USA2 SPOTLIGHT

Join our Alzheimer’s Talks tomorrow, May 2nd, to explore if depression or anxiety in older adults could be driven in part by Alzheimer’s disease. Jennifer Gatchel, MD, PhD, geriatric psychiatrist at Massachusetts General Hospital and psychiatry instructor at Harvard Medical School, shares her research on links between symptoms of depression and anxiety and the buildup in the brain of tau and amyloid plaques. With a combination of brain imaging, cognitive testing, clinical assessments and ongoing interactions with people with Alzheimer's, her work aims ultimately to improve care and brain health for older adults.

MUST READS

A May 1, 2018 Financial Advisor article (part two in a series) focused on practical tools to help clients and their families prepare for the financial impact of cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease. Part one of the series explored helping financial advisors understand what cognitive impairment is and how to identify it in their clients. According to the article, “When advisors suspect their clients are suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer’s, they may be reluctant to address it for fear of insulting them or otherwise jeopardizing their professional relationships with them. Yet this fear simply must be overcome if an advisor believes a client is at risk of inflicting self-harm, financial or otherwise.”

An April 30, 2018 CNBC article looked at why the elderly are more susceptible to being ripped-off, especially those with Alzheimer’s or dementia. As people age, brains shrink, including “socio-emotional changes,” affecting the ability to gauge trust or notice deceit. People aged 75 to 89 with memory impairment are more likely to click on a suspicious email, for example, which would make them vulnerable to financial fraud.

RESEARCH AND SCIENCE

An April 30, 2018 News Medical Life Sciences article reported that researchers from the University of Missouri developed a rat model to study the buildup of amyloid plaques and vascular abnormalities in the brain. According to professor and researcher Yuksel Agca, "Two proteins, APP and PS1 are linked to the development of Alzheimer's disease in humans--and these two targets have become the basis for numerous studies. If we can identify how to manipulate amyloid-β build up, we can reduce the production of harmful plaques in the brain, leading to decreases in the onset of Alzheimer's disease." Also covered by Science Daily. 

PROFILES IN COURAGE

An April 26, 2018 South China Morning Post letter praised a delivery man who takes his mother with Alzheimer’s disease on all his deliveries for the past seven years. “I think Cai has shown exemplary filial piety. Once children leave home and become independent, many soon forget how their parents had taken care of them. The parents grow anxious and hope their children could spend more time with them.” 

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

“Move For Minds” from The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement is coming to a city near you in June. Your support helps fund women-based Alzheimer's research at leading institutions across the country.