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Thursday, February 20, 2025

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Trump Orders End to Federal Benefits for Undocumented Migrants; AL Senate committee advances bill to teach middle schoolers conflict resolution; Public health experts warn about pollution from burned plastics in LA fires; Schools struggle to keep up with diabetes tech, leaving parents to fill gaps.

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State legislators chip away at early voting laws, the North Carolina Supreme Court election saga continues, and universal private school voucher programs expand nationwide, putting public school funding at risk.

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A Taos, NM sheriff won't comply with immigration enforcement that could erode public trust, NH worries that a dearth of charging stations will force tourists driving EVs to vacation elsewhere, and Southern states promote workarounds to improve education.

IA researchers say brain shows changes 20 years prior to Alzheimer's symptoms

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Wednesday, June 19, 2024   

Researchers in Iowa say changes in an Alzheimer's patients' brain can occur at least 20 years before they are diagnosed with the disease and they are calling for more education about early warning signs of dementia during Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month.

There are at least 7 million people age 65 and older in the U.S. living with Alzheimer's and 62,000 of them are in Iowa.

Abby Miesner, development manager for the Alzheimer's Association of Iowa, said despite time and money being spent on research, the risk is going up at a younger age and the numbers are discouraging.

"The lifetime risk for Alzheimer's at age 45 is one in five for women, and one in 10 for men," Miesner pointed out.

Miesner noted the numbers hold true across the board for Blacks and Latinos as well. She adds as doctors have learned signs and symptoms could start to occur at an earlier age, they are paying attention to signs sooner.

Miesner explained occasionally misplacing your keys or forgetting why you went into a room are not always cause for concern but repeatedly forgetting things as part of your everyday life could be.

Meisner added earlier detection gives doctors a chance to intervene sooner in a patient's life.

"As many as 40% of dementia cases may be attributed to modifiable risk factors," Meisner emphasized. "Things like having too high of blood pressure or not enough physical activity, lack of exercise. Things like that, getting good sleep. All of those things are so important."

All can be controlled by developing healthy habits. A 2022 report from the Alzheimer's Association showed 60% of people will put off seeing a doctor if they develop symptoms early on, waiting until the symptoms worsen, or family and friends encourage them to seek treatment.

The Association is holding educational events statewide all month.


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