MUST READS

An April 10, 2017 Philly.com article reported on a doctor’s view of tackling Alzheimer’s. Peter Gliebus, MD, writes about the urgency to find an effective dementia treatment, especially in light of the string of recent AD drug trial failures. He calls on the public to get involved in clinical trials that address Alzheimer’s at its earliest possible stage.

According to an April 10, 2017 NJ.com article, it generally takes decades to find cures for chronic diseases, with countless failures along the way, and Alzheimer’s is no different. Dr. Howard Fillit, Founding Executive Director of the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation, sees potential breakthroughs on the horizon. According to Fillit, "We've made tremendous progress in science and research in Alzheimer's disease. In my professional lifetime, I have seen enormous, revolutionary changes and I think we're going to get there very soon actually, in terms of effective treatments to manage this horrible epidemic."

MUST WATCH AND LISTEN

An April 10, 2017 Texas Public Radio segment and article focuses on the response to the FDA’s approval of a home genetic test from 23andMe to test your health risk for 10 diseases. The Alzheimer’s Association warns not to rely on it to guide any health decisions about Alzheimer’s disease, as more than 100 genes can influence your risk of the getting AD.

An April 6, 2017 WMTV (NBC15) segment and article spotlights Heritage Senior Living’s intergenerational playgroup which connects kids and seniors with dementia. According to Dementia Training Specialist, Jan Zimmerman, “One of the things with dementia is, as the brain starts to fail, it becomes harder to connect so they start to isolate and its hard seeing that person you know slowly starting to fade away. Kids don’t care. They just want to be with you where you are in that moment. They don’t care if you don’t say the right words.”

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

In a response to traditional values in China, an April 11, 2017 Bloomberg article spotlights Starbucks’ new policy which provides Chinese workers health insurance that extends coverage to their parents. The plan covers 30 critical illnesses and may be used to treat conditions such as cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Children often care for their parents and grandparents and China provides no comprehensive safety net for the elderly.

REGIONAL PERSPECTIVES

An April 10, 2017 St. Louis Post-Dispatch opinion piece by Teresa Yao of St. Louis colloquially refers to the Alzheimer’s crisis as the “Silver Tsunami.” She writes that an “insidious byproduct will cripple our health care system and economy.” She thanks her elected officials for past support funding AD research and implores them to continue.