USA2 SPOTLIGHT

In Case You Missed It: A January 28, 2015 The Diane Rehm Show featured USA2 co-founder Trish Vradenburg in a show about the book and film "Still Alice" and Alzheimer's disease. Trish underscored the need for increased public outcry and commitment to stop Alzheimer's. Listen to the show here. 

MUST READS

A January 30, 2015 CNBC article reported that President Obama will dedicate $215 million in his budget request to the "precision medicine initiative" he announced in his State of the Union address. According to the article, "Obama will dedicate $215 million in his budget request to the program, which will seek to broaden medicine's understanding of the molecular underpinnings of cancer, compile comprehensive health information on at least a million American volunteers, and improve data sharing across government, academia and the private sector. The project "will dramatically advance our knowledge of disease," Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said on a conference call with reporters." The White House release a fact sheet on the initiative that can be read here. 

A January 29, 2015 The Jackson Sun article profiled reporter Josh Lemons experience living "a day with dementia." According to Lemons, "It was difficult to see. Strange sounds seemed to come from out of nowhere. I struggled to complete the simplest everyday tasks. That led to agitation. All I wanted to do was get out of that room, out of that situation. After a few long, frustrating and sometimes frightening moments it was over. Luckily, for me, it was only a simulation. I'd just experienced the Virtual Dementia Tour hosted Thursday by the Elmcroft of Jackson Senior Living Facility."

GLOBAL

A January 28, 2015 BBC News article reported on the impact of dementia on the UK's care system. According to the article, "According to the Alzheimer's Society, by next year there will be 850,000 people living with dementia in the country. By 2025 there will be more than 1m people who have the condition…The Alzheimer's Society estimates that if you include the unpaid care provided by families, the cost of caring for people with dementia in the UK runs to the equivalent of more than £26bn each year or £30,000 for each person with dementia. It says two thirds of the cost is met by families…Jeremy Hughes, the chief executive of the Alzheimer's Society, believes the Care Act reforms are a step in the right direction, but won't help most people who have to pay for care…But the Department of Health insists the Care Act will make an important difference to people. A spokeswoman said: "We want to make sure those with dementia, their families and carers get the help they need. It's precisely because people face such unfair care costs that we are transforming the way people pay for care, capping the amount they have to pay and providing more financial help." And they point to the emphasis the Prime Minister has placed on improving dementia care."

SPORTS

A January 30, 2015 Bloomberg Business article reported on former Microsoft executive and Seahawks owner Paul Allen's efforts to fund brain trauma research. According to the article, "Bankrolled in part by more than $500 million from Paul Allen, the billionaire owner of the Seattle Seahawks, researchers are trying to unravel the circuits and cells of the brain, in part to better understand neurological damage, disorders and dementia…Under a $2.37 million grant from Allen in 2013, researchers at the Allen Institute joined with the University of Washington and the Seattle health care cooperative Group Health to learn more about how head injuries might contribute to degenerative brain disorders. Researchers hope to fill in the gaps of what’s known with long-term data from an existing study called Adult Changes in Thought…The findings could help scientists understand if certain people are predisposed to suffering Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other degenerative diseases. They might also shed light on the effects of head trauma early in life. Having the brains to examine, rather than animals, makes the research more authoritative, said Judith Lytle, medical research program officer for the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. The institute began by developing an atlas of the mouse brain."

A January 29, 2015 Reuters article reported that "The National Football League said on Thursday the number of reported concussions dropped 25 percent during regular season games in 2014 compared to the previous campaign." According to the article, "There were 111 concussions reported in 2014, down from the 148 during the 2013 season and down nearly 36 percent from the 173 in 2012, the NFL said during its annual pre-Super Bowl health and safety news conference."