Make your New Year’s resolution to join a support group:
January 14 and 28, 11 – 12:30, 300 Office Park Drive, Suite 225
January 28, 6:30 – 8, Trussville First Baptist Church.
“Dealing with Dementia: Souls Shine Forth”, with Don Wendoft and Lynda Everman, Tuesday, January 14, noon – 1. Psychosocial Ground Rounds presented by the UAB Department of Pastoral Care. Margaret Cameron Spain Auditouim, UAB. Free and open to the public. See attached flyer.
Free confidential memory screenings Wednesday, January 22, 9 – noon, Cooper Green Mercy Health Services. The memory screening takes about 15 minutes and while the result is not a diagnosis, it can suggest if someone should see a physician for a full evaluation. Sponsored by the Jefferson County Community Services & Workforce Development Senior Services Division. Call Dedra Lewis, 205-325-5567.
Queso & Questions, Thursday, February 27, Avondale Brewery upstairs event room. This is the ACA Jr. Board’s annual education event. Dr. David Standaert, Chairman of the UAB Department of Neurology, will be our guest speaker. See the attached article from UAB Magazine Fall about ACA’s commitment to raising funds for Alzheimer’s research at UAB. The event is free with a Taco Mama taco bar and beer tickets. Reservations are requested www.alzca.org.
Rojo is hosting a % of sales event to raise money for ACA’s Jr. Board and research, Tuesday, March 10, 5 – midnight. Rojo is a vibrant gathering place serving Latin & American dishes. 2921 Highland Ave, Birmingham.
Ales for Alzheimer’s Saturday, March 21, at Avondale Brewery. The Jr. Board’s major spring fundraiser is a family friendly event featuring beer, food, music, a raffle and auction. All proceeds benefit ACA’s Pre Doctoral Scholars Program in Alzheimer’s Research at UAB.
News to know:
See the attached article from UAB Magazine Fall about ACA’s commitment to raising funds for Alzheimer’s research at UAB. The Jr. Board has established the ACA Pre Doctoral Scholars Program in Alzheimer’s Research and will be funding 2 students over the next 3 years. Our first recipient is Ashleigh Irwin, who is in the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD). Her project is “Manipulation of astrocytic DNA methylation in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease.” To learn more about Alzheimer’s research, join us for Queso and Questions, February 27, see details above.
PubMed listed 12,000 papers on Alzheimer’s disease in 2019, and 800 on frontotemporal dementia (FTD). A January 5, 2020 Alzforum article looked at both the ups and downs of the past year, and the future of Alzheimer’s disease research. A boost in federal funding brought the new budget to $2.8 billion, renewing hopes for a continued trend of broadening research including AI, biomarkers, the immune system and early diagnosis.
New data from a recent Emory University study confirms that African Americans have more than double the risk for developing Alzheimer’s as their caucasian counterparts. A January 6, 2020 Chicago Defender article took a new look at the disproportionate impact of Alzheimer’s disease on the African American community.
Here’s a list of national registries of individuals age 18 and older who are interested in learning about and possibly participating in Alzheimer’s prevention clinical studies and trials. Get more information about these and other Alzheimer’s clinical trials online or call the ADEAR Center at 1-800-438-4380 (toll-free) or email adear@nia.nih.gov:
- Alzheimer’s Prevention Registry (nationwide)—get information and updates about participating in future Alzheimer’s prevention trials.
- Brain Health Registry (nationwide)—sign up for an online study of brain health and learn about possible research-study opportunities.
- Alzheimer Prevention Trials (APT) Webstudy (nationwide)—enroll to track memory and thinking skills and learn about Alzheimer’s trials.
Researchers have looked at the benefits of several healthy eating patterns like the Mediterranean or MIND diets and are now studying them more rigorously to see if they can prevent or delay Alzheimer’s or related cognitive decline. Check out this article about diet and the prevention of Alzheimer’s to read about what researchers have learned and what’s next in clinical studies.
There are 2 teen essay contests for teens:
Hilarity for Charity, a national Alzheimer’s non profit organization founded by Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller Rogen, is sponsoring Humans of Dementia: An Intergenerational Storytelling Contest with support from AARP, Generations United, Memory Well, and Associated Collegiate Press and National Scholastic Press Association. To be eligible, the writer must be currently enrolled in high school or college in the U.S. or Canada and the story must feature someone currently living with or who has passed away from Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Learn more on theHumans of Dementia submission webpage. The deadline is March 13, 2020.
Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is holding their annual Teens for Alzheimer’s Awareness College Scholarship Essay Contest for college-bound high school seniors. Applicants are asked to write a 1,200 to 1,500-word essay that describes the impact of Alzheimer’s disease on themselves, their families or their communities, and what they have learned in light of coping with the brain disorder. The grand prize winner receives $5,000, with additional prizes awarded for runners up. Submission deadline is Friday, January 17th, 2020.
https://alzfdn.org/young-leaders-of-afa/scholarship-contest/
Did you know? Planet Fundraiser is an app that lets you give back to non-profits, schools, and groups simply by taking a picture of receipts from merchants you already shop at. You shop and participating merchants donate to the charity of your choice. To date almost $1600 has been donated to ACA.