MUST READS

An April 6, 2017 STAT article reported that the FDA granted approval for the company 23andMe to offer direct-to-consumer genetic tests. By mailing a saliva sample, consumers get back data on their risk for developing diseases such as Parkinson’s, late-onset Alzheimer’s, and celiac disease.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

According to a March 31, 2017 AlzForum post, neurofilament light (NfL), a protein released into the brain by dying neurons, could be a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease. A paper in the March 27 JAMA Neurology supports this idea. A study on NfL in people with dementia reported high levels in the blood of people with AD and mild cognitive impairment.

POLITICAL INSIGHTS

An April 6, 2017 McClatchy DC Bureau article reported on opposition to the President’s plan to cut funding for medical research from two key Republicans who chair committees that set funding levels for the National Institutes of Health. Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole will push for Congress to increase the institutes’ annual budget. “That proposal will not be well received in the Congress. I just don’t think you want to argue that we’re doing X — almost no matter what X is — as opposed to cancer research or Alzheimer’s research,” said Blunt.

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

An April 7, 2017 ABC article spotlighted Andy Creighan, 55, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia last year. The diagnosis came as a relief after almost a decade of memory issues and diagnoses of depression and anxiety. "They kept saying there was nothing like that wrong with him, that it wasn't dementia, it wasn't Alzheimer's and not to worry," said Jackie Creighan, Andy’s wife. They credit Alzheimer's Australia WA for helping to handle the diagnosis.