February 16, 2016

Today's Top News

MUST READS

A February 15, 2016 Kansas City Star article highlighted the efforts of the University of Kansas Medical Center to address Alzheimer’s and dementia and a recent visit from Richard Hodes, director of the National Institute of Aging,. According to the article, “Hodes said scientists also have made great progress in identifying risk factors for Alzheimer’s such as heart disease and diabetes, as well as a “whole family of genes” related to Alzheimer’s. These risk factors, along with signs of early disease discovered on brain scans, will help scientists more precisely identify people to take part in medical studies, he said. Hodes spent the day at KU Medical Center, at the invitation of U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, touring its Alzheimer’s research facilities in Fairway and at its main Kansas City, Kan., campus. KU is among 31 medical centers with an NIH-funded Alzheimer’s disease center.”

A February 15, 2016 Miami Herald opinion piece by Dharma Khalsa and Simran Stuelpnagel underscored the importance of prevention to curbing the impact of Alzheimer’s. According to the authors, “Studies suggest that four steps to brain health and Alzheimer’s prevention have a good chance of being effective. They are diet, stress management, physical and mental exercise and spiritual fitness. With simple and effective lifestyle choices, it’s entirely possible that each one of us can add years to our brain longevity…Nevertheless, it is critical that research dollars not merely be used to fund drug-related studies, but that they be made available to continue fund work on what is now called non-pharma prevention. This is critical because, even though prevention doesn’t make much money for the drug industry, it empowers individuals to take care of their brain.” Dr. Dharma Khalsa is with The Alzheimer’s Research And Prevention Foundation and Simran Stuelpnagel is The Executive Vice President of the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation.

A February 12, 2016 The Hill opinion piece by former Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) and former Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN) urged lawmakers to pass medical innovation legislation. According to the authors, “As co-chairs of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s (BPC) initiative on Advancing Medical Innovation, we have a few thoughts of our own.  First, it is critical that we not let up. Cutting edge technologies, treatments, and cures can be life-changing and life-saving for patients in need…Here are ten key areas we believe are ready for bipartisan action this year…Providing support for personalized and precision medicine to bring life-saving treatments to Americans with cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and other diseases for which there is no cure.”

A February 12, 2016 The News Tribune oped by Congressman Denny Heck (D-WA) called for more resources to fight Alzheimer’s. According to Rep. Heck, “Alzheimer's is the only disease among the top 10 causes of death in America that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. As our life expectancy goes up, so does our risk of this disease…A strong, robust research operation will help find ways to prevent the disease and determine effective new treatments. We should invest now and capitalize on the progress of clinical trials currently underway.”


RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

A February 13, 2016 The BBC article reported that “Scientists have detected a number of drugs which could help protect against Alzheimer's disease, acting like statins for the brain.” According to the article, “Rather than treating the symptoms of the disease, a neurostatin could be used as a preventative measure to stop the condition appearing in the first place. The cancer drug bexarotene, for example, was found to stop the first step which leads to the death of brain cells in worms genetically programmed to develop Alzheimer's disease.”

A February 12, 2016 Time article reported that “A study shows that personalized brain training can grow the hippocampus in some older people.” According to the article, “a small new study, published in the Journal of Prevention of Alzheimer’s Disease, suggests that targeted, personalized interventions can slow or actually reverse some of that loss, even late in life.”


INTERESTING READS FROM THE WEB

Time: Why Dementia Rates May Be Slowing Down

The Guardian: ‘Mini-brains’ could revolutionise drug research and reduce animal use

Daily Mail: NHS rationing of hearing aids fuels epidemic of Alzheimer's because deafest people are five time more likely to be hit by the disease

ABC News: Loss for Words Can Be a Rare Brain Disorder, Not Alzheimer's

HuffingtonPost: How to Survive Being an Alzheimer's Caregiver

King5.com NBC: Governor announces Washington state Alzheimer's plan