This and That for January

A lot has been going on but I just haven't had my thoughts straight enough to jot everything down so I'm going to give it a try ---

1. Winter weather -- yes, the South was hit hard yesterday by snow and ice.  Although Athens didn't get hit hard, Atlanta did.  The snow really wasn't the issue as much as the traffic.  People were stranded in their cars for as many as 8 or 10 hours (or even longer) trying to get home yesterday.  It was a mess.  When I lived in the North I would have been somewhat prepared -- we always carried an emergency kit if you will in our trunk to sustain us for a short time, but I am not sure if it would have sustained us that long. I was thinking that now, though, I would have had a number of panic attacks and not sure how I would have handled being stranded on interstate roads for that long.   A silly think (or maybe not so silly) is that I still keep in my trunk, a duffel bag with "necessities" including water, make-up, and overnight essentials.  I know that sounds silly, but I used to travel in my job at the spur of the moment so I always had a bag packed in my trunk.  It came in handy even if I wasn't travelling.  My husband gives me a hard time, but it is my "comfort", so he just has to deal with it!

2. Drug trials -- was disappointed that two drugs that seemed to hold some promise for those of us with Alzheimer's have not been proven in recent drug trials. This is so disappointing. 

Here is an excerpt from an article published in US News and World Report: "Two experimental drugs for Alzheimer's disease have failed their clinical trials, proving unable to help patients with mild to moderate dementia, according to new studies.

Both bapineuzumab and solanezumab did not improve patients' ability to think and solve problems, according to findings published in the Jan. 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
The drugs were intended to help people with Alzheimer's by clearing the amyloid beta protein plaques that typically clog neurons in the brains of people with the degenerative illness, the researchers said.
Neither medication improved patients' ability to think. "We were disappointed there was no clear clinical benefit," said Dr. Steven Salloway, lead researcher on the bapineuzumab study. Salloway is a professor of neurology and psychiatry at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University."  You can read the whole article here: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2014/01/22/2-alzheimers-drugs-found-ineffective-in-clinical-trials


3. On a better note -- A funding bill for the 2014 federal budged included the largest increase in funding dedicated to Alzheimer's and dementia - $122 million in funding for Alzheimer's research, education, outreach and caregiver support in history. You can read more about that news at: http://www.alz.org/news_and_events_122_mill_posposed.asp

4. On a bright and happy note -- my friend author Lisa Genova who wrote Still Alice announced yesterday the full cast of the film adaptation of Still Alice.  It was announced previously that Julianne Moore would play Alice.  Others cast include Alec Baldwin, Kristen Stewart, and Kate Bosworth.  Filming is set to start soon.  I couldn't be happier for Lisa.  Lisa lives in Cape Cod and this article appeared today in Cape Cod Today -- http://www.capecodtoday.com/article/2014/01/29/23796-hollywood-bring-chatham-authors-still-alice-silver-screen

Lisa was in Columbus Georgia this weekend, and unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to visit with her due to some other commitments.  I was sad about that, but I am so happy for her that this film is closer and closer to a reality.