USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A February 21, 2018 Al Jazeera broadcast segment featured LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's advocate Yvonne Latty, a journalist and caregiver for her mother living with Alzheimer's. Yvonne highlights the barriers that Latinos face when seeking Alzheimer's treatment and care. 

MUST READS

A February 25, 2018 The Advocate Q&A posed the question, “Is there such a thing as medication-induced dementia?” According to the article, “Medication-induced dementia is a cognitive impairment of language, memory and comprehension originating from or complicated by prescription or over-the-counter drugs… Those who have medication-induced dementia usually display symptoms similar to those of Alzheimer's disease, especially lethargy and depression.” People with Alzheimer's or dementia are especially susceptible to side effects of medication, which can exacerbate pre-existing risks for increased falls, sleep disturbances and confusion.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A February 23, 2018 Rhode Island Inno article spotlighted MindImmune, at the University of Rhode Island’s George & Anne Ryan Institute for Neuroscience, which is working on therapeutic opportunities targeting the immune system to treat brain disease. Their strategy is to look at the immune system and the cause of Alzheimer’s and other diseases. According to Co-Founder Dr. Stevin Zorn, “Neuroinflammation is at the core of these diseases; it could be causative based on recent genetics research. If you don’t stop neuroinflammation from occurring, there may be little opportunity to make significant inroads in modifying the disease process.”

CAREGIVING CORNER

A Being Patient Voices post by Miki Klocke sought to redefine “self-care” for the caregiver. According to Klocke, “Although there are resources available to help with finding respite care, there often wasn’t time to seek them out while I tried to manage this experience on my own. There was no time for luxuries such as 30-minute walks, and I beat myself up for not being able to engage in the one process everyone says is so important: self-care. However, over time, I realized that self-care does not have to include physical actions such as meeting a friend for coffee; self-care can also be a mindset.” Klock was caregiver for 17 years to her mom who had Alzheimer’s disease and penned the book, “Alzheimer’s: Beyond Caregiving.”

LIFESTYLE

According to a February 20, 2018 Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry article, the 2017 AARP Brain Health and Nutrition Survey found that the majority of people who say they eat well the majority of the time rate their brain health/mental sharpness as excellent or very good. Experts from fields such as nutrition, geriatric psychology, neuroscience, physiology and public health formed the Global Council on Brain Health by AARP, with support from Age UK, to examine and discuss research regarding diet and brain health for people 50 and up.

DEMENTIA AND THE ARTS

A February 23, 2018 KCUR 89.3 radio segment and article interviewed poet and English professor Brian Daldorph. His late father, who had Alzheimer’s disease, inspired his sixth book of poetry, “Ice Age/Edad de Hielo” (in both English and Spanish). According to Daldorph, “Ice Age” is really the key metaphor to the collection. It shows the effect of this illness on my father and the way that he gradually lost himself, the way that winter sort of takes away so much from us.”  

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

According to a February 23, 2018 The Salt Lake Tribune article, a set of bills is moving through the Salt Lake County Legislature which would allow for the removal of elected officials with progressive mental illness. By unanimous vote, county councils could ask a judge to force an evaluation, and if an official was shown to have a permanent incapacity that can’t be aided by medication or other means, they could vote them out of office. “In a perfect world, when an adult succumbs to a mental illness, a disability, dementia or Alzheimer’s, their family would take care of them. Their family would intervene and see that they’re getting the kind of care and respect and dignity that they deserve,” said Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City. 

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Tune into the “From Insight to Advocacy: Addressing Family Caregiving as a Public Health Issue” webinar from the The National Alliance for Caregiving on March 6, 2018 at 2pm (EST). Learn about the recent report and hear from its authors: Jennifer Wolff, Ph.D. the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Erin D. Bouldin, Ph.D., Appalachian State University; Richard Schulz, Ph.D., the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Mike Wittke, M.P.A., Director of Advocacy, National Alliance for Caregiving and Grace Whiting, President and CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving.