November 29, 2013

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt highlights the importance of the UK's G8 Dementia Summit, new report finds that less than half of UK dementia sufferers are diagnosed, and the use of medical records to trace links between genes and diseases like Alzheimer's (read more).  

 

Must reads

  • A November 28, 2013 Guardian article reported that a new UK government report found that "Less than half of people suffering from dementia in England are being formally diagnosed with the condition, leaving hundreds of thousands struggling without support." According to the article, "The finding comes in a government report that shows wide variations in standards of dementia care with three quarters of patients receiving a formal diagnosis in the best areas but only a third in the worst.The figures are also being published in an interactive online map, which Hunt said would help raise standards by allowing patients to see which parts of the country were guilty of "poor performance"."
  • A November 28, 2013 The Telegraph opinion piece by UK Healthy Secretary Jeremy Hunt outlined the importance of Britain's G8 dementia summit to tackling Alzheimer's globally. According to Hunt, "The Prime Minister launched a Dementia Challenge last year, and already we are making good progress, with four times as many patients going to memory clinics as in 2010-11. But we must go further – everyone who goes to their GP with symptoms of dementia must be assessed and diagnosed in a timely manner…With advances in medical science, the commitment of governments and a willingness to change attitudes, we can be the generation that beats dementia."
  • A November 28, 2013 New York Times article reported on the use of medical records to trace links between genes and diseases like Alzheimer's. According to the article, "To run such a study, scientists find a lot of people with the same condition — diabetes, for example, or Alzheimer’s disease. Then they take samples of DNA from the subjects and search them for mutations that are unusually common in people with the disease compared with people without it…Such studies could help link seemingly unrelated symptoms, Dr. Denny suggested. They could also point to potentially harmful side effects of a drug. On the other hand, they could also guide research into new uses for drugs. “If you have a drug that targets a certain gene, you can understand what range of diseases you can use that drug to treat,” said Dr. Denny."