Living with EOAD

Editor’s note: This story is taken from a speech given recently by Steve at a church in North Carolina Hello, my name is Steve Ponath I am honored to of been asked to come before you today and speak about a disease that has affected me personally. I'd like you to understand that in doing so, I step out of my comfort zone and walk in faith that what I am about to say is Christ centered, and not Steve centered. I now have to read what I want to say rather than just express it freely, this disease takes

Exciting News on the Research Front

With the approaching launch of two exciting new clinical trials, there’s a feeling of optimism in the air. Dr. Suzanne Craft, Professor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine at Wake Forest School of Medicine and Genny Matthews of the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study ( ADCS ) joined a recent ActivistsAgainstAlzheimer’s Network teleconference to discuss the latest developments. The SNIFF study and the A4 Trial are getting under way. Dr. Craft is leading SNIFF and the A4 Trial is led by Dr. Reisa Sperling of Harvard Medical School. Both trials are conducted through ADCS. SNIFF is enrolling participants at several sites now

My New Year’s “Wish List” for a National Alzheimer’s Agenda

As a caregiver for my wife, diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in 2009 at the age of 63, here’s my brief “wish list” for a national Alzheimer’s agenda. Funding changes: First and foremost, our leaders in Congress must make Alzheimer’s a priority in the FY2014 budget by increasing funding for treatment and NIH research. Beyond that, the government must also provide funding for states to disburse to local research labs working on neurodegenerative diseases. Funding should also subsidize clinical trials for potentially new AD medications, but medication labels must note that medication was proven effective only for the number of

Making the Holidays Bright When Alzheimer's Is in the Picture

Editor's note: this piece originally appeared on The Huffington Post The one constant about life is that it is always changing. This dynamic is particularly acute around the holidays. USAgainstAlzheimer's recently asked some of our supporters, who are on the front lines and live this disease every day, for advice on how to tackle this challenging time and create new memories. Here's what they told us: 1. "Keep your expectations reasonable. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Holidays won't ever be the way they used to be and every year will be different. But that doesn't mean

Alzheimer's Summit: Some Rare Good News

Editor's note: this blog post originally appeared on Huffington Post 50 It's been a tough couple of months for American healthcare. The sequester - blunt and arbitrary policy that it is - has paralyzed funding for basic medical research. And the launch of the Affordable Care Act has been, depending on your political persuasion, anything from a technical start-up glitch to a predictable debacle. Indeed, the road to improving medicine and healthcare in the latter half of 2013 has been filled with bumps and potholes. Yet, behind the noise, there are signals that a unified effort is arising to tackle