USA2 SPOTLIGHT

UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Jason Resendez teamed up with cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz to write a January 29, 2018 op-ed for Univision [in Spanish] about Disney Pixar’s latest animated hit "Coco" and its focus on dementia. Lalo was a creative consultant on Coco and his mother lived with dementia for several years. The op-ed is part of a social media campaign that will encourage families to share their stories about the Coco in their lives with the hashtag: #WhosYourCoco? You can read an English version on Medium here.

MUST WATCH

In a February 1, 2018 CNN “Vital Signs” broadcast segment, Dr. Sanjay Gupta visited different locations to explore the questions, “How much does aging have to do with the way that we live, the company we keep, or the way that we learn?” He went to the Sisters School of Notre Dame in Minnesota to meet nuns donating their brains to Alzheimer’s disease research. According to Sister Rita Schwalbe, “I didn’t know how the Sisters were going to react to it. But when they heard the explanation and how it would help people, help doctors to help other people, the Sisters were all for it.”

INDUSTRY UPDATE

A January 30, 2018 Seeking Alpha article spotlighted Anavex Life Sciences’s Anavex 2-73 antioxidant drug and compares it to Aricept, used to treat Alzheimer’s disease, which also indirectly inhibits oxidative stress. If Anavex 2-73 proves successful at both inhibiting the formation of oxidants and effectively scavenges them, it could become the new standard of AD care. The release of year two data will provide further insights into how the drug affects the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

A January 31, 2018 BBC News article reported that scientists in Japan and Australia developed a blood test which detects the build-up of toxic amyloid beta, a major hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The test is at an early stage and requires further development, but was shown to be 90% accurate in a trial on healthy people, those with memory loss and Alzheimer's patients. According to Dr. Abdul Hye of from King's College London, "This study has major implications as it is the first time a group has shown a strong association of blood plasma amyloid with brain and cerebrospinal fluid."

According to a January 30, 2018 Cornell Chronicle article, a new study found that the tripeptidyl peptidase 1 (TPP1) enzyme in brain cells can break amyloid-beta into pieces. According to senior study author Frederick Maxfield, “Our study is the first to find that TPP1 can effectively break down peptides associated with Alzheimer’s disease that are normally very resistant to degradation.” The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund.

LIFESTYLE

A January 30, 2018 Medical News Today article looked at a new study which investigated circadian rhythms in seniors and found that “disruptions in the sleep/wake cycle in completely asymptomatic people might signal the presence of preclinical evidence of Alzheimer's disease.” Using tracking devices and sleep diaries, positron emission tomography scans and cerebral spinal fluid tests, researchers found that participants whose brain scans and spinal fluid tests revealed some preclinical signs of Alzheimer's all had a disrupted sleep/wake cycle. According to first study author Dr. Erik S. Musiek, "It wasn't that the people in the study were sleep-deprived, [b]ut their sleep tended to be fragmented. Sleeping for 8 hours at night is very different from getting 8 hours of sleep in 1-hour increments during daytime naps." 

CAREGIVING CORNER

A January 31, 2018 Forward article by writer and comic Dani Klein Modisett explored her life as caregiver to her mom with Alzheimer’s disease, as well as two young sons. She labels herself a member of the “sandwich generation.” Modisett writes, “There is a unique feeling of inadequacy when you’re living in the sandwich — the “guilt sandwich,” is more apt, because when I’m with my children, I think I should be spending more time with my mother. When I’m with my mother, I wonder if the kids are okay. Then I remember I’m married and that my husband is probably feeling neglected, too.” She brings laughter to Alzheimer’s sufferers with “Laughter On Call.”

EVENTS AND RESOURCES

Alzheimer’s Foundation of America’s Alzheimer’s Educational Conference takes place on February 20, 2018 in San Diego. The free Alzheimer’s educational conference will offer free memory screenings and information about caregiving, support services, safety, research and more. 

Join the Genome Webinar from Oracle Health Sciences on February 21, 2018 at 11am (EST). The webinar will cover best practices for integrating data from multiple clinical and genomic sources for clinical decision support. Featuring Jan Egan, PhD of Mayo Clinic, and Rebecca Laborde, PhD of Oracle Healthcare.