MUST READS

A February 23, 2017 Alzheimer’s News Today article reported on the debate about dementia research priorities, dubbed a “global dementia action plan,” for the coming decade. A recent report, “Research priorities to reduce the global burden of dementia by 2025,” published in The Lancet Neurology and supported by the World Health Organization, outlined what they believe will reduce the burden of dementia. But a commentary in the same issue, from a University of Southern California researcher, disagreed, with the argument that the outlined priorities amounted to a plea for continued research funding that has a poor track record.

INDUSTRY UPDATES

A February 26, 2017 Business Insider article reported that in light of the recent spate of Alzheimer’s trials failures, it’s time to reevaluate how to treat the disease. The dominant, emerging theory is to treat much earlier, before symptoms start to appear. Years — even decades — before, amyloid beta deposits in the brain can start to accumulate. There are a number of clinical trials currently in the works to determine whether this is the best approach.

DISPARITIES SPOTLIGHT

A February 28, 2017 News Medical article reported that a Mayo Clinic research team has found a new gene mutation that may be a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease in African Americans. AD has been understudied in African Americans, despite the fact that it is twice as prevalent, compared to Caucasians and other ethnic groups. The findings, published in the February issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, is the first comprehensive genetic screening of its kind in African Americans. The investigators hypothesized that early-onset AD genes may also be involved in late-onset in African Americans. "This study opens the door to further analysis of this gene variant ─ both in African Americans with Alzheimer's and in other populations. These findings, which require replication, represent an important step in expanding genetic research in Alzheimer's disease to minority populations," says Nilufer Ertekin-Taner, MD, PhD, neurogeneticist and neurologist, and the study's Senior Investigator.

A February 28, 2017 Nugget article reported on a $1 million grant, from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), for two research projects bringing new and culturally-adapted approaches addressing the needs of Indigenous people living with, or at risk of developing dementia. They are part of the CIHR Dementia Research Strategy, supporting research on the latest preventive, diagnostic and treatment approaches to Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. One grant is a community-based approach, combining Indigenous practices with Western technologies, to empower caregivers supporting older Indigenous people. The second, to develop a Canadian Indigenous Cognitive Assessment Tool for widespread use, and lay a foundation for a national study of dementia in Indigenous populations. Indigenous populations across Canada are at a higher risk of developing dementia. Rates of dementia are 34% higher than the non-Indigenous population and rising more quickly.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A February 24, 2017 Home Care article reported that a new study, published in the journal Neuroepidemiology, found that older people with a higher level of education have better memory function, but it does not protect them from cognitive decline as they age. Researchers at University College London (UCL) explored changes in memory and cognitive performance over an eight-year period in over 11,000 Europeans, aged 65 and over, from 10 different countries. “Previous studies have found that more years spent in education are linked to a lower rate of dementia. Today’s findings reinforce that dementia is not a natural part of aging and that the factors that may delay the onset of dementia might not have the same effect on the forgetfulness that is all too common as we grow older,” according to Dr. James Pickett, Head of Research and Development, Alzheimer’s Society.