MUST READS 

A June 29, 2015 The Washington Post article highlighted a new study that suggests a memory test might predict Alzheimer’s 18 years before symptoms appear. According to the article, “Now a new study, published in the journal Neurology, shows that perhaps something more old-fashioned could be the answer: a memory test. The researchers tracked 2,125 participants in four Chicago neighborhoods for 18 years, giving them tests of memory and thinking every three years. They found that those who scored lowest on the tests during the first year were 10 times more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's down the road -- indicating that cognitive impairment may be affecting the brain ‘substantially earlier than previously established,’ the researchers wrote.”

A June 29, 2015 Deadline.com article reported that “‘Glen Campbell…I’ll Be Me’ took over as the most-watched CNN Films broadcast in the franchise’s history, clocking 2.76 million viewers in its Sunday 9 PM ET premiere.”

POLITICS AND POLICY 

A June 30, 2015 Augusta Free Press article reported that Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) co-sponsored the HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act. According to the Sen. Kaine, “Due to our nation’s aging population, the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease will continue to grow if we do not work towards effectively treating and preventing this devastating disease. This bipartisan bill would strengthen Medicare by ensuring patients and their families have access to a care planning session with their doctor to help them understand the diagnosis, treatment options, and what medical and community services are available. By providing patients and families with a full range of information and support, we can work to alleviate the burden of Alzheimer’s on our health care system and families across Virginia and the country.”

A June 29, 2015 Michigan Live article reported that Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) “hosted a community conversation on long-term care, meeting with several dozen seniors and caregivers at the Pittsfield Township Senior Center.” According Rep. Dingell, “We need to ensure that seniors are able to age with the dignity and security they deserve. Today, many people are facing the issue of long-term care — for themselves, for parents, for spouses and other family members…Helping seniors get the care they need in the setting of their choice, while remaining active, contributing members of society is something we can all agree on."

RESEARCH, SCIENCE, AND TECHNOLOGY 

A June 30, 2015 The Jerusalem Post article reported on the link between smell and Alzheimer’s detection. According to the article, “The implications of this study reach beyond the sense of smell alone and range from olfactory fingerprint-based early diagnosis of degenerative brain disorders to a non-invasive test for matching donor organs. The researchers think that olfactory fingerprinting, in addition to helping identify individuals, could be developed into methods for the early detection of such diseases as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, and it could lead to non-invasive methods of initial screening as to whether bone marrow or organs from live donors are a good match.”

A June 29, 2015 Yale News article reported that the “failure of cells’ ‘garbage disposal’ system may contribute to Alzheimer’s.” According to the article, “Lysosomes, the “garbage disposal” systems of cells, are found in great abundance near the amyloid plaques in the brain that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists have long assumed that their presence was helpful — that they were degrading the toxic proteins that trigger amyloid plaque formation. However, in Alzheimer’s patients, these lysosomes lack the ability to do their jobs properly, and instead of helping, the accumulation of lysosomes may even contribute to the disease, Yale University researchers report the week of June 29 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The new findings raise the possibility that coaxing lysosomes to do their jobs could help to prevent the toxic processes that eventually destroy the minds of Alzheimer’s patients.”

A June 26, 2015 Bloomberg Business article profiled Lilly’s commitment to developing an Alzheimer’s treatment. According to the article, “In an unmarked room in the middle of Eli Lilly & Co.’s Indianapolis campus, researchers holed up for months in 2012 poring over data from the company’s failed trials of its experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment, solanezumab, looking for hidden signs the drug had worked. The company’s scientists knew what they were up against. The disease has proven impervious to all previous drugs that tried to stop it from erasing the mind. One of Lilly’s earlier treatments had failed -- in fact had made the disease worse -- burning millions of dollars of research costs along the way. The trials of solanezumab certainly hadn’t shown that it slowed Alzheimer’s enough to get approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But amid reams of results from two trials, a pattern began to form: One group of patients -- those who started taking the drug when their disease was only mild or moderate -- was deteriorating slower than expected. The team took the data to Chief Executive Officer John Lechleiter.’We had hundreds and hundreds of different slides,’ said Eric Siemers, distinguished medical fellow on the development team for the drug. ‘We distilled it down to 20 maybe. We got halfway through the data and he looks at us and goes, ‘Well, you’ve got a real effect here.’”