August 28, 2013

Today's Top Alzheimer's News

Sen. Amy Klobuchar highlights the need to invest in Alzheimer's research, the GOP's innovative health care ideas, and Japan establishes a national Alzheimer's council (read more).  
 
 
 

 

Must reads

  • An August 27, 2013 KIMT.com article and video clip reported that Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) visited the Mayo Clinic to talk about the impact of sequestration. According to the article, she was joined by individuals personally impacted by Alzheimer's disease. Sen. Klobuchar stated, "If we are able to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s by just five years, not cure it completely, but delay the onset, we would be able to cut the government spending on Alzheimer’s care by almost half."
  • An August 27, 2013 Fox News opinion piece by Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI) highlighted the GOP's "broad assortment of new and innovative health care ideas." According to Rep. Upton, "And we ensure medical research continues to find cures for challenging diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes.These principles are reflected in an assortment of specific legislative and policy proposals Republican lawmakers are working on now, and have offered for the last several years."
  • An August 28, 2013 Center for Public Integrity article highlighted the impact of aging veterans on the nation's healthcare system. According to the article, "As veterans age, their injuries worsen over time, she said. The same long-term costs seen in previous wars are likely to be repeated to a much larger extent…As Hancock and other post-9/11 veterans age, they will need increased medical care and will become more expensive for the VA. The injuries they have now will likely lead to more complicated and expensive medical issues. TBI, for example, may lead to greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease, psychological, physical and functional problems, and alcohol-abuse disorders. Doctors and economists argue that today’s conversation should not only be about the primary wounds of war, but about the medical issues that are often associated with them."
 
International 
  • An August 28, 2013 Japan News article reported that the Japanese government will establish a dementia liaison council "tasked with eliminating boundaries between ministries and agencies in order to create a society friendly to those suffering from dementia." According to the article, "Because the government currently lacks such a forum for comprehensive discussions about dementia, the council is expected to make substantial contributions to the promotion of various measures to improve conditions for dementia victims."