The Tangled Neuron

Article on Alzheimer's Research in LA Times

There's a great article on the uncertainties of Alzheimer's research in today's Los Angeles Times. Two sentences in the article really capture how I've been feeling lately:

"In Alzheimer's research, lots of people seemed to have quit believing anything is wrong or right or crazy. Mainly, they shrug."

The article also talks about some preliminary research from Rush University that shows it's difficult to correlate plaques and tangles with dementia. News of this research adds to the suspicion that Alzheimer's is not a single disease, making promises of a "cure" less realistic.

I'm working with a group of people who have memory loss to start a registry that will document what prescription medicines, supplements and lifestyle changes (or combination of these factors) seem to help memory and thinking. While the information in this database will be self-reported and at times imprecise, we hope some patterns will emerge over time. We will make this information available to people with memory loss, their families and researchers.

If you're interested in participating in this registry, please email me at mona@tech-marketing.com and I'll let you know when the registry opens.

NewsHour with Jim Lehrer To Air Segment Filmed at Early Memory Loss Forum

The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer [on PBS in the U.S.] will air a segment on memory loss tomorrow night (December 28th) or on January 2nd. Much of the segment was filmed at the Early Memory Loss Forum event last October.

I met Terry Rubin, the NewsHour producer working on this segment, at the Forum. He seemed genuinely interested in the personal, medical and social aspects of memory loss. I'm sure his segment will reflect how the Forum was a turning point for people with memory loss in their transition from silent victims to involved advocates.

Terry Pratchett Diagnosed With Alzheimer's: Overlooking the Best Source of Information?

Bert Piedmont at Had A Dad writes that one of her favorite authors, Terry Pratchett, has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. His doctors had originally diagnosed him with stroke.

David Shenk's Talk on Alzheimer's at the Early Memory Loss Forum

Two years after my father’s death, people ask why I’m still researching and writing about Alzheimer’s and dementia. I tell them I want to help other families who are going through what mine did. I also tell them that Alzheimer’s researchers are teaching me a lot about science. What’s harder to explain is that people with dementia are teaching me a lot about life.

David Shenk, author of The Forgetting: Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic, put this into words during his keynote speech at the Early Memory Loss Forum.

David Shenk, author of The Forgetting, with Judy Wunsch, Director of Volunteers and Member of the Board, California Southland Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association at the Early Memory Loss Forum

Do Chimps Have Better Short Term Memory Than Humans?

The December 3rd edition of Newsweek has an article about a Japanese study in which chimps (at least young chimps) scored better on tests of short term memory than did college students. It would be interesting to know how chimp brains processed this memory as opposed to human brains - I wonder if it would be possible to do a functional MRI scan during a test like this?