Dementia patients require a balanced blend of supportive devices, effective medications such as cholinesterase inhibitors and holistic understanding to truly enjoy the best possible quality of life.

We may not fully understand the link between Covid-19 and Alzheimer’s, but we already have the scientific research and tools to address people’s fears, support their cognitive health journey, and reverse the increase of Alzheimer’s.

A budget estimate attached to proposed legislation in Montana raises questions about whether the state’s cash-strapped communities will have the capacity to care for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia or traumatic brain injuries by July 2025, when involuntary commitments would cease under the plan.

Reducing hospitalizations for frail elderly members is a major challenge for Medicare Advantage payers and providers. The key to avoiding any hospitalization is to detect and address a change in condition before it worsens. Ceresti Co-founder and CEO Dirk Soenksen talks about how his company is addressing these needs.

Ideally, novel therapeutics will be introduced in combination with lifestyle interventions that are going to need to be personalized to each individual, and anchored in reliable, longitudinal metrics to enable modifications as needed.

Too many of us and our families have been affected by dementia in one form or another. October is recognized by patients, advocates and the medical community as Lewy Body Dementia Awareness month, and perhaps this year it will mark new hope for those suffering from this disease.

There is a dearth of professionals with licenses and training to provide care for seniors’ mental and behavioral health challenges — such as Alzheimer’s and other dementias, anxiety and depression. Seattle-based Rippl Care is seeking to change this. The startup just closed a $32 million seed funding round led by ARCH Venture Partners and General Catalyst.

Eli Lilly is among the new investors joining the Series B round of Arkuda Therapeutics, a biotech developing a drug to treat a rare, inherited form of dementia. If the biotech’s approach works, it could also have applications in other neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

While the era of using digital health tools to manage MCI and perhaps prevent greater cognitive decline is just beginning, it is a promising new therapeutic direction for a very complex condition. The more these solutions are developed and studied, it seems clear, however, that the most effective technology will be the systems that individuals with MCI and their caregivers consistently enjoy using over the long term.

Neuroglee recently raised $10 million in funding and struck a partnership with Mayo Clinic. It’s building a digital therapeutic and virtual programs for people with mild cognitive impairment. 

Merck and Evidation Health launched a study to see if data from smartphones and wearables could be used to detect and monitor the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.

The FDA’s rejection of Nuplazid cited clinical trial results in subgroups of patients. Acadia Pharmaceuticals said the FDA’s decision goes against all feedback the company previously received and amounts to an incorrect way of evaluating dementia patients.

Biogen plans to launch a virtual study with Apple this year to identify early signs of mild cognitive impairment. The study is expected to launch in the second half of 2021.

Early results from a study conducted by Evidation Health, Eli Lilly and Apple have shown the ability to detect cognitive decline and mild Alzheimer’s disease using a combination of Apple wearables, mobile devices, digital apps and sleep sensors.

Whether assisted feeding can be withdrawn was at the center of recent high-profile cases in which patients with dementia were spoon-fed against their documented wishes because they continued to open their mouths.

Gates will invest $50 million in the Dementia Discovery Fund. This will be followed by another $50 million investment in startups working on Alzheimer’s research.

A pilot began with just a handful of doctors, but was broadened beyond primary care when it was found to be easy to use and capable of producing valuable information—especially to “downstream” physicians.