USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A May 5, 2016 Huffington Post blog post by ActivistAgainstAlzheimer’s member Allan Vann highlighted the underreporting of Alzheimer’s as a cause of death, an issue that impacted him personally when his wife Clare passed away. According to Vann, “What did surprise me, however, is that the word, “Alzheimer’s,” does not appear anywhere on Clare’s death certificate. Not even in Section 30, part II where “Other significant conditions leading to death but not related to cause listed in part A” can be written. The doctor left that space blank ... there is no mention of Alzheimer’s disease. I am having trouble wrapping my mind around that part of Clare’s death certificate. In 2014, relying upon two studies conducted with partial funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the NIA concluded that, ‘Underreporting of Alzheimer’s as a cause of death on death certificates is a well-known phenomenon. Some people with the disease never receive a diagnosis. Many others have dementia-related conditions, such as aspiration pneumonia, listed as the primary cause of death while the underlying cause, Alzheimer’s, is never reported.’”

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A May 7, 2016 The Washington Post article reported on a video game that could help scientists fight Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Hornberger, a dementia researcher at the University of East Anglia in England, is the brain behind an unlikely effort to turn a video game into a tool for research. His game, “Sea Hero Quest,” is aimed at helping to spot early signs of dementia, and it debuted to great fanfare this week. It has already been downloaded some 150,000 times, according to Alzheimer’s Research UK, a nonprofit group that supported the project. If each person who downloaded plays for just two minutes, they’ll supposedly provide researchers with the equivalent of 70 years of lab data on human spatial memory and navigation.”

A May 6, 2016 U.S. News & World Report opinion piece by Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen underscored the need to stop Alzheimer’s and support caregivers. According to Rep. Ros-Lehtinen, “The tragic toll of Alzheimer's extends past the commitments of time and emotion. It also creates a mounting financial burden – for patients, caregivers and federal and state budgets – that must be stopped.…This reality is unacceptable and we have an obligation to support Alzheimer's patients and their loved ones. Fortunately, there is hope. I am proud that in recent years, my colleagues in Congress have made significant strides to address the Alzheimer's crisis. In December, Congress approved a historic increase in support for Alzheimer's research. I am also seeking bipartisan solutions to address the Alzheimer's epidemic. I am a proud cosponsor of the HOPE for Alzheimer's Act to stand up for the caregivers of people living with Alzheimer's. While these actions are promising, finding proper treatment for this disease requires a greater level of commitment. Without medical breakthroughs to prevent or cure the disease, Alzheimer's will steal millions of lives and trillions of dollars from our country over the next generation.”

A May 6, 2016 Chicago Sun Times opinion piece by John Fountain memorialized his mother who he lost to Alzheimer’s. According to Fountain, “My notes on Mama stored in a file on my computer. I search them for solace amid this pain…Tough. A fighter. Fiercely loyal. A rock. And yet, the storm of Alzheimer’s and cancer managed to steal a piece of my soul…After all the cars pulled away from the cemetery, I stood alone until the workers filled my mother’s grave with earth. And yet, even with my dear Mama safe in His arms and my promise kept, I wept. Maybe I always will, especially on Mother’s Day.”

A May 6, 2016 New York Times article by Mary Claude Foster highlighted a whimsical moment with her mother living with Alzheimer’s. According to Foster, “With church bells pealing through the cool morning air, my beautiful, brilliant mother stretched out her arms and made angel wings in the grass. And all the doctors and all the medications and all the years of worry that couldn’t bring my mother back together again, also couldn’t defeat the magic of that moment. I lay down next to her, threaded my fingers through hers, and for a brief wondrous moment, we held the present.”

A May 6, 2016 The News & Observer opinion piece by Valerie Mamone underscored the need for more research participants in the fight against Alzheimer’s. According to Mamone, “Research studies are not only for people already affected by a disease. In fact, many Alzheimer’s prevention trials actually need more participants who are healthy and without any symptoms. Studies may need to screen literally thousands of potential participants to find a sufficient number who meet the criteria. Without these badly needed volunteers, scientists will not be able to research promising Alzheimer’s therapies, significantly delaying potentially life-saving discoveries. Those who sign up can help advance Alzheimer’s treatment and prevention research, and stop this horrible disease from affecting an untold number of their loved ones.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

Science Daily: Gene linked to Alzheimer's disease impairs memory by disrupting brain's 'playback system'

Medical News Today: Alzheimer's researchers cast a broader net to find a cure

CBS News: Popular heart drug linked to dementia risk in study