USA2 SPOTLIGHT  

A July 27, 2016 Global Alzheimer’s Platform Foundation (GAP) release“announced the appointment of Dr. Kate Zhong to the new position of Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).” According to the president of GAP and UsAgainstAlzheimer’s board member John D. Dwyer, “Kate has the scientific background, an expansive network of connections and one of the sharpest minds in the AD research field. These assets, combined with her energy and drive, make her an ideal fit for this important new role in our collective fight to end Alzheimer's."

MUST READS 

A July 28, 2016 MedPage Today article highlighted Tim Kaine’s DNC nomination speech that mentioned Alzheimer’s. According to Kaine, "Today, for my wife Anna and every strong woman in this country ... for every man and woman serving in our military ... and every senior citizen who hopes for a dignified retirement with healthcare and research to end diseases like Alzheimer's ... I humbly accept my party's nomination to be vice-president of the United States.”

A July 27, 2016 The Wall Street Journal article reported that “An experimental drug for Alzheimer’s targeting a protein called tau failed to improve patients’ cognition or daily functioning in a clinical trial, dealing a setback to a closely watched segment of research.” According to the article, “The drug was designed to attack the twisted fibers that tau forms in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Most other drug trials for the disease have attacked a different protein called beta amyloid, which forms sticky plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.” Also reported on by The New York Times and NBC News. 

A July 27, 2016 STAT News article reported on the high fees that Alzheimer’s patients face while waiting for specialized care. According to the article, “Does the patient need a daily prompt to take her medication? Tack $25 on to the monthly bill. Does he need to be reminded to go to lunch and dinner? That’ll be another $75 a month. Checking blood sugar might cost $55 a month. Double that if the staff is also in charge of injecting insulin. Showering. Dosing out medication. Clipping toenails. It all carries a fee.”

A July 27, 2016 USA Today article reported that “Lifestyle choices remain the best way to prevent and reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s, according to another failed drug trial and a five-day-long international conference.”

A July 27, 2016 MedScape article reported that “One in seven hospital admissions of Medicare patients with Alzheimer's disease are potentially avoidable, and preventing them could save Medicare more than $2 billion annually, according to research presented here at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2016.”

A July 27, 2016 Neurology Advisor article reported that “In a new study reported in JAMA Neurology, researchers at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, and the University of Alabama, Birmingham, explored the potential of [PET] imaging to serve as a marker of disease staging in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and to elucidate interactions between β-amyloid and tauopathy.”