USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Join our next Alzheimer's Talks on Thursday, January 25, at 3pm (EST) for a discussion with Dr. Richard Isaacson on his groundbreaking study seeking the earliest signs of Alzheimer's in women—brain changes that occur long before symptoms do. Could very early changes in the brain before, during and after menopause offer clues that help women and men alike? Dr. Isaacson founded the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at the NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York.  

(ICYMI) A December 16, 2017 Analytics Insight article looked at how big data can help treat Alzheimer’s disease. Pulling from an Alzforum article: “ “The genetic studies we are doing now are limited by sample sizes,” noted Zaven Khachaturian, editor of the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia, in Washington, DC. “We need to have very large samples because the genetics and the complexity of the disease is enormous.” This kind of “big data” analysis would be an excellent element in international AD efforts, agreed George Vradenburg, who chairs the advocacy group USAgainstAlzheimer’s [and Convener of The Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease] based in Washington, DC. Combining the genomes, blood chemistry profiles, and brain images of a large number of subjects should help researchers understand who is at risk for dementia and what biological pathways to target with treatments, he said.”

MUST READS

A January 17, 2018 HealthLine article considered the future of Alzheimer’s disease research in the wake of Pfizer’s recent decision to pull out of AD drug development. According to James Beck, PhD of the Parkinson’s Foundation, “Other pharmaceutical companies are also weighing this option and if the biggest of the bunch decides to exit the party, it might have a ripple effect on the others.” 

A January 16, 2018 Health Imaging article referenced findings from a paper published in Experimental Gerontology which summarizes the most commonly used and accurate imaging techniques for Alzheimer’s disease-related signs, and the most current liquid biomarkers used in early diagnosis. MRI’s can predict the future development of AD with 80 percent accuracy, and tau imaging tracers look promising. According to the paper’s authors, “There is still much room for studies to shed some light into the informativeness of fluid and imaging biomarker for early and differential diagnosis of the complex and challenging Alzheimer's disease.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A January 17, 2018 EurekAlert! release challenged the notion that Alzheimer's is necessarily accompanied by a significant, progressive loss of neurons and nerve endings (synapses). Marking a “radical change in thinking,” a joint French and Canadian study published in Scientific Reports shows that AD is accompanied by minor decline in neuronal and synaptic markers, and that these declines have little impact on cognitive skills. The study suggests that synaptic dysfunction is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, rather than the disappearance of synapses.

A January 17, 2018 Alzheimer’s News Today article spotlighted the work of Hong Kong Baptist University researchers who developed a tool for spotting Alzheimer’s disease biomarkers that can detect them in several body fluids simultaneously. Called SIM, it is an indolium-based turn-on fluorophore, made-up of antibodies that bind to beta-amyloid and tau proteins, which is more sensitive than other detection methods. According to Li Hung-wing, “This newly developed assay will be particularly useful as a low-cost yet accurate diagnostic and prognostic tool for Alzheimer’s disease. It can also serve as a novel alternative non-invasive tool for population-wide screening for the disease.” 

FAITH SPOTLIGHT

A January 16, 2018 ABC Action News broadcast segment interviewed journalist and author Carlen Maddux about his new book, "A Path Revealed... How hope, love and joy found us deep in a maze called Alzheimer's." He was caregiver for his wife, Martha, who had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. A journalist by trade, he took notes on his feelings as a caregiver and latest research about the disease as part of his healing process. According to Maddux about the book, “The focus is not Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is the context. Our focus is a spiritual odyssey that did unfold over time.”