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Splaine Consulting August 2019 Newsletter
Splaine Consulting Highlights
Our team’s advocacy work, here & abroad
Fall Kicks Off with Three Key Events
Splaine Consulting is beginning the fall with a full slate of presentations on the subject of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
The month of September begins with three different events in a span of just four days. First up, Mike Splaine and Kate Gordon will conduct back-to-back presentations of “Living Alone with Alzheimer’s: A Solutions Summit”—Sept. 5 in Atlanta and Sept. 6 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Also in Tennessee, Mike will present “A 21st Century Approach to Serving Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease” at the SE4A Annual Conference, Sept. 8-11 at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel. The conference, called “Two-Stepping into the Future,” is sponsored by the Southeastern Association of Area Agencies on Aging (SE4A). Mike’s presentation is part of the full-day pre-conference intensives lineup, held from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 8.
Click on the buttons below for additional information about the upcoming events and to register.
Living Alone with Alzheimer’s: A Solutions Summit Thursday Sept. 5, Atlanta
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: King’sBridge Retirement Community
Sponsored in part by LeadingAge Georgia
and King’sBridge Retirement Community
Price: $79 (includes lunch and continental breakfast)
Living Alone with Alzheimer’s: A Solutions Summit Friday, Sept. 6, Chattanooga, Tennessee
Time: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Embassy Suites Chattanooga
Sponsored by Southeast Tennessee Area Agency
on Aging and Disability
Price: $69 (includes lunch and continental breakfast)
A 21st Century Approach to Serving Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease Sunday, Sept. 8, Nashville
Time: 8 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location: Gaylord Opryland Hotel
SE4A Annual Conference, “Two-Stepping into the Future”
Looking Ahead
Listed below are additional events and classes that Splaine Consulting will be participating in during October and November.
Oct. 2: Engaging with Aging, Nevada’s Forum on Aging, 2019 Conference, Suncoast Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas. Mike to Keynote: “Why Thinking About Thinking Matters.” Click here for registration information.
Oct. 3-Nov. 7 (Thursdays): Alzheimer’s Disease Public Policy Course, University of Massachusetts Boston’s College of Advancing and Professional Studies (online course). Mike and Kate to teach. Click here for more information.
Interested in having Mike or Kate as a speaker or presenter for your next educational event? Click on the link below.
Alzheimer’s Around the World
The latest policy, advocacy & research events and news
Analysis Reveals ADRD’s Hidden Costs
A new research review highlights the hidden costs of dementia, revealing that traditional measures show only the “tip of the iceberg” with regard to the cost impact on society.
The analysis, published on July 23 in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, was provided by an international team of experts from academia, research institutes, health organizations, consulting firms and Alzheimer’s Research UK, which collectively looked at the true cost of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.
The study cited many overlooked socioeconomic costs, including the cost of
healthcare for those who develop health conditions such as anxiety or depression as a result of caring for someone with dementia; reduced quality of life for people with dementia and their care partners/carers; families who have to cut back on expenditures or use their savings to support their loved ones; and costs that are incurred in the years before a diagnosis is made.
Dementia is estimated to cost the U.S. economy $290 billion a year, the UK economy 26 billion pounds per year, and the global economy more than $1 trillion. As the above chart shows, the hidden costs increase along with the severity of the disease.
Read more about the study at the link.
Oskar Fischer Prize to Encourage Exploration of Alzheimer’s Cause
U.S. businessman James Truchard has given a $5
million gift to the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Sciences to establish the Oskar Fischer Prize as a means of expanding the
understanding and explanation of Alzheimer’s
disease.
Oskar Fischer was a pioneer in neuroscience who studied dementia at the same time as Alois Alzheimer, for whom the disease is named. His research led to the identification of senile plaques, the signature lesions of Alzheimer’s disease.
The purpose behind the Oskar Fischer Prize, according to the website of the same name, is to “engage the world’s brightest minds in a comprehensive literature review with the goal of synthesizing that information into one explanation for the cause of Alzheimer’s disease, taking a new systems approach to the research on Alzheimer’s, building on the work Oskar Fischer started over a century ago.”
Collectively, the planned monetary awards will be the world’s largest prizes of their kind. Up to $4 million in Oskar Fischer Prizes will be awarded, including a grand prize of $2 million, two second-place prizes of $500,000 each and four third-place prizes of $250,000 each.
The call for proposals will open in late 2019 and will continue through the two-year term of the project. In awarding the prizes, UTSA will work closely with an interdisciplinary committee of outstanding scientists from Texas and around the world. Click the button below for more information.
Sept. 21 is World Alzheimer’s Day
A reminder that World Alzheimer’s Day is Sept. 21. This is a day that is set aside for Alzheimer’s organizations around the world to concentrate their efforts on raising awareness of Alzheimer’s and also to challenge the stigma that surrounds dementia.
According to the Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, every 65 seconds a person develops Alzheimer’s disease and, at current rates, the number of Americans living with the disease will quadruple to as many as 16 million by the year 2050.
Sept. 21 is part of World Alzheimer’s Month, the international campaign by
Alzheimer’s Disease International to raise awareness and challenge the stigma that surrounds dementia. According to ADl, the stigmatization and misinformation that surround dementia is a global problem that requires global action. In fact, two out of three people globally believe there is little to no understanding of dementia in their countries.
Want to get involved? Click on the link below.
Click to learn more about World Alzheimer’s Month
Call for Focus Group Participants
The National Indian Council on Aging has put out a call for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) adults, ages 18 years and older, who are caregivers for a relative, friend or neighbor to participate in a one-hour focus group to discuss their experiences.
The focus groups will take place on Aug. 14, 20 and 29 in Albuquerque, N.M. For more information, please contact Rebecca Owl Morgan, rmorgan@nicoa.org.
GCBH Report Debunks Value of Brain Supplements
An in-depth report released by the Global Council on Brain Health (GCBH), founded by AARP, has found that supplements marketed as preserving or boosting memory or cognition have little to no value.
“Supplements for brain health appear to be a huge waste of money for the 25% of adults over 50 who take them,” says AARP Senior Vice President for Policy Sarah Lenz Lock, who is also GCBH executive director.
Brain-health supplements are big business. One AARP analysis that looked at six of these supplements found that older adults spend more than $93 million a month on just these products alone. That breaks down to between $20 and $60 a month per individuals using these pills.
Unlike prescription drugs, these products are not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for effectiveness before they are allowed to be sold. Thus, as GCBH points out, the makers of these supplements have no incentive to provide scientific studies to back up their claims.
GCBH does not recommend any dietary supplement for brain health, noting instead that vitamins or nutrients that might be helpful in preserving brain health—omega-3 fatty acids, for instance—are best consumed in food.
To download the full GCBH report, click on the link below.