The Food and Drug Administration has decided to delay action on a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug, donanemab, which the agency was widely expected to approve this month. The F.D.A. will instead require donanemab to undergo the scrutiny of a panel of independent experts, the drug’s maker, Eli Lilly and Company, said Friday. “The F.D.A. has […]
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My Father, Ronald Reagan, Would Weep for America
The night before my father died, Ronald Reagan, I listened to his breathing — ragged, thin. Nothing like that of the athletic man who rode horses, built fences at the ranch, constructed jumps from old phone poles, cut back shrubs along riding trails. Or of the man who lifted his voice to the overcast sky […]
Read MoreWhen a Spouse Goes to the Nursing Home
Even as the signals of approaching dementia became impossible to ignore, Joseph Drolet dreaded the prospect of moving his partner into a long-term care facility. Mr. Drolet, 79, and his beloved Rebecca, 71, both retired lawyers and prosecutors in Atlanta, had been a couple for 33 years, though they retained separate homes. In 2019, she […]
Read MoreAdele Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen’s Mother, Dies at 98
Adele Springsteen, who nurtured the budding musical talent of her son, the pioneering rock star Bruce Springsteen, died on Wednesday. She was 98. Mr. Springsteen announced his mother’s death in an Instagram post on Thursday. No cause was given, but Ms. Springsteen had struggled for more than a decade with Alzheimer’s disease. Her son has […]
Read MoreBiogen Abandons Its Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug Aduhelm
The drug maker Biogen said on Wednesday it would abandon its ownership rights to Aduhelm, an Alzheimer’s drug that had provoked fierce criticism of the company and regulators after it was approved based on weak evidence that it would help patients. The company will also stop a clinical trial that the Food and Drug Administration […]
Read MoreAn Ultrasound Experiment Tackles a Giant Problem in Brain Medicine
There is a problem with the recently approved Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm. It can remove some of the amyloid that forms brain plaques that are hallmarks of the disease. But most of the drug is wasted because it hits an obstacle, the blood-brain barrier, that protects the brain from toxins and infections but also prevents many […]
Read MoreSandra Day O’Connor’s Barrier-Breaking Marriage
In the wake of Sandra Day O’Connor’s passing, I saw a photo of her with my father, Ronald Reagan, after he had nominated her to be the first woman on the Supreme Court. They were outside on the grounds of the White House, walking side by side, smiling, obviously in the midst of a conversation. […]
Read MoreI Clerked for Justice O’Connor. She Was My Hero, but I Worry About Her Legacy.
When I learned that Justice Sandra Day O’Connor had died, I felt not just the loss of a world historical figure but also the loss of someone who formed a part of my identity. As a young woman, I was in awe of Justice O’Connor. Her presence on the Supreme Court offered an answer to […]
Read MoreSandra O’Connor’s Extraordinary Final Chapter
Sandra Day O’Connor gave up lifetime tenure on the Supreme Court — a job she loved and one with extraordinary power — to care for her husband of 52 years as he deteriorated from dementia. That decision, in 2005, began a poignant final chapter of her extraordinary life. Her choice, at age 75, reflected her […]
Read MoreThe Only People Who Understand What a Caregiver Goes Through
On Thursday mornings, Julia Sadtler and Debora Dunbar log onto Zoom to talk about caring for their husbands with Alzheimer’s disease, in hourlong conversations that are usually informative, sometimes emotional and always supportive. Both men are patients at Penn Memory Center in Philadelphia, which began this mentorship program for caregivers in September. By design, the […]
Read MoreNew Books Try to Offer Shelter from Dementia’s Storm
She cites Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis” to show how hard it is to dislodge families from their accustomed roles; Herman Melville’s “Bartleby the Scrivener” (its lawyer-narrator’s efforts to rouse the protagonist “disturbingly familiar to caregivers”); and Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot” to highlight the importance of “the familiar rhythms and inflections of conversation” that can […]
Read MoreAlzheimer’s and the Paradox of Advance Directives
Two years ago, when my father was dying of dementia, my siblings and I faced a terrible dilemma: Whose wishes for his medical treatment were we to honor? Those of my father back when he was a healthy, highly functioning geneticist? Or those of the simpler, weakened man my father had become? It was a […]
Read MoreAlzheimer’s awareness events to take place this weekend
Hospice of Homer is providing a weekend of events for community awareness and support for people experiencing various levels of dementia and for their caregivers. Debbie Chulick, education specialist with Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska, will guide people through a Virtual Dementia Tour at the Homer Senior Center on Thursday morning and in Pioneer Hall at […]
Read MoreThe Unspeakably Sad Reminder of the ‘Other Paris’
There was no TV in the waiting area, no magazines, and eventually Ava’s phone began to die, cutting off her line of communication to me, so she was forced to read whatever pamphlets, signs, and labels were in English, and, finally, to pay attention to the people around her. A little girl who’d gotten stitches […]
Read MoreThe Brains Of People With Alzheimer’s Disease: Researchers Zero In On Understanding What Goes Awry
NewsOne Featured Video Source: adamkaz / Getty Diseases that run in families usually have genetic causes. Some are genetic mutations that directly cause the disease if inherited. Others are risk genes that affect the body in a way that increases the chance someone will develop the disease. In Alzheimer’s disease, genetic mutations in any of […]
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