February 23, 2018

Today’s Top Alzheimer’s News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Take the A-LIST survey about recruitment for clinical trials. Nearly 60% of Americans say they are “definitely willing” or “would consider” participating in Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials, according to the Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation. But less than 10% of us make the effort to step up to participate. Without volunteers who want to make a difference, research for a cure slows down or goes nowhere. So, where’s the disconnect? Tell us what YOU think about what slows recruitment for clinical trials. What stops you from volunteering? If you’ve participated in a trial, how was your experience? The A-LIST is an initiative of UsAgainstAlzheimer's.


A February 22, 2018 CISION PR Newswire news release spotlighted the GAP-Net Site Optimization Conference in Las Vegas this week from the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation, a network of clinical trial sites working to streamline clinical research and drug development for Alzheimer's disease. The focus of the conference is to provide GAP-Net sites and partners with an idea-sharing platform, and to discuss challenges, best practices, and strategies. According to GAP President John Dwyer, "The chance to bring North America's most renowned researchers and clinical trial sites together is invaluable in our mission of speeding up the clinical trial process and ultimately finding a cure for Alzheimer's." GAP is an initiative of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s.


(ICYMI) The January, 2018 edition of the KC Hispanic News highlights the work of the University of Kansas City to engage and educate Latinos in the Kansas City community about Alzheimer's research and clinical trials. The article features LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's coalition partner Guadalupe Centers, and a program supported by UsAgainstAlzheimer's and the Global Alzheimer's Platform Foundation.


MUST READS

A February 16, 2018 Being Patient article spoke with Lon Schneider, MD of the Keck School of Medicine at University of Southern California about Aricept (also known as Donezepil), a drug used to slow the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. According to the article, “While Aricept does offer improvement for some patients, the effects are not long-term. “We can measure that after six months, people are a tiny bit better,” said Schneider. “Over time the progression is not changed.” Schneider says that most patients do not stay on Aricept throughout the course of their disease. “Only a minority of patients stay on the medication over a long period of time. Many do not feel it’s helpful,” he said.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A February 21, 2018 Medscape article (subscription required) reported that new research from McGill University in Montreal shows that impaired awareness, or anosognosia, about one’s own memory loss, in people with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI), is associated with increased Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathophysiology and risk for rapid progression into dementia. The study looked at scores on the everyday cognition (ECog) questionnaire. According to the article, “Compared with patients with intact self-awareness, those with impaired self-awareness had increased AD pathophysiology "across the board" at baseline,” said neuroscience Master’s student Joseph Therriault.”


YOUTH FOCUS

A February 22, 2018 The Valley Patriot article highlighted Whittier Tech health occupation students, inspired by the feature documentary, “Alive Inside,” who are using using music therapy to help residents with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias at Wingate at Haverhill. The music assists in reliving memories that were thought to be lost. According to Health Occupations Teacher Jane Moskevitz, “We know that as human beings we relate our identity to music. We can’t cure Alzheimer’s disease or dementia, but through this program we can bring some relief to patients and give them a way to connect to the world again.”


CAREGIVING CORNER

A February 15, 2018 Prevention article advised on beneficial ways to communicate with people who have Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. According to the article, “As the disease progresses, communicating with that person may become even more challenging. However, if you recognize the changes and challenges that come with dementia, you will more easily be able to alter your conversations with that person to meet his or her needs.”


EVENTS AND RESOURCES

The 5th annual Patients as Partners program is the only conference in the US that demonstrates how to involve patients throughout the entire medicines development life cycle to drive greater efficiencies in clinical research. March 15-16, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA. Register here.