In the midst of much healthcare reform talk, not enough attention seems focused on ensuring healthcare systems’ preparedness to deal with cognitive health issues -with Alzheimer’s Disease as the most dramatic example- which are predicted to grow given aging population trends.

Today is World Alzheimer’s Day, and the USA Today comments on a new report that makes stark predictions:
Global Alzheimer’s cases expected to rise sharply (USA Today)

- “The 2009 World Alzheimer’s Report, released today, estimates 35 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. The figure is a 10% increase over 2005 numbers.”

- “The number of people affected by Alzheimer’s is growing at a rapid rate, and the increasing personal costs will have significant impact on the world’s economies and health care systems,” said Harry Johns, President and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “We must make the fight against Alzheimer’s a priority here in the United States and worldwide,” he said.

- “The report by London-based nonprofit Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI), an international federation of 71 national Alzheimer organizations (including the Alzheimer’s Association), indicates that the number of people with dementia is expected to grow sharply to 65.7 million in 2030 and 115.4 million in 2050.”

Link to report: Here

The Alzheimer’s Association is organizing multiple Memory Walks to raise awareness and funds. You can learn more and join Here. (Perhaps a good opportunity to organize a “walking book group” as Arthur Kramer suggested in the SharpBrains Guide?)

The City of San Francisco, led by its Department of Aging and Adult Services (DAAS), convened since 2008 an Alzheimer’s/ Dementia Expert Panel to identify gaps and issue recommendations to address the growing crisis in dementia care at the city level, and is about to release a pioneering plan that may well influence public health initiatives in other cities and states. An interim document can be found here: 2020 Foresight-Strategy For Excellence in Dementia Care (pdf)

One of the major areas of focus for that strategy was Education & Prevention, and below we can share a summary of the preliminary findings and recommendations. We will highlight the final report when ready.

ALZHEIMER’S/DEMENTIA EXPERT PANEL

EDUCATION AND PREVENTION SUBCOMMITTEE

FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The subcommittee’s charge was to consider how best to educate the San Francisco community about Alzheimer’s and related dementias to change attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, standards of practice, and outcomes associated with the disease.

Specific topics addressed include:
· Protective factors relating to dementia, including risk factors and brain health
· Early identification of dementia
· Early access to services
· Community education
· Education of professionals and nonprofessionals, including physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists, social workers, nurses, and other caregivers, both paid caregivers and informal caregivers such as family and friends
· Ethical issues
· Policy issues

The dissemination of accurate information about Alzheimer’s and related dementias can play an important role in Read the rest of this entry »

We have two excellent new speakers, Anne Hinton and Steve DeMello, to add to the excellent roster during the ASA Brain Health Day to take place on Friday, September 11th, 2009, at the Oakland Marriott City Center.

Anne Hinton is Executive Director of the San Francisco Department of Aging and Adult Services. In this capacity she has responsibility for In-Home Supportive Services, Adult Protective Services, Public Guardian, Public Conservator, Public Administrator, Representative Payee, Veterans Services, Information and Referral, and the Partnership for Community Based Care and Support. In addition the Department funds 45 community service providers for programs such as congregate meals, senior centers, home delivered meals, case management, family caregiving, etc.

Her career spans more than 25 years including positions as the Director of Home Care, Care Management and Fiduciary Services Department for the Institute on Aging, the Director of Aging Services for San Francisco Catholic Charities and Director of the South San Francisco Senior Services. Ms. Hinton has experience as a lecturer/teacher in the field of Gerontology.

Steven DeMello has over 30 years of experience in research, hospital operations, strategic planning, systems management and consulting. He is currently a Research Program Director at the Public Health Institute. His most recent position wass as Executive Director and Senior Advisor of the Health Technology Center (HealthTech), a non-profit research group and expert network based in San Francisco. Prior to HealthTech he served as chief operating officer of ezboard, Inc. a large first-generation consumer social networking company. His previous positions include serving as Senior Vice President California Healthcare System, President and COO of Alliance Home Care Management, Inc., and Principal at the global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney. He received a BA in Economics from Claremont McKenna College, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Registration fees are still $150, but will increase to $190 by August 29th. More information at ASA Brain Health Day. If you are planning to attend…hurry!

The American Society on Aging and SharpBrains have partnered to co-produce a professional development day for professionals in the field of aging. The day is themed “New Tools, New Partnerships”, and will take place on Friday, September 11th, 2009, during ASA’s West Coast Conference on Aging, in the Oakland Marriot City Center, Oakland, CA.

“Given aging population trends, it is clear that we need more and better trained aging professionals, and that brain health needs to be a major component in that training. We are pleased to partner with SharpBrains to offer the latest thinking, best practices, and resources, to our members,” said Carole Anderson, Vice President of Education.

“The growing interest in brain health and fitness among consumers and professionals alike needs to be accompanied by high-quality educational initiatives to help separate reality from hope from hype. We are honored to partner with the American Society on Aging in this important endeavor,” said Alvaro Fernandez, CEO & co-founder of SharpBrains and co-author of The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness.

Description and How to Register
Since 2006, healthy aging pioneers have been actively evaluating and implementing an expanding menu of stimulating brain health programs. The American Society on Aging and SharpBrains have partnered to introduce aging professionals to the best practices in a variety of community-based and residential settings, discuss emerging trends that will affect your work in years to come, and offer you resources to understand and navigate through the growing array of options.

Participants will receive a complimentary and signed copy of the book The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness (May 2009, $24.95).

Learning objectives are:

 

- Understand the complementary value the four main lifestyle pillars for lifelong brain health and why “mental exercise”, beyond simple “mental activity”, is one of them.
- Identify the best mix of brain health practices and technologies by discussing real world case studies in a variety of settings: adult education, independent living, assisted living.
- Discuss the opportunities and challenges of building innovative partnerships between a non-profit organizations and a for-profit companies.
- Explore emerging trends in research, public health, lifelong learning, and technology, to ensure that health and aging professionals are well equipped for years to come.

 

When and where: Friday, September 11th, 2009, at the Oakland Marriott City Center.

Registration fees for SharpBrains clients and readers are $150 (official fees are $180) . Fee is for the full day session and includes up to six hours of CEU credits plus book and materials.

You can Register HERE, using Partner Organization Code: WCSB.

 

The Program
9:00 – 10:30 am Keynote- The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness

This session will provide an overview of the most recent research, guidelines and resources to “Use It and Improve It”, summarizing the main findings and topics from the book The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness. It will debunk 10 brain fitness myths; discuss how the brain works and the 4 pillars of brain maintenance; explain the difference between mental exercise and mental activity and identify research-based ways to exercise our brains; and review what 21 brain fitness software packages do – and what they don’t do. Finally, the session will discuss emerging trends to ensure that health and aging professionals are well equipped for years to come.

 

- Alvaro Fernandez, SharpBrains

11:00 to 12:00 noon Bringing Brain Fitness to the Community Center

Science continues to highlight the importance of staying active mentally as well as physically; people of all ages and situations face the challenge of learning what brain exercise is, how it can help them, and how to incorporate it into their busy lives. The Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC) has formed a unique partnership with vibrantBrains, a pioneering gym for brain exercise, to explore new ways to bring brain fitness into the community on top of its existing fitness and educational activities.

 

- Jane Post, Peninsula Jewish Community Center; Lisa Schoonerman, vibrantBrains

1:30 to 2:30 pm Latest Technologies and Brain Health: Value and Limitations

Four innovative practitioners will share their first-hand experience implementing computerized cognitive training programs in different settings: adult education classes, independent living, and assisted living. They will discuss the Pros and Cons of technology programs provided by Dakim, Posit Science and CogniFit, helping the audience explore how technology can enhance existing brain health and wellness programs and how this trend will affect their work in the future.

 

- James Arp, Belmont Village; Kari Olsen, Front Porch; Shellie Sullivan, Lakeview Village; Teri Barr, Oakland Unified School District

2:30 to 3:15 pm Engaging the Community to Integrate Brain Health Research into Lifelong Learning

OLLI @Berkeley has developed a membership team to investigate how to integrate neuroscience discoveries into their lifelong learning curriculum and ongoing community activities. If older adults are told that, in addition to exercise, nutrition, among other things, mental stimulation is required that is novel, challenging and varied—how can lifelong learning centers and adults themselves judge what that is and how to integrate those understandings our activities and lives?. Susan Hoffman will share the methodology and insights of working with the community as well as with a wide range of experts and scientists, and discuss what might be possible in a variety of institutional settings such as yours.

 

- Susah Hoffman, OLLI@Berkeley

3:30 to 4.30 pm San Francisco Alzheimer’s Education & Prevention Taskforce: Getting Ready for the Future

The San Francisco Mayor’s office, in partnership with the Department of Aging & Adult Services recently convened an expert panel and committees to create a strategic plan for addressing the needs of San Franciscans with memory loss and dementia through the year 2020. Learn about the process, findings and recommendations on how the city of San Francisco plans to address education and prevention of dementia now and in the future.

 

- Elizabeth Edgerly, Alzheimer’s Association; Bill Haskells, Department of Aging & Adult Services

4:30 pm What We Have Learned, What is Next

What are some of the priorities and challenges for the next 12 months for the field at large, and for everyone involved? This interactive session will help us summarize the key highlights from the whole day, identify emerging assumptions, themes, and priorities, and discuss collaborative next steps.

 

- Carole Anderson, American Society on Aging; Alvaro Fernandez, SharpBrains

 

Speaker Bios
Alvaro Fernandez is co-founder and CEO of SharpBrains, a leading market research firm that tracks the market and research for cognitive assessments, training, and games. A member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Councils, he has been quoted in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and more, and recently co-authored the book The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, to Keep Your Brain Sharp. Alvaro received masters’ degrees in education and business from Stanford University, and teaches at UC-Berkeley Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.Jane Post is the Associate Executive Director at the Peninsula Jewish Community Center. With a background that started in summer youth camping and transitioned into Community Center group work, the Illinois native moved to the Bay Area in 1979 to begin her thriving career with the Peninsula Jewish Community Center (PJCC) in Foster City. Serving in positions ranging from Youth Director to Senior Adult Director, Ms. Post has enjoyed over 30 successful years with the PJCC and today is the Center’s Associate Executive Director. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Southern California.

Lisa Schoonerman is a co-founder at vibrantBrains. Lisa held a variety of technical and editorial positions with the Thomson Corporation in the Legal Publishing division (now ThomsonReuters), beginning in Rochester, NY and then coming to San Francisco to work for what was then Bancroft Whitney. Lisa’s work for Thomson included a 3-year assignment in the UK, where she was Editorial Director of the group providing content for Westlaw UK, the first international application of the Westlaw database.

James Arp works as the West Regional Director for Activity and Memory Programs for Belmont Village, where he was involved in a pilot program using computerized cognitive training. James has also worked as an Administrator for several Intermediate Care Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled and in Guardianship, and has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology and Communication Disorders.

Kari Olson, Chief Information Officer of Front Porch, leads all technology initiatives for Front Porch and its partners. Kari is also the President of the Front Porch Center for Technology Innovation and Wellbeing whose mission is to explore innovative uses of technology to empower individuals to live well, especially in their later years. Kari is actively involved in the Center for Aging Services Technologies where she serves as a commissioner, steering committee member and task group chair for Boomer Technology Needs Research and co-chair of the Provider Needs Research Workgroup. Kari speaks regularly around the country on technology for aging services. Kari holds a BA in economics from University of California, Los Angeles and has completed graduate course work in education at California State University, Los Angeles.

Teri Barr administers the brain fitness classes for older adults at Oakland Unified School District. She has a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and a MSPE from the University of Illinois. In Illinois, she designed and implemented wellness classes in Community College, University and Hospital settings. Since moving to California, she has worked for OACE (Oakland Adult and Career Education) in the Older Adult Program. She started research for brain health classes in 2006 and began the program at OACE in 2007.

Shellie Sullivan is the Volunteer Coordinator at Lakeview Village, a faith-based, nonprofit retirement community in Lenexa for 800 seniors offering active living and supported options. Ms. Sullivan coordinated and supported the cognitive training portion of the Physical & Cognitive Training Study in which Lakeview participated under the supervision of Dr. Art Kramer, from the University of Illinois. She administered all of the cognitive pre- and post-assessments to Lakeview Village residents and community volunteers and guided participants using cognitive training software throughout the entire study. Ms. Sullivan is a graduate from The Ohio State University with a degree in Communications.

Susan E. Hoffman is the director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute within the Vice Provost’s Office for Teaching and Learning at UC Berkeley. For the past fifteen years she has worked at UC and CSU campuses launching new interdisciplinary and international programs. Before then, she served as the Executive Director of the California Confederation of the Arts, representing California artists, art educators and arts organizations in Sacramento and Washington for a decade. Her creative work includes being a writer and filmmaker. Her faculty appointments have been in creative writing, theatre and political philosophy.

Elizabeth Edgerly, Ph.D., is the Chief Program Officer for the Alzheimer’s Association and national spokesperson for the Association’s Maintain Your Brain program. She oversees the many programs of the Association for patients, families and health care professionals. In addition, she staffs the Medical Scientific Advisory Council of the Alzheimer’s Association – Northern California. She received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the State University of New York and specialized in geropsychology and neuropsychology. Dr. Edgerly joined the Alzheimer’s Association after completing a fellowship in clinical geropsychology at the Palo Alto VA Hospital.

 

 

How to Register

Registration fees for SharpBrains clients and readers are $150 (official fees are $180) . Fee is for the full day session and includes up to six hours of CEU credits plus book and materials.

You can Register HERE, using Partner Organization Code: WCSB.   

About the American Society on Aging

Founded in 1954, the American Society on Aging is an association of diverse individuals bound by a common goal: to support the commitment and enhance the knowledge and skills of those who seek to improve the quality of life of older adults and their families. The membership of ASA is a multidisciplinary array of professionals who are concerned with the physical, emotional, social, economic and spiritual aspects of aging. They range from practitioners, educators, administrators, policymakers, business people, researchers, students, and more. For more information, visit http://www.asaging.org/

 

 

About SharpBrains

SharpBrains is a market research & publishing firm devoted to helping organizations, professionals and consumers navigate the brain fitness and cognitive health field. The company was co-founded by executive Alvaro Fernandez, member of the Global Agenda Councils initiative run by the World Economic Forum, and neuroscientist Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg, internationally renowned for his clinical work, research, and writing. SharpBrains recently released the The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness: 18 Interviews with Scientists, Practical Advice, and Product Reviews, to Keep Your Brain Sharp (May 2009; $24.95). For more information, visit www.sharpbrains.com/

 

 

I  am very excited to pre-announce a collaboration with the American Society on Aging (ASA) to co-produce a Brain Health event, themed “New Tools, New Partnerships”, to take place in Oakland, CA, on September 11th. Read the rest of this entry »

Here you have the January edition of our monthly newsletter covering cognitive health and brain fitness topics. Please remember that you can subscribe to receive this Newsletter by email, simply by submitting your email at the top of this page.

Bird’s Eye View

Brain fitness heads towards its tipping point: How do you know when something is moving towards a Gladwellian tipping point? When health insurance companies and public policy makers launch significant initiatives. Dr. Gerard Finnemore provides a market overview, based on SharpBrains’ client webinar held last December.

Ten Reflections on Cognitive Health and Assessments: Here are 10 highlights from several stimulating January events:  Symposium on Adaptive Technology for the Aging (by Arizona State University), Health Bloggers’ Summit (by Consumer Reports), Traumatic Brain Injury (by Veteran Affairs in Palo Alto), and a new Alzheimer’s/ Dementia Expert Panel organized by the city of San Francisco.

News and Events

Nintendo Brain Age vs. Crossword Puzzles: we need much public education in order to help consumers separate reality from hope from hype. Nintendo is not helping, neither is media reporting.

Collection of recent news: including training for senior fitness trainers, reports on the importance of purpose,  on older driver safety, and more.

Upcoming events: I will be speaking soon at the New York Academy of Medicine, the American Society on Aging/ NCOA conference, and the Silvering Workforce Summit at the University of North Carolina. Let me know if you are attending any.

Education and Learning

Learning about Learning: an Interview with Joshua Waitzkin: Scott Barry Kaufman interviews “child prodigy” Joshua Waitzkin on The Art of Learning. Many fascinating insights, including “I think losing my first National Chess Championship was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, because it helped me avoid many of the psychological traps…(associated with being called a “child prodigy”)”.

Resources to help students build emotional intelligence: Daniel Goleman introduces educators and parents to a new book that “adds an important tool to the emotional intelligence kit: mindfulness, a moment-by-moment awareness of one’s internal state and external environment.”

Resources

Top 10 Cognitive Health and Brain Fitness Books: Here you have The 10 Most Popular Brain Fitness & Cognitive Health Books, based on book purchases by SharpBrains’ readers during 2008.

10-Question Program Evaluation Checklist: To help consumers and professionals navigate through the growing number of programs making “brain fitness” or “brain training” claims, we published last year this Evaluation Checklist. Now we are making the Checklist available as a Bookmark given recent requests by universities and conference organizers.

Brain Teaser

Brain Teaser to Exercise your Memory and Reasoning Skills: Dr. Pascale Michelon offers a stimulating teaser that not only helps exercise our brain but also educates us on how and why the same activity may exercise different brains differently – depending on where we are from.

Hi!
This is Andreas, the Norwegian MD/PhD in neuroscience candidate who worked as an intern at SharpBrains a few months ago. Now I’m back in chilly Oslo where I’ve just begun my PhD program on cognitive training for patients with memory problems.

Today I felt it was time to reflect upon my 3 month stay in San Francisco earlier this year. It all started when in April when the Norwegian school of entrepreneurship said: You’ve got a ticket to San Francisco, now you got to find the perfect start-up company to work for.

Being interested in brain training, I googled “Brain fitness San Francisco” and guess what I found? I got in touch with Alvaro Fernandez, the co-founder of SharpBrains.com and two months later I started working with him and his team.

As a scientist, being placed in an exciting start-up company in a novel market like brain fitness was a huge learning experience that gave me hands-on knowledge of business and entrepreneurial culture. Being a neuroscience student, I know that learning physically changes my brain, strengthening it.

Here’s a list of some of the key things I’ve learned:

1) First of all, one of key rules for brain fitness is learning. In SharpBrains I immediately got to experience what a great learning culture can be all about – from key insights in entrepreneurship to how to make creative videos and writing for the web. The urge for constant learning is both fun and stimulating – and I appreciate Alvaro’s suggestion to write this post.
Read the rest of this entry »

Dr. David Rabiner’s Attention Research Update drew my attention to some recent research articles on the potential of fatty acid dietary supplementation to help treat ADD/ADHD.

Stimulant medication for children with ADD/ADHD has been the predominant treatment for years. Thus far, it has been quite successful, but we have yet to see the long term effects of chronic medication. Given that, it is worth at least investigating alternative therapies that can be used either in place of or in conjunction with traditional pharmaceutical and behavioral treatment.

As one of the four pillars of brain health, nutrition has a significant impact on both physical structures in the body and behavior. Studies suggest children with ADHD have lower levels of both omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids.
Read the rest of this entry »

Here is question 14 of 25 from Brain Fitness 101: Answers to Your Top 25 Questions. To download the complete version, please click here.

Question:
Does a brain fitness program prevent Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia?

Key Points:

• Studies have shown mentally active people have lower rates and later onset of symptoms for Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. These diseases involve a number of variables like family history, physical fitness, nutrition, and brain fitness.
• People who remain intellectually active and engage in hobbies reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by one third.

Answer:
Read the rest of this entry »

Well, the idea that you can just pop a pill to improve your memory and attention lost some ground today.

The Associated Press released an article on DHEA, a steroid precursor to testosterone and estrogen used to improve athletic performance, increase sex drive, and reduce fat as well as fight diabetes and heart disease. The conclusion of a two-year study at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and University of Padua in Italy was that it did not improve strength, physical performance, or other measures of health. The positive news was: Read the rest of this entry »