USA2 SPOTLIGHT

A July 28, 2020 UsAgainstAlzheimer’s press statement quoted Co-Founder and Chairman George Vradenburg about new research on a blood test for the detection of Alzheimer’s disease released at this year’s (virtual) AAIC. “This groundbreaking research adds to the range of blood tests in development offering new hope to detect Alzheimer's disease at its earliest stages. This new test could be available in two to three years, and other blood tests in the pipeline could reach the market even earlier. Blood tests will be both more accessible and more affordable ways to detect Alzheimer's, and will make it easier than ever before for people to manage their own brain health,” said Vradenburg.

(ICYMI) A July 16, 2020 Healthy Women article looked at the lack of black women represented in Alzheimer’s disease clinical drug trials. African Americans are twice as likely to develop AD as caucasians. An historic lack of trust based on a history of exploitation of black women in medical experimentation, coupled with a major lack of black female scientists, has lead to an only three to five percent trial participation rate. "I can — on one hand — give you the leading African American principal investigator researchers in Alzheimer's disease. I could maybe identify 10 in the whole country,” said AfricanAmericansAgainstAlzheimer's lead Stephanie Monroe. According to the article, “Notably, in one 2017 clinical trial for an Alzheimer's drug, only 1.6% of the trial participants were Black; 83% were white.”

(ICYMI) Tune into part one of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s COVID-19 Insight Series Alzheimer's Talk about health equity challenges in the dementia community. A distinguished panelist, along with host Meryl Comer, discussed the effects of the coronavirus on family caregivers of color. Learn about latest A-LIST survey results on the Alzheimer's community. “We are set up to be impacted by a pandemic like COVID-19 to a greater extent than people who do not have those risk factors. Already we’ve seen many people die who probably would not have if their blood pressure had been normal, if they were handling glucose normally,” said guest Dr. David Satcher.