MUST READS

A November 3, 2015 Alzheimer’s Society article reported that a new study finds that “Playing online games that challenge reasoning and memory skills – brain training - could have significant benefits for older people in their day to day lives.” According to the article, “Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King's College London have shown that an online brain training package can not only improve memory and reasoning skills - but also how well older people carry out everyday tasks such as navigating public transport, shopping, cooking and managing personal finances.”

A November 2, 2015 The Washington Post article reported that “The U.S. death rate for all causes is continuing to decline, aided by drops in fatalities from leading causes such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and accidents, new research finds.” The article recognized limitations with the study, including its exclusion of Alzheimer’s. According to the article, “Earlier this year, a report from the Institute of Medicine recommended that the performance of the health-care system be measured based on four domains: healthy people, quality care, affordable care and engaged patients, McGinnis noted. ‘Looking only at death rates, and primarily at mortality prominent in 1969, gives a necessary but not sufficient profile of the health of the nation and the citizens within it — missing issues like the rapid ascendancy of Alzheimer’s disease, the rise and reduction of HIV/AIDS, the more recent ascendance of diabetes deaths (tracking the obesity epidemic) and persistent disparities in health care, for example the sustained gap between blacks and whites,’ McGinnis said by e-mail.”

A November 2, 2015 News10.com article reported that “Governor Cuomo has awarded over $65 million to nine organizations across the State of New York that support Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY

A November 3, 2015 The Michigan Daily article profiled Stanford University’s Professor Carla Shatz and her Alzheimer’s research. According to the article, “Shatz was the first woman to earn tenure in the basic sciences at Stanford, where she is currently a professor of biology and neurobiology. Her research focuses on synaptic plasticity, or the ability of the gaps between nerve cells to strengthen or weaken over time, in relation to Alzheimer’s disease. Throughout her lecture, Shatz emphasized the importance of a type of gene — MHC class I — specifically the MHC gene PirB. Her research teams throughout the years have focused on studying the visual cortex in the brain to uncover whether that particular gene is involved in regulating synaptic plasticity…Shatz also said her team found that the PirB gene inhibits the ability of synapses to strengthen and weaken over time in response to increases or decreases in their activity. This may in turn contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.”

A November 3, 2015 Emory.edu article reported that “Emory University will be a health care research partner in the South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub (South BD Hub) directed by Georgia Tech and the University of North Carolina's Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI).” According to the article, researchers include “Allan Levey, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurology and director of the Emory Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and colleagues are assessing proteomics related to normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, or Alzheimer's disease in several NIH-sponsored studies. With foundation support, Levey is initiating a large research data-driven study with the goal of developing mid-life biomarkers predictive of Alzheimer's disease.”

POLICY AND POLITICS

A November 2, 2015 Daily Caller opinion piece by former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee called on the GOP to focus on cures. According to Huckabee, “We spend $200 billion on Alzheimer’s and $90 billion on cancer treatment alone each year. I lost my mother-in-law to Alzheimer’s, and this horrible disease will cost us $1.1 trillion by the year 2050. Heart disease and stroke lead to 740,000 deaths each year, including $313 billion in healthcare costs and lost productivity. Diabetes treatment and management is pushing toward $500 billion per year. Imagine how much time, money, and agony we could save ourselves if we cured these tragic diseases? Our entire healthcare payment system is designed to treat and manage diseases. Isn’t it time we reassess our system and focus on cost-saving cures?”