USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A September 1, 2016 Huffington Post piece by Jason Resendez, executive director of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Latino Network, explored the link between innovative transportation options like Uber and Lyft and clinical trial diversity. According to Resendez, “In addition to providing quick and reliable rides for routine medical care, ride-sharing services may also help improve access to medical research opportunities for communities of color that often cite transportation as a barrier to participation.” The piece highlight recent polling from the Global Alzheimer’s Platform that found “39% of Americans said they would consider taking part in an Alzheimer’s clinical trial, including 34% who are African American, 41% who are Hispanic.”

A September 1, 2016 NewsWorks.org article and radio segment explored the reason why African Americans say no to clinical trials and featured Stephanie Monroe, executive director of the UsAgainstAlzheimer’s African American Network. According to the article, “Monroe says it's time to stop calling people "study subjects." Even if it's just semantics, "volunteer" or "participant" just sound a lot more welcoming. Also it's nice if someone on the research team looks like the people you are trying to recruit.”  

MUST READS

A September 1, 2016 Biosciencetechnology.com article reported that “A research team, led by Cardiff University, has made a significant step towards the development of a simple blood test to predict the onset of Alzheimer's disease.”

A September 1, 2016 MedScape.com article reported that “Antipsychotic medications raise the risk for pneumonia in patients with (and without) Alzheimer's disease (AD), a large Finnish study confirms.”

A September 1, 2016 Huffington Post piece by caregiver Marie Marley explored the question of would Alzheimer’s caregiver’s “Rather Be Right or Would You Rather Have Peace?” According to Marley, “You can’t win an argument with a person who has Alzheimer’s. Agree with whatever he says — no matter how absurd — unless there’s a compelling reason not to, and there rarely is.”