USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

A May 9, 2016 UsA2 blog post highlighted the Brain Fitness Club - an innovative and successful program supporting those with Alzheimer's run by the First United Methodist Church of Winter Park, Florida, a member of the Faith United Against Alzheimer's Coalition.

A new digital short commissioned by The Chicago Community Trust featured LatinosAgainstAlzheimer’s Coalition member The Latino Alzheimer’s Alliance and a program that uses dance lessons to keep Latino older adults active while raising awareness of Alzheimer’s. Watch the videohere. 

MUST READS

A May 11, 2016 Slate.com article highlighted Gerda Saunders’ efforts to document her life with dementia through “an ongoing docuseries featuring her and her family as they work through the changes and decisions ahead.” According to the article, “In 2010, Gerda Saunders learned she had cerebral microvascular disease, a precursor to dementia. A writer and academic, she began to keep a journal of how her diagnosis and the advancing disease altered her life and identity.”

A May 10, 2016 The Florida Times-Union editorial underscored the need for more Alzheimer’s research before the disease becomes a “tsunami.” According to the editorial, “According to The Washington Post, some $2 billion must be spent annually for research in order to really bring Alzheimer’s under control by the 2025 goal set by the National Institutes of Health. Compared to the amounts of funding for research into other diseases, that doesn’t seem to be an unreachable amount…Speak up with your own stories of dealing with Alzheimer’s. Stigma and stereotypes cannot stand up to honesty and forthrightness…Press now for more research and funding for this horrendous disease that affects so many.”

A May 10, 2016 Healio.com article reported that “The National Institute of Aging recently granted $14.5 million to researchers conducting a study on a dietary intervention, the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, for Alzheimer’s disease.”

A May 10, 2016 The Las Vegas Review-Journal article reported that “A mobile clinic parked in Las Vegas this week is offering locals a chance to undergo free brain scans and help researchers better understand the brain.” According to the article, “The goal is to aid in early detection of brain tumors by sending the mobile clinic to cities across the country, said Dr. Philip E. Stieg, foundation president and chairman of the Department of Neurological Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York…The group of researchers at Columbia’s medical center and Mailman School of Public Health are investigating potential environmental and genetic causes of brain cancer. The data are also being shared with groups that study other brain health issues like Alzheimer’s disease.”