An Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) Subcommittee proposed a $414 million increase for Alzheimer’s research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for fiscal year 2018. This announcement comes following similar action by the House Appropriations Committee in July.
The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to act on the funding bill this week.
As adults age, they have seven common priorities, according to research conducted by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Of those priorities, health is No. 1, and neurodegeneration is by far the biggest concern.
“Cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s is the scariest disabling condition,” Surya Kolluri, Managing Director of Policy and Market Planning at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a recent video published by d.health Summit. In fact, research participants were more concerned about cognitive decline than all other “disabling conditions” combined, he said.
The United States is struggling to care for its elders. About 90 percent of Americans want to age at home, but many of them have to rely on paid care workers, because their families can’t provide the support they need.
Told through the stories of both care workers and their clients, Care illuminates the many challenges and deep attachments that can be formed between the elderly and the home care workers they depend on — and exposes the cracks in a system that is poorly serving both.
The film introduces viewers to Vilma, an undocumented immigrant who is the lifeline for a 92-year-old living alone. Another care worker, Laurie, has grown deeply attached to a client who waits for a lung transplant. And we meet another family in crisis: Toni’s husband’s illness requires 24/7 care and is overwhelming his family. She asks their caregiver, anxiously, “You’re not going to quit, are you?”
With more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease, the stress for care workers has never been greater.
Watch the compete documentary here. Learn more at www.caredocumentary.com.
Having “meaningful engagement in life” can improve one’s mood, thinking, and, ultimately, health, but older adults can lose some of that engagement in retirement.
A new collaboration between the Penn Memory Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) offers a solution through the Building Bridges Intergenerational Program, which was recently featured in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The program brings together older adults, some with cognitive impairment, as volunteers to read to or play with CHOP patients.
The volunteers “really enjoy working with the kids and seeing their faces light up,” said Megan Fucci, a PMC clinical social worker. “I hear all the time, ‘I wish I could take pictures,’ because they want to remember it.”
By Chloe Elmer
Four years ago, frustrated by a series of inconclusive visits to other doctors, Eli and Janet Caplan scheduled an appointment with the Penn Memory Center, where Janet finally received the diagnosis they needed to hear: Alzheimer’s disease.
“I would give everything I have not to have known the Penn Memory Center,” said Eli Caplan, “but since I’m one of the unfortunate persons to have a loved one afflicted with the most scourging disease — Alzheimer’s — I’m grateful to be here.”
By Chloe Elmer
New technologies can help secure a more definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease but may not yet be available to the average person.
Imaging Dementia—Evidence for Amyloid Scanning — the IDEAS study — is testing whether the amyloid PET scan should be made available to Medicare patients.
By Chloe Elmer
Sometimes, in traveling, the fastest route to a destination requires the traveler to abandon familiar side roads in favor of a newly constructed highway.
In Alzheimer’s disease research, that highway is biomarker-based research. In a special report for the Alzheimer’s Association, Penn Memory Center Co-Director Dr. Jason Karlawish wrote that biomarkers are changing the future of Alzheimer’s disease research.
“In the history of medicine,” Karlawish wrote, “one means to progress is when we make the decision that our assumptions and definitions of disease are no longer consistent with the scientific evidence.”
The Penn Memory Center (PMC) seeks a passionate, collaborative individual to join our team as Coordinator for Multicultural Recruitment and Retention. A core mission of the PMC is diversity in research, education, and training, with a particular focus on Philadelphia’s African-American community.
(To apply for this position, visit https://jobs.hr.upenn.edu/postings/30822)
There’s more than one way to define elder justice.
Elder justice could mean tackling financial abuse by training financial professionals to recognize red flags in clients’ behavior. It could also mean teaching caregivers and EMTs to recognize signs of neglect.
A new series of webinars from the Department of Justice’s Elder Justice Initiative features a diverse collection of professionals sharing how their experiences and expertise can help care for older adults.
Upcoming webinars include:
For a complete list of the webinars with descriptions and links to registration, click here.
Photos by Chloe Elmer
The copper-art exhibit “Carl Duzen: Copper // Denying Dementia Its Due,” was given a warm welcome by around 100 people during a reception Wednesday night at the Main Line Art Center. Carl Duzen, 80, a Penn Memory Center patient who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014, was joined by wife Susan Jewett, 70, to greet attendees and talk about their co-created art.