Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professionals,
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By Julie Steenhuysen
(Reuters) - The Obama administration's plan to fight Alzheimer's disease aims to harness the nation's expertise to find real treatments by 2025 and improve the care and treatment of the 5.1 million Americans already afflicted with the brain-wasting disease.
The draft plan, issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, makes treatment a top priority, but it also focuses on the burden the disease places on families and caregivers.
"Alzheimer's disease burdens an increasing number of our nation's elders and their families, and it is essential that we confront the challenge it poses to our public health," President Barack Obama said in a statement marking the plan's unveiling.
The White House earlier this month said it would divert an additional $50 million this year from HHS projects to Alzheimer's research, and seek an extra $80 million in new research funding in fiscal 2013.
"These investments will open new opportunities in Alzheimer's disease research and jumpstart efforts to reach the 2025 goal," HHS said in the draft document.
Obama also plans on an additional $26 million in spending on programs to support people who care for Alzheimer's patients.
Current drugs help manage symptoms but so far no therapy can stop the progression of Alzheimer's, which can start with vague memory loss and confusion before progressing to complete disability and death.
Some researchers have criticized the plan and its 2025 target, saying it is too ambitious given that researchers are still just beginning to understand the disease, which develops silently for 15 to 20 years before any memory problems begin to show.
The best hopes for a treatment at this stage lie with two drugs under development: one from Eli Lilly and another from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. But some experts worry these drugs are being tested in patients whose disease has already progressed too far for them to benefit from the treatments.
Experts predict that without effective drugs, the number of Americans with Alzheimer's will double by 2050 and related healthcare costs could soar to more than $1 trillion a year.
HHS is planning a scientific summit in May to set research priorities. It seeks to increase participation in Alzheimer's clinical trials, with a special focus on ensuring minority representation, and to shorten the time it takes to develop drugs.
Eric Hall, president and chief executive of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America and a member of the advisory council that has been working with HHS, said it addresses many of the concerns that have been expressed by the panel.
"Given the current economic environment that limits much-needed resources and the scientific unknowns of this disease, we believe that defeating Alzheimer's disease will likely happen in a series of small victories," Hall said in a statement.
He was especially pleased that the plan focuses on educating healthcare providers on how to detect early signs of cognitive impairment and linking newly diagnosed families with appropriate support services.
But George Vradenburg, chairman of USAgainstAlzheimer's and a member of the advisory panel, said the draft plan did not go far enough.
"This first draft fails to present a strategy aggressive enough to achieve the goal of preventing and treating Alzheimer's within 13 years," he said, noting that the plan lacks specific timelines and does not hold any high-level officials accountable for meeting the plan's goals.
The plan is open for public comment through the end of March.
(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Eric Walsh)
Showing posts with label Alzheimer’s Action Plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alzheimer’s Action Plan. Show all posts
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Can Alzheimer's Be Cured?
Here is a great dementia resource for caregivers and healthcare professinals,
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia articles and activities,
Scientific American
P. Murali Doraiswamy discusses recent breakthroughs in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and what everyone can do to postpone the onset of memory loss
P. Murali Doraiswamy is the head of biological psychiatry at Duke University and is a Senior Fellow at Duke’s Center for the Study of Aging. He’s also the co-author of The Alzheimer’s Action Plan, a guide for patients and family members struggling with the disease. Mind Matters editor Jonah Lehrer chats with Doraiswamy about recent advances in Alzheimer’s research and what people can do to prevent memory loss.
LEHRER: What do you think are the biggest public misconceptions of Alzheimer's disease?
DORAISWAMY: The two biggest misconceptions are “It’s just aging” and “It’s untreatable, so we should just leave the person alone.” Both of these misconceptions are remnants of an outdated view that hinders families from getting the best diagnosis and best care. They were also one of the main reasons I wanted to write this book.
Although old age is the single biggest risk for dementia, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. Just ask any family member who has cared for a loved one with Alzheimer’s and they will tell you how different the disease is from normal aging. Alzheimer’s can strike people as young as their forties; there are some half a million individuals in the United States with early-onset dementia. Recent research has pinpointed disruptions in specific memory networks in Alzheimer’s patients, such as those involving the posteromedial cortex and medial temporal lobe, that appear distinct from normal aging.
The larger point is that while Alzheimer’s is still incurable it’s not untreatable. There are four FDA-approved medications available for treating Alzheimer symptoms and many others in clinical trials. Strategies to enhance general brain and mental wellbeing can also help people with Alzheimer’s. That’s why early detection is so important.
LEHRER: Given the rapid aging of the American population - by 2050, the Alzheimer's Association estimates there will be a million new cases annually - what are the some preventative steps that people can take to prevent or delay the onset of the disease?
DORAISWAMY: Unfortunately, there isn’t yet a magic bullet for prevention. You can pop the most expensive anti-aging pills, drink the best red wine, and play all the brain games that money can buy, and you still might get Alzheimer’s. While higher education is clearly protective, even Nobel Laureates have been diagnosed with the disease, although it’s likely their education helped them stave off the symptoms for a little bit.
My approach is more pragmatic - it’s about recognizing risks and designing your own brain health action plan. The core of our program is to teach people about the growing links between cardiovascular markers (blood pressure, blood sugar, body weight and BMI, blood cholesterol, C-reactive protein) and brain health. A population study from Finland has developed a fascinating scale that can predict 20-year risk for dementia – sort of a brain aging speedometer. Obesity, smoking, lack of physical activity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are some of the culprits this study identified. So keeping these....read all of Can Alzheimer's Be Cured?
Here is information on being the best caregiver you can be
Here are more interesting dementia articles and activities,
Scientific American
P. Murali Doraiswamy discusses recent breakthroughs in diagnosing Alzheimer's disease and what everyone can do to postpone the onset of memory loss
P. Murali Doraiswamy is the head of biological psychiatry at Duke University and is a Senior Fellow at Duke’s Center for the Study of Aging. He’s also the co-author of The Alzheimer’s Action Plan, a guide for patients and family members struggling with the disease. Mind Matters editor Jonah Lehrer chats with Doraiswamy about recent advances in Alzheimer’s research and what people can do to prevent memory loss.
LEHRER: What do you think are the biggest public misconceptions of Alzheimer's disease?
DORAISWAMY: The two biggest misconceptions are “It’s just aging” and “It’s untreatable, so we should just leave the person alone.” Both of these misconceptions are remnants of an outdated view that hinders families from getting the best diagnosis and best care. They were also one of the main reasons I wanted to write this book.
Although old age is the single biggest risk for dementia, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging. Just ask any family member who has cared for a loved one with Alzheimer’s and they will tell you how different the disease is from normal aging. Alzheimer’s can strike people as young as their forties; there are some half a million individuals in the United States with early-onset dementia. Recent research has pinpointed disruptions in specific memory networks in Alzheimer’s patients, such as those involving the posteromedial cortex and medial temporal lobe, that appear distinct from normal aging.
The larger point is that while Alzheimer’s is still incurable it’s not untreatable. There are four FDA-approved medications available for treating Alzheimer symptoms and many others in clinical trials. Strategies to enhance general brain and mental wellbeing can also help people with Alzheimer’s. That’s why early detection is so important.
LEHRER: Given the rapid aging of the American population - by 2050, the Alzheimer's Association estimates there will be a million new cases annually - what are the some preventative steps that people can take to prevent or delay the onset of the disease?
DORAISWAMY: Unfortunately, there isn’t yet a magic bullet for prevention. You can pop the most expensive anti-aging pills, drink the best red wine, and play all the brain games that money can buy, and you still might get Alzheimer’s. While higher education is clearly protective, even Nobel Laureates have been diagnosed with the disease, although it’s likely their education helped them stave off the symptoms for a little bit.
My approach is more pragmatic - it’s about recognizing risks and designing your own brain health action plan. The core of our program is to teach people about the growing links between cardiovascular markers (blood pressure, blood sugar, body weight and BMI, blood cholesterol, C-reactive protein) and brain health. A population study from Finland has developed a fascinating scale that can predict 20-year risk for dementia – sort of a brain aging speedometer. Obesity, smoking, lack of physical activity, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol are some of the culprits this study identified. So keeping these....read all of Can Alzheimer's Be Cured?
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