Alzheimer's Association Update

Tomorrow's Leaders Award Recipients Announced 

Sterling C. Johnson, PhD, Dora M. Kovacs, PhD, and James J. Lah, MD, PhD, are the first recipients of the Tomorrow's Leaders in Alzheimer's Disease Research awards sponsored by the Alzheimer's Association, Cure Alzheimer's Fund, and Lou Ruvo Brain Institute. The $100,000 awards, which recognize outstanding new MD or PhD Alzheimer's disease investigators who have made pivotal contributions to early detection, treatment, and prevention of Alzheimer's disease, were presented May 14 at the Alzheimer's Association's National Gala in Washington, DC.

The awards program honors the legacies of pioneering Alzheimer's disease researchers George G. Glenner, MD, and Leon J. Thal, MD. Dr Glenner chaired the Department of Medicine and Physiology, Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences, at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in 1984, with assistant Cai'ne Wong, announced the isolation of beta-amyloid and its connection to Alzheimer's disease. Dr Thal was director of the 80-site Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, a clinical research consortium funded by the NIH, and chair of the Department of Neurosciences at the University of California at San Diego. Considered a visionary in clinical study design, Dr Thal headed some of the trials leading to current treatments for Alzheimer's disease symptoms.

The research by Drs Sterling, Kovacs, and Lah adds to the landscape of scientific advances cultivated by Drs Glenner, Thal, and others. Dr Sterling's research uses brain imaging in conjunction with neuropsychological measurement to study cognitive disorders of memory and self-awareness. He is associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison and a research scientist at the Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center of the William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital in Madison.

Dr Kovacs' work focuses on the molecular events underlying neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. She is associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School in Boston and associate neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr Lah's research aims to increase understanding of disease-causing mechanisms to improve the care of individuals with neurodegenerative disorders. He is associate professor of neurology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and a staff neurologist at Emory University Hospital, Grady Memorial Hospital, and the Wesley Woods Center, the geriatric component of Emory Healthcare.

For more information about the awards, including nominating procedures and deadlines, visit the Web sites of the three sponsoring organizations.

ISTAART Offers Unique Forum for Alzheimer's Disease Researchers, Clinicians 

Bringing together researchers and clinicians from a broad range of fields to accelerate progress in Alzheimer's disease and dementia research is the mission of a new professional society launched this January by the Alzheimer's Association.

The Alzheimer's Association International Society to Advance Alzheimer Research and Treatment (ISTAART) provides a forum for the sharing of cutting edge research advances from diverse disciplines. The society welcomes members from fields including biochemistry, genetics, geriatrics, molecular and cell biology, neurology, neuroscience, pathology, pharmacology, psychiatry, psychology, radiology, and the social sciences.

“ISTAART embraces all areas of Alzheimer's disease research,” explains William H. Thies, PhD, vice president for medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association. “In addition to receiving many attractive benefits, members will enjoy participating in a uniquely collegial group and having the opportunity to provide input on the content of Alzheimer's & Dementia and our large science conferences such as ICAD [International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease].”

Steven T. DeKosky, MD, chair of neurology and director of the Alzheimer's Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, chairs ISTAART's Advisory Council. Says Dr DeKosky, “Over the past 20 years, Alzheimer's disease researchers and the Alzheimer's Association have worked together to advance research in the disease, provide information for dissemination to the public (including people with Alzheimer's disease, their families and caregivers) and inform Congress and the press about the disease and its implications for social, economic and personal well-being. Now the Alzheimer's Association has initiated ISTAART. It is our hope that ISTAART will enable convenient and productive collaborations among members and speed progress in defeating Alzheimer's disease.”

Joining Dr DeKosky as members of the ISTAART Advisory Committee are David A. Bennett, MD; Jeffrey Kaye, MD; Virginia M.-Y. Lee, PhD; Ralph A. Nixon, PhD, MD; and Michael S. Wolfe, PhD. Dr Bennett is director of the Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago and principal investigator on several National Institute of Aging–funded studies, including the Religious Orders Study and Memory and Aging Project. Professor of neurology and biomedical engineering at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Dr Kaye is director of the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology and Layton Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Center.

Committee member Dr Lee leads the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, where she is professor of pathology and laboratory medicine. Author of more than 450 papers, Dr Lee is a member of the National Advisory Council on Aging at the National Institutes of Health. Dr Nixon serves as director of the Silberstein Institute for Aging and Dementia at New York University School of Medicine and director of the Center for Dementia Research at the Nathan Kline Institute, an affiliate organization of New York University, where he is professor of psychiatry and cell biology. Founder of the Laboratory for Experimental Alzheimer Drugs at Harvard Medical School, Dr Wolf holds appointments in the Departments of Neurology and of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology at Harvard.

ISTAART member benefits include peer networking opportunities such as members-only receptions, preconference sessions, and special interest groups; reduced conference registration fees, including $100 off full-conference ICAD registration; preferential hotel selection at conferences; continuing medical education discounts; a members-only newsletter; and a one-year subscription to Alzheimer's & Dementia, a $118 value. (The journal is no longer free to ICAD registrants.) Annual dues to be part of this leading peer group for dementia science professionals are $145; student memberships are $55.

For more information, send e-mail to membership.ISTAART@alz.org or call 312-335-5188.

Advertising Campaigns Aim to Heighten Awareness of Alzheimer's Disease 

In conjunction with the March 18 release of its report 2008 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures, the Alzheimer's Association placed full-page ads in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and The Politico asking presidential candidates Senators Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama to reveal their plans for addressing the Alzheimer's disease epidemic. According to the report, an estimated 10 million baby boomers will develop the disease, which costs Medicare, Medicaid, and businesses $148 billion annually.

“Our next president must be prepared to address the concerns of the millions affected by Alzheimer's disease today and the one out of eight baby boomers who will face it tomorrow,” says Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association. “We have the opportunity to change the trajectory of this disease now. Today's scientific landscape is rich with possible disease-modifying treatments, but the shrinking investment in Alzheimer's disease research threatens these breakthroughs. An immediate and significant increase in federally funded Alzheimer's disease research is critical to make Alzheimer's disease a thing of the past.”

The Association's 2007 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures was a widely cited source for Alzheimer's disease data by the news media. Like its predecessor, the 2008 report garnered national coverage. The report was featured in segments on the CBS Evening News, ABC World News, and NBC's Today show, with additional coverage by CNN and in USA Today, among other media outlets.

The report and full-page ads are components of a larger integrated marketing campaign by the Association to raise awareness of the individual and societal impact of Alzheimer's disease. Survey results released in spring 2007 showed that while nearly half of Americans say they know someone with Alzheimer's disease, 94 percent knew little about the disease. Although Alzheimer's disease is the seventh leading cause of death in the United States, 58 percent of survey respondents were unaware that people die of the disease. More than half did not realize that in addition to cognitive losses, those with Alzheimer's disease lose control of their bodies.

In addition to Facts and Figures and paid advertising, the Association began online and grassroots marketing and advocacy efforts and initiated the Champions Campaign to help bridge the knowledge gap. The Champions Campaign challenges 5 million Americans—one for every person with Alzheimer's disease—to take action in the fight against Alzheimer's disease. The Association's new 2008 advertising campaign began in March.

“We knew the integrated marketing campaign was the first step of many, and we knew we wouldn't change public knowledge overnight, but with the growing burden of this disease, we have an obligation to increase concern and awareness,” says Angela Geiger, the Alzheimer's Association's vice president of constituent relations. “Increasing awareness is critical not only to the well-being of those with Alzheimer's disease and their families, but also to the development of research advances to address this devastating disease. Only by increasing awareness will we succeed in building the public momentum necessary to move legislators to make research funding for Alzheimer's disease a top national priority.”