This article was originally posted on 03-20-2015

Focus on Alzheimer's Disease

Last week, I attended a reception by the International Society to Advance Alzheimer's Research and Treatment (ISTAART). The guest speaker was Michael Weiner, M.D., a professor at University of California, San Francisco and a leading researcher in this field. He put research on Alzheimer's in perspective with research on cancer and other critical conditions. He highly recommended reading The Emperor of All Maladies, a book on cancer. I noticed that PBS has a documentary with this title scheduled for March 30. ISTAART has a conference scheduled on July 18-23 in Washington, D.C.

There are an estimated 100,000 Minnesotans living with Alzheimer's disease, and that figure is predicted to increase significantly as the Baby Boomers age. Symptoms of Alzheimer's include memory loss and wandering.

Several bills were heard earlier this week in the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee on this issue. H.F. 805 was passed and referred to the next committee. That bill directs the Commissioner of Public Safety to set up a working group to study Minnesota's need for a Silver Alert System to aid in the recovery of senior citizens with dementia, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease or other mental disabilities.

The Alzheimer's Association has a Helpline available 24/7, 1-800-272-3900.

Please contact me anytime with your input on this and other legislative issues. I can be reached by phone at (651) 296-3533 or by email at rep.sandra.masin@house.mn.
 

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