MUST READS AND WATCH

A June 30, 2015 Today Show broadcast segment highlighted Alzheimer’s awareness month and signs of the disease. According to the description, “An estimated 5.3 million Americans are battling Alzheimer's disease, and the number is expected to reach nearly 14 million by the year 2050. Two people battling the disease share their stories to highlight Alzheimer's Awareness Month, and Dr. Natalie Azar explains warning signs and offers tips for keeping your brain healthy.”

A June 30, 2015 Huffington Post blog by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) called for policymakers to relegate “Alzheimer’s disease to the history books.” According to Sen. Markey, “For every $27,000 spent on Alzheimer's disease by Medicare and Medicaid, only $100 funds research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to increase knowledge about the illness as well as to discover new treatments and preventive strategies. Research is medicine's field of dreams from which we will harvest findings that can produce cures for diseases like Alzheimer's. Yet the NIH budget is in jeopardy. Today, as a result of sequestration and inflation, 20 percent fewer grants can be funded than ten years ago…But much more must be done. Time is of the essence. Failure is not an option. Glen Campbell has been waging an inspiring battle against the disease with music and the love of his family. They are heroes, but even heroes need help. Only with significant funding for innovative research will we succeed in finding a cure so that someday Alzheimer's disease will be found only in the history books.”

A June 30, 2015 The Guardian article reported that recent “Studies on mice show two existing medicines could help restore protein production in brain and prevent memory loss, speeding up search for cure.” According to the article, “Two licensed drugs have been shown to halt brain degeneration in mice, raising the prospect of a rapid acceleration in the search for a medicine to beat Alzheimer’s disease. The results, presented on Tuesday at the Alzheimer’s Society annual research conference in Manchester, have been hailed as “hugely promising” because they involve medicines that are already known to be safe and well-tolerated in people – potentially cutting years from the timeline for drugs to reach patients.”

POLITICS AND POLICY 

A June 30, 2015 Forbes article highlighted the latest developments on the White House Conference on Aging. According to the article, “The July 13conference will be a culmination of these events and a sort-of greatest hits from the five regional forums the WHCOA has hosted since February. While the day’s agenda is still in the works, Super shared with Next Avenue some of what has been planned so far…Caregiving will be a prominent theme, and actor David Hyde Pierce has been invited to share his experience caring for a father with Alzheimer’s…There will be a discussion of technology and the future of aging. The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Domestic Policy Council posted a call for ideas to empower older Americans through technology and innovation, and some of those ideas will be presented.”

HUMAN INTEREST

A June 30, 2015 The Washington Post article reported that “Peter Oosterhuis, who stepped down from his longtime role as a golf analyst for CBS Sports and the Golf Channel in January, has publicly announced he is coping with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.”