MUST READS

A November 17, 2015 The Guardian article profiled Kathleen Anduze and her life with Lewy Body dementia. According to the article, “Today, the 55-year-old former professional horseback rider and nurse who once directed medical centers, wrote policy papers and spoke at conferences around the country rarely leaves the house. She relies on her family for practical and mental support. Visual hallucinations, delusions and nightmares plague her life. Her loved ones offer all the help they can as they watch their once dynamic matriarch’s condition worsen.” 

A November 16, 2015 EurekAlert! press statement announced that “The health care costs of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease (AD) start to increase already one year before the diagnosis, shows a new study from the University of Eastern Finland.” According to the article, “The differences in the health care costs between AD patients and non-AD patients were the greatest during six months following the diagnosis, with AD patients having 5,088 euros higher health care costs per person-year. After the first six months, the differences evened out. Two years after the diagnosis, the health care costs of AD patients stabilised at a level two times higher than that of non-AD patients.”

A November 16, 2015 San Francisco Gate article reported that “A billionaire philanthropist committed to giving away all his money before he dies has donated $177 million to UCSF to create a program involving people in a variety of fields from all over the world — physicians, social workers, economists, lawyers, musicians — to address the growing burden of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.”

CAREGIVING 

A November 16, 2015 The Kansas City Star opinion piece by Lewis Diuguid underscored the need to support caregivers and highlighted ways to offer a helping held. According to Diuguid, “The 40 million people who take care of older, ill, frail or disabled adults don’t often get enough thanks or attention for the work they do to benefit others…Some suggestions include: Cooking a meal and delivering it hot to caregivers. Offering to pick up prescriptions for the person receiving the assistance. Writing a letter to the caregiver, telling her/him you know her/his sacrifices and you admire her/him for the love and devotion provided.”

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A November 16, 2015 WebMD.com article reported that “Losing your sense of smell may mark the start of memory problems and possibly Alzheimer's disease, a new study suggests.”

A November 16, 2015 Gizmag.com article reported that an “experimental Alzheimer's drug shows unexpected anti-aging effects.” According to the article, “Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California have tested an experimental drug on rapidly-aging mice, with the treatment designed to combat aspects of aging closely associated with Alzheimer's. The results were very positive, with treated mice exhibiting better memory, cognition and more…The results were very positive, with the treated elderly mice performing better in memory tests and exhibiting better motor functions. They also showed less pathological signs of Alzheimer's in their brains, and generally shared more aspects of their gene expression and metabolism with the younger set of mice. Overall, J147 was found to have protective effects on the central nervous system, with the ability to tackle aspects of aging closely associated with Alzheimer’s.”