New Alzheimer's Association Report Finds Patient-Physician Communication About Cognitive Concerns Needs Improvement as New Treatments Become Available

Each year, the Alzheimer’s Association releases the Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report, which provides scientists, journalists and policy makers accurate information and statistics about Alzheimer’s disease that underscore the dire need for care, support and research for those living with Alzheimer’s. 

An accompanying special report, The Patient Journey In an Era of New Treatments exposes critical issues that will have increasingly devastating impacts on patients and primary care physicians if they are not urgently addressed. Many people with early memory and thinking concerns are hesitant to raise the issue with their physician. On top of that, primary care physicians are not proactively asking their patients about cognitive issues. The special report details ways to create better communications between physicians and their patients about brain health and dementia.

The statistics are staggering. More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million. Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women. In 2023, Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the nation $345 billion. By 2050, these costs could rise to nearly $1 trillion. One in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

Fueling innovative research through Part the Cloud is needed now more than ever.

Read the full report at alz.org/facts.

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate and commemorate women’s contributions to America history.

Sadly, women are at the epicenter of the Alzheimer’s crisis – more than two-thirds of people living with the disease are women, and women make up the majority of those providing unpaid care to those living with the disease.

This month – and every month – we celebrate the women who are relentlessly searching for a cure. The women-led committee who drive Part the Cloud forward to raise more than $65 million in a decade. The women who propel the research industry forward – in the U.S. and globally. Researchers like Roberta Briton, PhD., who seek to understand why women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s. And the millions of women who support our cause every day.

Thank you for your support. Together, we will Part the Cloud.

Just how close are we to a cure for Alzheimer's? During this interactive webinar, Mikey Hoag, Founder of Part the Cloud, and Heather Snyder, Ph.D., vice president of Medical and Scientific Relations at the Alzheimer's Association, provided an inside look at the latest and greatest research projects that are in development in the race to end Alzheimer's. Hear more about how their partnership over the last decade fuels high risk, high reward Alzheimer’s research.

Part the Cloud has an extensive application and review process before grants are awarded and projects are officially funded. Each application undergoes a rigorous peer review process from top experts in the field in order to propel innovative research forward. One reviewer provides his perspective on how Part the Cloud accelerates progress.

"This program's proposals really knocks innovation out of the ballpark by exploring truly novel mechanisms. Many proposals are way outside the 'amyloid' box, and I think this is exactly what you were hoping for in Part the Cloud."

-Paul B. Rosenberg, MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

In a recent post on the Alzheimer’s Association blog, Part the Cloud-funded researcher Ross Paterson, Ph.D., University College London, United Kingdom, provides background on his latest study, which involves protein clearance and finding a treatment that would stop tau production. His research focuses on younger-onset Alzheimer's disease, rapid progressive dementias, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, and studies of proteins involved with dementias. Dr. Paterson’s latest study involves protein clearance and finding a treatment that would stop tau production. Tau is a protein that primarily helps support nerve cell structure and transport nutrients within brain cells.

Featured in the February newsletter, Cars and scientists with Dr. Ross Paterson, in this blog post, Dr. Paterson provides more background on what drives him to study dementia.

Part the Cloud was recognized at The Anthem Awards under its innovative Health Event category. With Part the Cloud we have created a movement unlike any other in the Alzheimer’s and dementia space and we are proud of the continued impact we are making to accelerate scientific progress in Alzheimer's research by funding the most promising early phase studies.

Learn more at alz.org/partthecloud and join us April 19 for our award-winning luncheon.