MUST READS

A March 11, 2018 Financial Times article looked at the latest Alzheimer’s disease figures from the World Health Organization, estimating 50 million globally are affected by the disease. They say the increase results entirely from demographic changes, and age-related incidence of dementia is beginning to fall in industrialized countries. Evidence is growing that mitigating non-genetic environmental and lifestyle factors such poor education, stress, obesity and pollution can lower the risk factor for dementia.

A March 4, 2018 Forbes article by Professor of Medicine, Medical Ethics and Health Policy, and Neurology at the University of Pennsylvania Jason Karlawish talked about a new definition for Alzheimer’s disease. The NIH is proposing using only biomarkers to diagnose AD. Utilizing this criteria, there may be up to 47 million Americans who would be classified as having Alzheimer’s. Would the stigma an AD diagnosis carries spillover onto people with asymptomatic Alzheimer’s? According to Karlawish, “The more we humanize the experience of Alzheimer’s disease, perhaps even normalize it, the more you’ll feel good about not just me, but yourself, because, odds are, you too have Alzheimer’s disease.”

CAREGIVING CORNER

A March 8, 2018 The Straits Times article and video spotlighted the work of Melissa Chan in Singapore, who launched “Project We Forgot” to help young caregivers. The enterprise is in response to her personal experience - her father was diagnosed with early-onset dementia when she was only 14. According to Chan, “In the bigger picture, in the work that we do, the dream is for caregivers to know that they’re not alone. For them to have immediate access to services, to support, to connections, to networks with very low barriers of entry.”

YOUTH FOCUS

According to a March 9, 2018 Medscape article, new research shows that Alzheimer’s disease may be neurodevelopmental in origin, related to brain function and hippocampal volume in childhood. According to the article, “The researchers studied associations of AD polygenic risk score with cognitive abilities and hippocampal volume in two Brazilian samples of children aged 6 to 14 years old… They quantified genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease using summary statistics from the International Genomics of Alzheimer's Project.” Also covered by: iAdvance Senior Care. 

CLINICAL TRIAL SPOTLIGHT

A March 11, 2018 New Pittsburg Courier article looked at the link between Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome. About 75 percent of people with Down who are 60+ have AD. Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Adult Down Syndrome Center are looking for people with Down, aged 25+, to volunteer for a study looking for early stages of Alzheimer’s using advanced imaging. According to Peter D. Bulova, MD, “People with Down syndrome offer so much to the world, and participating is a valuable way to contribute to helping everyone’s overall health. We want people with Down syndrome to have a voice in research, and this is a great opportunity.”

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

A March 11, 2018 Daily Mail Online article revealed that figures obtained by the Alzheimer's Society (UK) suggest that half of patients in some areas of England have not been diagnosed with dementia because detection is so poor. Many family doctors are unaware of the early signs and send patients away without a diagnosis, telling them instead they are depressed, over-tired or just growing old. According to Jeremy Hughes of the Alzheimer's Society, “I just don't think it's good enough. Why should one third of people not get a diagnosis? You would expect [a timely diagnosis] with any other disease and the fact that people with dementia don't get it is denying their right to know what's wrong with them.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Tune into the livestreamed public talk “New Developments in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Research” on March 15, 2018. Clare Mackay, Professor of Imaging Neuroscience and Masud Husain, Professor of Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience at the National Institute for Health Research's Biomedical Research Centres in Oxford, will focus on cutting-edge research into Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Watch the livestream here.