founding member of the Alzheimer’s XPRIZE team, “The earlier we detect a disease, the better our chances are of stopping it and curing it. With the XPRIZE we will employ global crowdsourcing and harness emerging technologies to unleash a new era of interventions that would have the best chance of saving millions of lives.”


MUST READS

A December 27, 2017 The Globe and Mail opinion piece by Naomi Azrieli of Brain Canada outlined priorities to tackle brain health and disease (Alzheimer’s, addiction, concussion, schizophrenia, stroke, autism), centered on continued funding from government and non-governmental donors such as foundations, corporations and individuals, and for the public to have a direct voice in shaping research priorities. According to Azrieli, “Another important aspect is the support of research teams, encouraging scientists from different institutions and with different approaches to collaborate and work together, breaking down silos and disseminating new ideas.” 


MUST WATCH

A December 22, 2017 CBS Evening News broadcast segment told the story of former software designer Steve Goodwin, who has Alzheimer’s disease. Goodwin composed music for his wife, Joni, but never wrote it down. A family friend, a professional pianist, is helping him to remember the songs, and then record them. According to Joni, “Losing the songs would be like losing him… I realized there was a part of him that wasn’t going to fade away.”


MUST LISTEN

According to a January 2, 2018 NPR Morning Edition radio segment, Bella and Will Doolittle decided to talk and write publicly about Bella’s early-onset Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis in their “Alzheimer’s Chronicles” podcast. "I don't feel like it's something that's like some bad secret, it's not something I brought on myself. But I know that a lot of people who have this are afraid for other people to know… It doesn't stop me from doing life,” said Bella.


FAITH SPOTLIGHT

A December 23, 2017 U.S. News article spotlighted a Sunday service that caters to people with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, and their caregivers, offered at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau (southeast Missouri). According to pastor Karen Dumey, “Dementia can affect people differently, depending on the disease has progressed. Some are restless and need to get up and wander during the service. Others might talk through it. It's all OK.”