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 March 28, 2024

It’s not too late to help deserving families caring for a loved one living with Alzheimer’s disease by sponsoring an Easter Care Basket with your donation of $50.  Each basket will be hand delivered by an ACA volunteer. Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama is currently providing services for 282 Alabama families living with dementia in 18 counties across the state. We are financially supporting 70 families with scholarships to attend adult day care. Continence supplies are shipped to 151 people and Ensure is being shipped to 110. Project Lifesaver bracelets keep loved ones safe from wandering.  https://alzca.org/carebasket/

Join Founders Place and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church every second Thursday of the month at 1:15, for a dementia-friendly communion service in the Chapel. All are invited. This is specially designed to be accessible, inclusive, and casual. There will be worship, reading of scripture, prayer, and communion. No RSVP needed. 3736 Montrose Road, 35213.

Support Group Meetings:

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

Alzheimer’s News:

DailyCaring offers 6 fun and festive way for seniors to celebrate Easter:  https://dailycaring.com/fun-and-festive-easter-activities-for-seniors/

As part of a budget bill heading to President Biden for his signature, Congress passed major investments in the fight against Alzheimer’s; specifically demonstrating its unwavering commitment to equity and inclusion in the reporting language, which helps to foster a more equitable and just healthcare system. Specifically, the bill includes:

  • $100 Million annual increase in funding for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH);
  • $4.5 Billion for the National Institute on Aging;
  • $39.5 Million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to ensure high-risk populations, particularly Black and Latino, have access to the latest information on Alzheimer’s, including how to strategies for risk reduction.

https://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/press/congress-passes-bill-making-major-investments-alzheimers

An estimated 6.9 million older adults are living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in the United States, and another 200,000 people under age 65 have younger-onset AD, new data showed.

Findings from the annual report from the Alzheimer’s Association showed little change in AD prevalence since 2023, but study authors predicted the number of people over 65 with AD will nearly double by 2050.  The report also included sobering statistics on AD-related mortality — which increased 141% between 2001 and 2021 — and described “dementia neurology deserts” that will leave some states with less than 10 neurologists per 10,000 people with dementia as early as 2025. The shortages extend to other specialties, clinical professionals, and direct care workers, the report authors wrote.  https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/alzheimers-prevalence-predicted-double-2050-2024a10005o1?ecd=wnl_dne6_240327_MSCPEDIT_etid6403696&uac=3470BG&impID=6403696

Rice University in Houston, Texas is conducting a national, fully remote research study funded by the National Institute of Health, which examines how people experience and process emotions during the process of caregiving.  The purpose of this research study is to investigate the role of emotion processing and coping in people who are serving as the primary caregivers for a loved one with Alzheimer’s (or other related dementias). Specifically, we’re seeing how thinking about emotional situations in different ways may help in managing the stress of caregiving. If you are interested in taking part in this study, you will be asked to complete a telephone screening call with a member from the research team (approximately 20 minutes) to assess eligibility. Interested individuals who are eligible based on the telephone screen will then include:

  • A 30-minute online consenting session via Zoom, which is a video communication tool. This consenting session will include a general introduction to the study and the review/signing of consent/HIPAA forms with the aid of a researcher.
  • A 1-hour training session via Zoom. This initial session will include a general introduction to the study procedure, online questionnaires, heart rate monitoring using a mobile phone app and pre-mailed chest band, and a picture-rating task.
  • Mobile assessment for one week; for this mobile portion of the study, you will answer brief surveys 5 times throughout the day (one in morning and four random times). The first survey will be a picture-rating task, which will take approximately 5 minutes to complete. The random surveys will be sent to your phone at four random times throughout the day.
  • A completion of heart rate monitoring using a mobile phone app &  pre-mailed chest band and a series of online questionnaires for 4 additional  time points after the initial session (1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 3 months). The questionnaires and heart rate monitoring should collectively take about 40 minutes each time.

We are looking for participants who 1) are the principal person taking care of a loved one with a physician-based diagnosis of dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease, 2) have a smartphone and 3) are providing at least 4 hours of active care per day.   In total, this study will take approximately 6 hours to complete and participants can be compensated up to $120 for this study via Amazon e-gift card. The principal investigator of this study is Dr. Bryan Denny in the TSCAN Lab at Rice University. To get more information about the study, please contact us at caregivers.tscan@gmail.com or 713-348-3528.

https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/research_progress/clinical-trials/trialmatch#?tid=/widget/clinicaltrial/314172/smartphone-based-cognitive-emotion-regulation-training-for-unpaid-primary-caregivers-of-persons-with-alzheimers-disease/

Living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with accelerated brain aging and a higher risk for early dementia, regardless of income level or education, new research suggested.  Analysis of two datasets revealed that people living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods had a more than 20% higher risk for dementia than those in other areas and measurably poorer brain health as early as age 45, regardless of their own personal income and education.  The effect was larger in men than in women and in younger vs older individuals, with the youngest age group showing 21% greater risk in women and 26% greater risk in men vs the oldest age group.  https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/disadvantaged-neighborhoods-tied-higher-dementia-risk-brain-2024a10005d3?ecd=wnl_sci_tech_240327_MSCPEDIT_etid6401045&uac=407526BK&impID=6401045

Alabama Lifespan Respite is offering a free basic respite provider training opportunity through CareAcademy for unskilled, in-home respite providers to be better prepared to deliver planned and emergency respite services to the families they serve.  Alabama Lifespan Respite is offering eight (8) hours of free basic care provider training for up to 25 new enrollees per month, which includes the opportunity to earn class completion certificates.  Each new participant who completes all 8 hours of training is eligible to receive a $25 stipend!  Mobile-friendly classes, designed by industry experts and offered through an easy-to-use video training platform, are available with Closed Captioning in English and Spanish.  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAEkbQF3N-UWEKdqbT_ylRdWfL5S1iDCdPySvhcMGxFk3D5g/viewform

The size of the human brain has increased over time, a new finding that may help explain a previously reported decline in incident dementia.  A secular trends analysis using brain imaging data from the long-running Framingham Heart Study, revealed an increase in intracranial volume (ICV), cortical gray matter, white matter, and hippocampal volumes, as well as cortical surface area in people born in the 1970s vs those born in the 1930s.  The researchers hypothesize that the increased size of the brain will lead to increased ‘reserve’ against the diseases of aging, consequently reducing overall risk of dementia.  https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/human-brains-getting-bigger-good-news-dementia-risk-2024a10005s9?ecd=wnl_dne4_240328_MSCPEDIT_etid6405261&uac=407526BK&impID=6405261

Watch The Truth About Sleep, a 48 minute video from Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement at Cleveland Clinic, who brought together a panel of experts to shed light on all your sleep questions.  Learn more about how sleep impacts your body, its connection to dementia risk, and more.

https://thewomensalzheimersmovement.org/youandyourbrain/?mc_cid=c55b9ccaac&mc_eid=9411ff17b8

A simple skin biopsy test is able to detect an abnormal form of alpha-synuclein with high accuracy in individuals with neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Researchers are hopeful that the test — which identified phosphorylated alpha-synuclein (P-SYN) with 95.5% accuracy in the blinded, multicenter trial — will accelerate not just early identification of synucleinopathies but also drug development.  Synucleinopathies include PD, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).  https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/skin-test-accurately-detects-parkinsons-other-2024a10005nx?ecd=wnl_dne2_240327_MSCPEDIT_etid6403695&uac=407526BK&impID=6403695

Read the latest issue of Alzheimer’s Today from the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.  You do not have to subscribe to read: https://alzfdn.org/media-center/alztoday/

The Dementia Action Alliance offers a new resource for people living with dementia:  Dementia Self-Management Guidebook. Download for free:  https://deerprogram.org/dsm-pdf/?mc_cid=80b7cc03ec&mc_eid=5216959182

Applications due April 1!  AFA’s Teen Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship provides educational funding to college-bound high school seniors who have been impacted by Alzheimer’s disease.  Applicants are asked to write an essay (1,500 word maximum) or submit a video no more than 4 minutes long, describing the impact of Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia-related illness on themselves, their families or their communities, and what they have learned.  The grand prize winner receives $5,000, with additional prizes awarded for runners up. More than $428,000 in college scholarships have been awarded since the program’s inception.  To qualify for AFA’s Alzheimer’s Awareness Scholarship, the student:

  • Must currently be a senior in high school.
  • Be attending a U.S. college/university in the fall following graduation.
  • Must live in the United States.
  • Must be a U.S. citizen.
  • Submit the essay/video NO LATER than 5:00 pm ET on April 1, 2024.
  • Provide all requested supporting documents.

https://alzfdn.org/young-leaders-of-afa/alzheimers-awareness-scholarship/

Researchers at UAB are conducting a study is to explore the role of psychological flexibility and self-compassion in the mental health of family caregivers of persons living with dementia. Insights gained from this survey will contribute to a better understanding of how to provide further support to family caregivers.  Any family caregivers of persons living with dementia are eligible to participate, and participants will receive $35 compensation (ClinCard) upon survey completion. Additional information regarding the study and compensation is available within the link, prior to beginning the survey.  https://uab.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1T7IMii6oUh23hI

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