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 May 31, 2024

Avondale Library is hosting Neuroscience for All: Brain Chats, Is it Alzheimer’s or Old Timers?  with Marissa Natelson Love, MD, UAB Department of Neurology, Heersink School of Medicine.  June 1, 11 am, 509 40th Street South.

Somerby St. Vincent’s One Nineteen is hosting a Rock the Block Party with live music and food trucks, June 6, 5:30 – 7:30.  There will be homemade sweet treats for sale to benefit ACA. 

AFA Webinar, The Intersection of Juneteenth, Alzheimer’s, and Racial Trauma, June 12, 11:00 pm – 12:30 pm CT.  Topics covered include health disparities, trauma, racial traumatic stress, and their effects on the brain–all of which can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.  https://alzfdn.org/event/live-interactive-webinar-training-the-intersection-of-juneteenth-alzheimers-and-racial-trauma/

Contenu is hosting a retreat that focuses on health and wellness activities for the person with a serious illness and their caregiver, August 24, New Water Farms, Dadeville, 8 am – 4:30 pm.  This retreat will focus on health and wellness activities for the person with a serious illness, and their caregivers, with the aim of giving attendees a space to refresh, recharge, and relax.  Com.  e and enjoy a day of health and wellness. Activities will include sessions like movement and mindfulness, fruit farming, and taking a boat ride.  The cost is $50.   https://www.contenuhealing.org/event/wellness-and-healing-retreat-program-2/

Support Group Meetings:

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

Alzheimer’s News:

In 2022, 2,655 Alabamians died from Alzheimer’s, giving the state the second-highest Alzheimer’s death rate in the country, behind only Mississippi. As of 2020, more than 103,000 Alabamians, or 11.8% of the entire state population, was estimated to suffer from Alzheimer’s.  The Alabama Alzheimer’s Disease Task Force is working to develop and implement a new state plan to target dementia, this time with a new pool of federal funding at its disposal.  The new pool of federal funding comes courtesy of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through its BOLD grant, with $1.7 million awarded to the Alabama Department of Public Health in 2023, to be paid out over a five-year period.  Task force members voted to appoint the chairs of several subcommittees, each focusing on six focus areas; caregiver support and education, access to services and resources, public awareness and stigma reduction, health care provider training and education, research and innovation, and policy and advocacy.

The new task force is expected to submit its recommendations to lawmakers for a new state plan by the fifth legislative day of the 2025 legislative session in mid-February.  https://aldailynews.com/with-new-funding-task-force-begins-development-on-new-state-plan-to-target-dementia/

For many people around the world, dementia is still a word that unfortunately carries stigma and negative stereotypes. How do myths and misperceptions about dementia impact the way that people living with dementia are treated and viewed? Joanna Fix and Jenn Lee, both living with early onset forms of dementia, shared their thoughts on dementia misconceptions in this very interesting blog from Positive Approach to Care:   https://teepasnow.com/blog/dementia-myths-and-misperceptions-from-individuals-living-with-dementia/

The issue of guns in the home of someone living with dementia came up at our support group this week.  If this is a concern of yours, take a few minutes to read this article:

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/dementia-and-gun-safety-when-should-aging-americans-retire-their-weapons/

Some people have the changes consistent with Alzheimer’s without presenting any symptoms, almost as if their brains are more resistant to the condition. A new study has explored how this perplexing phenomenon might point the way to treatments.  A team of researchers examined brains from people who had been cognitively healthy prior to their death yet had clear neurological signs of the disease’s underlying pathology.  By analyzing the unique combinations of hundreds of genes being expressed within cognitively healthy Alzheimer’s brains researchers found key differences in the resilient brains related to the astrocyte cells that are involved with the clearing of waste out of the brain. What’s more, the resilient brains seemed to be better at removing toxic proteins associated with the development of Alzheimer’s. It seems these brains are somehow better at stopping neurological garbage from building up. Another difference was more efficient energy production in the cells in resilient brains. It’s not clear yet what’s behind these differences or how they link in to Alzheimer’s disease, but identifying what the differences are is an important first step.  https://www.sciencealert.com/some-people-are-strangely-resistant-to-alzheimers-heres-what-makes-them-different?inf_contact_key=0a936cf5a64c89fef9ef8a0eaf5d4b9077d75848d7ff8d3341d4a7b830f3d09d

Personalized repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) targeting the hippocampal network improved cognitive and functional performance in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease (AD), new research showed.  The improvements were evident 4 and 8 weeks after treatment and correlated with increased functional connectivity in the hippocampal-cortical network.  The researchers say their results support the consideration of rTMS as a potential nonpharmacological treatment for AD.  https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/personalized-noninvasive-brain-stimulation-shows-promise-2024a10009t6?src=FYE&ecd=WNL_recnlnew3_broad_US_perso_etid6556209&uac=407526BK&240530&impID=6556209

CNN’s “The Last Alzheimer’s Patient,” follows Cici Zerbe who says her Alzheimer’s symptoms have been reversed after participating in Dr. Dean Ornish’s clinical trial on the effects of intensive lifestyle changes on the progression of mild cognitive impairment or early dementia due to Alzheimer’s Disease. The study will be published in the journal “Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy” in June 2024. Dr. Ornish’s program includes a plant-based diet, regular exercise, group support, yoga or meditation. Watch the full documentary streaming on MAX on June 18th.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/health/video/gupta-alzheimers-reversed-patient-digvid?inf_contact_key=eba8840448d54a38d712d0dff3a9a9d4df50326a1e561daba0ba774a8ec98964

Alzheimer’s Disease International estimates that, globally, 75 percent of people with dementia are undiagnosed and up to 85 percent are not accessing post-diagnostic care. Health systems need to be able to provide a clear pathway for timely diagnosis and access to ongoing care and support, especially as new disease-modifying treatments emerge.  You can access a free digital copy of the Global Action Plan on the public health response to dementia.  https://www.alzint.org/resource/from-plan-to-impact-vii/

DailyCaring offers advice on traveling with someone living with dementia.  The article identifies   immediate signs that travel won’t be safe, 6 tips to help you figure out if a trip will be successful, how to safely test if travel will work, and what you can do if travel isn’t possible.  https://dailycaring.com/6-ways-to-figure-out-if-traveling-with-dementia-will-work/?utm_source=DailyCaring&utm_campaign=63842702a7-dc_email_2024-05-28&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_57c250b62e-63842702a7-123515277

 

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