MUST WATCH 

U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) spoke on the Senate floor summing up her service in the United States Congress on behalf of the people of Maryland and the nation. She highlighted her father's battle with Alzheimer's disease and her dedication to caregivers. Watch here.

MUST READS 

A December 16, 2016 STAT News interview with NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins highlighted insights with dealing with Congress and his one regret. According to Dr. Collins, “But the regular appropriations process is now postponed by a continuing resolution until April 28, 2017. That means all of the efforts in basic science — the work in multiple different disease areas including Alzheimer’s and infectious disease, or rare disease research — will basically be in a holding pattern until April. And there are certainly a lot of people that are anxious that by delaying a decision until April, we might end up with a yearlong continuing resolution. That would be disastrous for the momentum that has been built so strongly across our entire research area portfolio, which would then be seriously slowed down. I have wonderful allies in that effort in Roy Blunt and Tom Cole; they are appropriators who like to appropriate.”

A December 16, 2016 The Washington Post article reported that “Overall, people who took statins regularly were less likely to have developed Alzheimer’s than were those who took them sporadically.”

A December 16, 2016 News-Medical.Net article highlighted tips for Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving during the holidays.

A December 15, 2016 AlzForum.org article reported on the presentation of Eli Lilly's Solanezumab data at CTAD. According to the article, “Presenting the most eagerly awaited data at this year’s Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease meeting (CTAD) held December 8-10 in San Diego, Lawrence Honig, Columbia University, New York, reported that the Expedition 3 Phase 3 trial of Eli Lilly’s solanezumab was not a total bust.”

A December 15, 2016 New York Times article highlighted the use of robotic pets to assist individuals living with Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Like some other nursing facilities, Hebrew Home is turning increasingly to robotic therapy pets to soothe the agitation and anxiety that often accompany dementia and Alzheimer’s. The home has long made use of therapy animals to reduce stress and isolation, “but at 3 in the morning if there’s someone who’s agitated on Memory Care, you’re not going to have an actual dog there,” said Wendy Steinberg, a spokeswoman.”