USA2 SPOTLIGHT 

Together with WomenAgainstAlzheimer’s, we are hosting a Twitter Chat with USA Today to elevate the conversation about Alzheimer’s impact on women. We hope you can join us this Wednesday 11/16 from 1 – 2 pm ETto amplify our collective voice! What should you do? Jump on Twitter at 1 pm ET and use the hashtag #hope4alz to respond to the moderator, ask questions, and provide your own thoughts and views.

MUST READS

A November 15, 2016 NewsMax.com article reported that “Australian researchers have found that computer-based brain training can improve memory and mood in older adults with mild cognitive impairment, although the training is not effective in those who have already been diagnosed with dementia.”

A November 14, 2016 STAT News article reported that “The defective proteins that are widely thought to kill brain neurons and cause, or at least indicate, Alzheimer’s disease do not always have that calamitous result, scientists reported on Monday, raising more doubts about conventional approaches to diagnosing and finding treatments for Alzheimer’s.”

A November 14, 2016 The Hill opinion piece by Marc. N. Casper, Mary Sue Coleman, and Chris Hansen underscored the need to to pass the 21st Century Cures Act to advance cures for diseases like Alzheimer’s. According to the authors, “While it may be impossible to measure the potential cures lost when worthy research proposals go unfunded, there is no doubt that funding additional research focused on preventing, treating and curing our most chronic and costly diseases would have a significant impact on the U.S. economy…Nearly 1 in every 5 Medicare dollars is spent on individuals with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Alzheimer’s is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States and the only cause of death among the top 10 that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. And it is estimated that a 1 percent reduction in death from cancer or heart disease would be worth nearly $500 billion to the economy.”

A November 14, 2016 CBS News article reported that “A huge portion of a caregiver’s salary goes to the needs of their sick family member or loved one, a new study shows.” According to the article, “Family caregivers spend 20 percent of their income — an average of $6,954 — on out-of-pocket costs related to caregiving, according to the AARP Research report…Hispanic/Latino and low-income caregivers were especially hard hit — spending an average of 44 percent of their total annual income to take care of a loved one.”