June 22, 2016

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

Briefing and Webcast Tomorrow: More than 5 million Americans currently suffer from Alzheimer’s and, in 2016, the disease will cost the U.S. healthcare system $236 billion. Join The Hill on Thursday, June 23 for a discussion on how policymakers and the healthcare industry can collaborate to find more effective treatments for Alzheimer’s. What developments and information are prompting breakthroughs in disease research? What are the potential pathways to meeting NIH’s 2025 prevention goal? The event will feature UsAgainstAlzheimer's board member Jill Lesser, President of the WomenAgainstAlzheimer's Network. Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. at The Newseum, 8th Floor Conference Center. Learn more hereand register here

Webinar: June 28th, 12:00pm EST - 1PM EST - Alzheimer's and Dementia PPRN: Opportunities for Collaborations in PCORnet | Join WebEx meeting here (Meeting number: 733 558 176 | Meeting password: 1234) Join by phone: 1-855-244-8681 Call-in toll-free number (US/Canada) 1-650-479-3207 Call-in toll number (US/Canada) Access code: 733 558 176


MUST READS

A June 22, 2016 Boston Globe article highlighted a joint venture of Tufts Health Plan, and the Alzheimer’s Association of Massachusetts and New Hampshire to provide social services to individuals living with dementia. According to the article, “Each patient, and the family member caring for the person, is matched with a social worker who helps them design a plan that includes regular, meaningful activities for the patient, and also assists in locating free or affordable community services and support groups. The aim is to help the patient live well at home for as long as possible, while securing regular respite time for the exhausted caregiver. All the information is shared with the patient’s physician.”

A June 21, 2016 The White House press release highlighted “100 Examples of President Obama’s Leadership in Science, Technology, and Innovation” including establishing the national Alzheimer’s plan. According to the release, “Invested in technologies to revolutionize understanding of the human brain. In April 2013, President Obama launched the BRAIN Initiative to develop neuro-technologies that could uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury. The initiative has already catalyzed $1.5 billion in public and private funds, as well as more than 100 academic papers tied to the effort. In addition, the Administration launched a broad neuroscience initiative, in May 2012 issued a national plan to address Alzheimer’s disease, and has supported a near doubling of the research budget for Alzheimer’s research at NIH between 2012 and 2017.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A June 22, 2016 FierceBiotech article reported that “Axon’s Alzheimer’s vaccine hits Phase II as it seeks to prove efficacy.” According to the article, “Axon is working the latter tau theory, and began human testing back in 2013. AADvac1 targets the anti-tau phosphorylation and consists of synthetic polypeptides, which are meant to elicit an immune response against pathogenic tau proteins. Phase I results, posted last year at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, showed it was safe and well tolerated. Now the real work begins, as it starts its larger Phase II safety and efficacy trial where the primary goal is to confirm its earlier results by assessing safety and immunogenicity on a larger sample of patients with mild Alzheimer’s disease.”

A June 21, 2016 Science News article highlighted the first study to “show  that Alzheimer's disease can lead to diabetes, as opposed to diabetes occurring first as was previously thought.” According to the article, “The paper, published in the journal Diabetologia (the journal of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes), found for the first time that dementia-related complications within the brain can also lead to changes in glucose handling and ultimately diabetes. This is contrary to what was previously thought -- that diabetes begins with a malfunction in the pancreas or a high fat, high sugar diet.”