June 11, 2014

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Big data vs. Alzheimer's, Senate votes to increase funding for medical research, and controversy over a Rite Aid memory test for Alzheimer's (read more). 

Must reads

  • A June 11, 2014 Data Economy article reported on the use of big data to fight Alzheimer's and the launch a big data challenge by the Global CEO Initiative on Alzheimer’s Disease (CEOi), Sage Bionetworks, and the DREAM Project. According to USA2 Chairman George Vradenburg, "It is essential that we develop a global framework that unites government and business in a coordinated effort to increase innovation through real-time data sharing, so that we may discover a means of treatment and prevention for Alzheimer’s and dementia.”
  • A June 10, 2014 The Hill article reported that "A Senate Appropriations subcommittee voted to increase funding for medical research and a program to fight fraud in public and private health plans." According to the article, "The $605 million increase for the National Institutes of Health would effectively cancel the sequester's cut to the institution when combined with a $1 billion increase appropriated for this fiscal year. The move won praise from research advocacy groups who urged lawmakers to continue efforts to increase funding for meaningful research."
  • A June 10, 2014 Bloomberg article reported on controversy over a Rite Aid memory test. According to the article, "Memory tests given at Rite Aid Corp. (RAD) drug stores as an early warning for Alzheimer’s are drawing fire from doctors who say they don’t work well and may cause unwarranted fear among people who don’t have the disease…While the drugstore chain’s partnership with the foundation may raise awareness about dementia, “there are huge problems with large scale screening at this point,” said Arthur Caplan, director of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Langone Medical Center. “This diagnosis is so feared, so terrifying to people that doing a well-intended but not extremely accurate or well-counseled program can lead to a lot of trouble.”"