Alzheimer's of Central Alabama

Serving people with Alzheimer’s, caregivers and professionals in central Alabama through education, caregiver services and research grants.

ACA’s Weekly Email June 9, 2023

ACA will participate in a M4A Community Resource Fair for Elder Abuse Awareness Day, June 15, 9 – 1, Hope Mountain Church, Calera. Contact: rjames@m4a.org.

Join ACA for our 11th annual Glow for a Cure night golf tournament. This fun event supports our Junior Board’s Lindy Harrell Pre-doctoral Scholars Program in Alzheimer’s research at UAB, July 28, Highland Park Golf Course, Birmingham.  Glow for a Cure – Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama (alzca.org)

June Webinars from Alabama Lifespan Respite: https://alabamarespite.org/events2/

Alzheimer’s News:

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month!

June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.  Around 1 in 6 people 60 years and older experienced some form of abuse in community settings during the past year.  Rates of abuse of older people are high in institutions such as nursing homes and long-term care facilities, with 2 in 3 staff reporting that they have committed abuse in the past year. Rates of abuse of older people have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Risk factors for becoming a victim of abuse include functional dependence/disability, poor physical health, cognitive impairment, poor mental health and low income.  Abuse of older people (who.int)

The field of neurodegenerative dementias, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has been revolutionized by the development of imaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers and is on the brink of a new development: emerging plasma biomarkers. Researchers have made remarkable progress toward more precise molecular diagnosis of brain diseases underlying cognitive impairment and dementia. Ultimately, the tremendous progress in molecular biomarkers for the diseases causing dementia will help the field work toward our common goal of early and accurate diagnosis, better management, and hope for people living with these diseases.  Game-Changing Alzheimer’s Research: The Latest on Biomarkers (medscape.com)

Two people living with dementia explained how their hunger and eating habits have changed since their diagnosis in a blog from Positive Approach to Care:    Most individuals who are living with dementia do experience changes in taste, smell, and texture tolerance at some point. However, their preferences, intolerances, and swallowing abilities vary widely, and frequently shift throughout the journey of the disease. Both women interviewed agreed the taste and smell of food has changed since their diagnosis. Texture tolerances and preferences have also shifted over time.  Both explained that the process of chewing and eating requires significantly more concentration and effort since their diagnoses. Eating and drinking are more of a job or task, rather than something done for enjoyment. Both prefer to eat without talking to others or having others talk to them, because it allows them to focus on the task.  Eating while socializing is no longer something that either enjoys, or even feels is feasible. They find that eating in a restaurant is particularly challenging with the unfamiliar environment, foods, noises, and music. It is often an experience they describe as sensory overload, and makes it too challenging to eat while there. Another aspect of eating that they both noted was that they now have a challenge recognizing the sensation of hunger. They will notice that they have stomach pain, but still not necessarily recognize hunger as the cause. After asking their care partners if they have eaten recently, they will then make the connection. To effectively support an individual who is living with brain change, it is absolutely essential to know the individual’s specific food and beverage preferences.  How Does Dementia Affect Eating and Drinking? – Positive Approach to Care (teepasnow.com)

Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest has developed Cognitive Care Kits that can be checked out and used at home to help support the skills and abilities of people living with early-, mid- and late-stage dementia. Kits contain an assortment of prepared activities, games and worksheets that encourage social engagement and success with daily activities and are geared to those who have (or care for someone with) cognitive impairment from a disease such as Alzheimer’s and/or dementia.  Kits are free to borrow with a valid Jefferson County Library card; one kit at a time per household. Cognitive Care Kits | Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest (vestavialibrary.org)

Muscle adiposity may be a novel risk factor for cognitive decline in older adults, new research suggests.  Increasing adiposity — or fat deposition — in skeletal muscles predicted faster cognitive decline, irrespective of demographics or other disease, and this effect was distinct from that of other types of fat or other muscle characteristics, such as strength or mass.  Investigators assessed muscle fat in over 1600 adults in their 70s and evaluated their cognitive function over a 10-year period. They found that increases in muscle adiposity from year 1 to year 6 were associated with greater cognitive decline over time, independent of total weight, other fat deposits, muscle characteristics, and traditional dementia risk factors.  The findings were similar between Black and White people and between men and women.  Muscle adiposity also increases the risk for type 2 diabetes and hypertension, both of which are dementia risk factors.  Skeletal muscle adiposity increases with older age, even in older adults who lose weight, and is highly prevalent among older adults of African ancestry.  Muscle Fat: A New Risk Factor for Cognitive Decline? (medscape.com)

Patients with gout may have smaller brain volumes and higher brain iron markers than people without gout, and also be more likely to develop Parkinson’s disease, probable essential tremor, and dementia.  Researchers were surprised about the regions of the brain affected by gout, several of which are important for motor function. The other intriguing finding was that the risk of dementia amongst gout patients was strongly time-dependent: highest in the first 3 years after their gout diagnosis.  Gout, the most common inflammatory arthritis, affects around 1%-4% of people, with monosodium urate crystal deposits causing acute flares of pain and swelling in joints and periarticular tissues. Gout Linked to Smaller Brain Volume, Neurodegeneration Risk (medscape.com)

The long controversy surrounding the new class on monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of Alzheimer’s continues.  Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that if the FDA grants traditional approval of the drugs, CMS is prepared to ensure anyone with Medicare Part B who meets the criteria is covered. Currently two drugs in this class have received accelerated approval from the FDA, but no product has received traditional approval.  Medicare will cover drugs with traditional FDA approval when a physician and clinical team participates in the collection of evidence about how these drugs work in the real world, also known as a registry.   George Vradenburg, chair and co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, released a statement in response that reads in part:  The news release is silent on some of the same issues: Will rural communities and areas without large, urban hospital systems be included? Will minority populations and those without financial means have equitable access? What will be the burden on doctors and patients participating in registries?  In the end, CMS is still imposing a requirement on Alzheimer’s patients that hasn’t been required for anyone else who wants an FDA-approved drug.  https://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/press/usagainstalzheimers-statement-cms-announcement-registry-access-fda-approved-alzheimers

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global Action Plan on dementia is failing to meet its targets, putting people living with dementia and their carers at a disadvantage.  With only 20% of WHO Member States having fulfilled their promise to create a National Dementia Plan (NDP) by 2025, Alzheimer’s Disease International is calling for an extension to the Global Action Plan on the public health response to dementia at the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva. The prevalence of dementia is rapidly increasing, with an estimated 55 million people currently affected, and up to 85% are not receiving necessary treatment and support. The lack of progress in implementing NDPs is concerning, as it raises doubts about the accessibility of future dementia therapies and more.  Projections suggest that the number of people with dementia will reach 139 million by 2050, emphasising the urgent need for immediate action to address this global public health threat.  ADI calls on urgent extension to WHO Global Action Plan | Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI) (alzint.org)

Father’s Day is June 18! 

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