Yesterday, I saw another Parody Project production. I’m not sure it’s new, but it is delightful. (The original song is IMO deplorable, but this may redeem it.) Also, Trinette was by (and returns greetings). I had a whole bunch of stuff- trash, recyclables, and charity – which I needed help getting it out. After seeing Virgil, despite coming home exhausted, I had a burst of energy over the week. That helped me with the decision to start making it every other week to see him.
This site was down yesterday evening, but should be up today . (And I don’t want to hear a single word about a PhD candidate using a double negative. There’s more to brains than formal grammar.)
When I saw this article (and particularly when I learned something else I’ll get to after the article). I figured I had to go right to the top – Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Athena is likely so intellectual because she wasn’t born as we understand it – she emerged fully formed and an adult from Zeus’s head (I assume without the helmet, although the size of the helmet does suggest a large brain.)
At a time when we are aware that Alzheimer’s disease exists, and that there is no cure, many of us are terrified of it – of having it ourselves, and of it happening to someone near and dear. I know my mother was terrified of it. (She was spared it – she was still expertly solving crossword puzzles until her final coma, caused by pneumonia, at age 93.) So I can’t imagine anyone willing to miss out on any opportunity to avoid it, or to slow its progress.
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New studies suggest millions with mild cognitive impairment go undiagnosed, often until it’s too late
Mild cognitive impairment – an early stage of dementia – is widely underdiagnosed in people 65 and older. That is the key takeaway of two recent studies from our team.
In the first study, we used Medicare data for about 40 million beneficiaries age 65 and older from 2015 to 2019 to estimate the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment in that population and to identify what proportion of them had actually been diagnosed.
Our finding was sobering: A mere 8% of the number of cases with mild cognitive impairment that we expected based on a statistical model had actually been diagnosed. Scaled up to the general population 65 and older, this means that approximately 7.4 million cases across the country remain undiagnosed.
Mild cognitive impairment is an early symptom of Alzheimer’s disease in about half of cases and progresses to dementia at a rate of 10% to 15% per year. It includes symptoms such as losing the ability to remember recent events and appointments, make sound decisions and master complex tasks. Failure to detect it might deprive patients of an opportunity to get treated and to slow down disease progression.
In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration approved the drug lecanemab as the first disease-modifying treatmentfor Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of mild cognitive impairment. In contrast to previous drugs, which can temporarily improve symptoms of the disease, such as memory loss and agitation, this new treatment addresses the underlying cause of the disease.
An earlier diagnosis leads to early treatment and better outcomes.
What still isn’t known
Many factors contribute to the lack of timely detection. But researchers don’t have a good understanding of the relative importance of those individual factors or how to reduce the high rate of underdiagnosis.
While distinct, symptoms are subtle and their slow progression means that they can be overlooked or misinterpreted as normal aging. A neurologist in China told our research team that diagnosis rates spike in China after the New Year’s holiday, when children who haven’t seen their parents for a year notice changes that are harder to pick up when interacting with someone daily.
Doctors also commonly discount memory concerns as normal aging and doubt that much can be done about it. While cognitive tests to distinguish mild cognitive impairment from pathologic decline do exist, they take about 15 minutes, which can be hard to come by during the limited time of a doctor’s visit and may require a follow-up appointment.
What’s next
People, particularly those in their 60s and beyond, as well as their families and friends need to be vigilant about cognitive decline, bring it up during doctor’s appointments and insist on a formal assessment.
Just as physicians ask patients about unexplained weight loss and take those concerns seriously, we believe questions that explore a patient’s cognitive state need to become the norm.
The Research Brief is a short take on interesting academic work.
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Pat B, (who is celebrating her fiftieth wedding anniversary today) has graciously given me permission to share that this coming Friday she has an appointment with her Doctor to discuss her memory loss. While no one can prove it, I would not be surprised to learn this was inspired by Athena. I can’t imagine anything wiser than getting checked out for any possible signs of dementia, knowing that waiting will not make it any better but it could make it worse. Thank you, Athena, and may you inspire all of us who are 65 or older to be wise also.
Yesterday, I got a new email from the Theater of War and immediately thought of SpyCat, because they will be doing two readings of “An Enemy of the People” live in Ohio in April, in Mount Vernon and Gambier on the 6th and 7th respectively (and of course also on Zoom.) These productions are not just theater – there’s no stage, no sets, no costumes or makeup, just readings, and voice acting. And the whole play is never presented – selections are read pertinent to the public health topic addressed. And after the reading, audience members react, both on site and now, since the pandemic, through Zoom, and share through their experience what has touched them and what applies to today. Their website is theaterofwar.com, and it’s headed up with a four minute video describing what they do and why, with three examples (obviously very short.) But there’s also a lot of information there with more detail. “An Enemy of the People,” written in 1882, could almost be the story of CoViD and Dr. Fauci.
Robert Reich makes the case for what he calls “Nauseous Optimism,” by which he means being optimistic even when one’s stomach is churning. but he explains it better than I can.
One of the Mar-a-Lago documents case who has been known as “Employee Number 5” is speaking out on the case and his part in it. I think he’s hoping it will make a bigger difference than I think it will – but any difference in the right direction is a good thing.
I learned that another state – Illinois – is now onn the bandwagon of keeping Trump off the ballot. Good luck to all of us.
Heather Cox Richardson is reminded in our time of the times of the “Know Nothing” Party in the 1850s. And with good reason. The actual party name was “the Native American Party,” and later just “the American Party.” Just as misidentified as today’s “Patriots.”
(I have multiple sources for all of this – Wikipedia is the main one but Performance Today deserves mention.) Today being the second day of Women’s History month, and on the heels of Black History month, it seems to me a good day to bring up Florence Beatrice Price, an American woman of color who was a composer in the 20th Century. She was told many times she was “not a good fit” by publishers – but the Chicago Symphony played her works and they were met with appreciation. Wanamaker’s there (the first retail department store in the U.S.) would hold annual composition contests for local composers, and she was a consistent winner, in one year winning first, second, and third place. But all her manuscripts were kept in the home she used as a summer residence, and when she died, it was abandoned. It was not until 2009 that someone interested in purchasing the home discovered them, and fortunately, was musical enough to know what they had. The works included four symphonies, two violin concertos, a piano concerto, other orchestral works, songs, choral works, chamber music, arangements of spirituals, and probably more piano solos than anything else. According to Performance Today, she is not the most performed female composer in America. And that happened in the 15 years between 2009 and now. I am so glad that I have lived to hear at least some of it. I am listening to one on the radio as I type – her Symphony #3. And it is beautiful.
Yesterday I got a bunch of stuff done – mostly on the computer rather than with physical objects, but it still tired me. I guess whie I was busy, the Appeals Court looked at TFG’s “immunity” claim and apparantly those looks were all askance.
The Theater of War has a new project called “An Enemy of the People,” using the play by Ibsen. “The play tells the story of a doctor who discovers the water supply in his small, rural town has been poisoned by a tannery. Despite his efforts to convey the truth to the public, the doctor fails to save his community from environmental disaster and is ultimately scapegoated for his whistleblowing.” Ibsen didn’t pussyfoot around the truth, as long ago as 1882. This sounds a lot like how Fauci was treated – and in fact Dr. Fauci will be one of the actors (the actors will change from one event to another so if you want to hear what he has to say you will need to checking cast lists.) The first two events are 2/22 and 2/24, and Fauci is scheduled in the 2/24 event but not the 2/22 event. This is the link for 2/24 (it looks like you might be able to scroll from it.)
Here’s my response to the “poop Nazi” telling everyone to get over stuff – stuff like their kids being shot in school:
Yesterday, Mary Trump (Mary L. Trump, to distinguish her from her grandmother) wrote about the Supreme Court, in an essay on Substack she calls “The Lowest Court, Part 2.” She remarks, not just on the ethics issues, but on the contempt shown by the court for the people, which really is reminiscent of France before the Revolution. If you were to tell me that Alito, or Kavanaugh, or even Roberts had said “Let them eat cake,” I’d probably believe it. If you want to look deeper, here’s the link – just remember to look for the “continue reading” and click it.
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HuffPost – Biden Administration Reveals First 10 Drugs For Medicare Price Negotiation
Quote – All told, the 10 drugs on the list accounted for $50.5 billion in total spending in Medicare’s outpatient prescription drug program for the period between June 1, 2022, and May 31, 2023, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. That’s about one-fifth of what the program, known as Part D, spent on all prescription drugs during that period. The announcement represents the first step in a process set to unfold over the coming year, with the government collecting data and public input, and then exchanging price offers with manufacturers over how much Medicare will pay for the named drugs. Click through for details. Not surprisingly, the article bears the subtitle “It’s the first step in a process that will mean lower prices in 2026 ― unless the drug industry and its allies find a way to block it.”
The Daiy Beast – How One Citizen Fought Back Against a Cop’s Road Rage
Quote – While driving home in his Ford Mustang, [New Mexico motorist Mario Rosales] legally passed a pickup truck, and the other driver started tailgating him. Road rage can be deadly, so Rosales grew concerned. No matter which way he went, the truck stayed in his rearview mirror. Rosales eventually reached his home in Roswell, New Mexico, hoping the truck would keep going. Instead, the vehicle blocked Rosales in his driveway, and the stranger behind the wheel started yelling and cursing at him. At this point Rosales was not just concerned. He was scared for himself and his family members in the house. Click through for the story, which has a happy ending – this time – finally. Too many do not.
Yesterday, I learned that over the weekend, the chyron atop a news outlet’s building in Surgut, a Russian city far from Moscow, read (in Russian) “Putin is huylo and a thief.” “Huylo” is NSFW and one translator says, “Think of the worst, most obscene possible expression for a very bad person—and that’s the word you need.” Over recent years Russia has put a lot of money and effort into training hackers. I’m sure Putin never expected his face to be eaten. Also, just so y’all know, I am not going to try to keep up with the Trump** trials here. If there is an earth-shaking annoucement midday I may address it in a comment. But the first video in the cideo thread will always be from a legal expert, which means it likely will be about Trump**. Depending on what’s happening, it may not be the only one.
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Crooks & Liars – Fight Breaks Out Among Russian Forces That Leaves 20 Dead, 40 Injured
Quote – Around 8:00 p.m. [on Saturday, August 12], in the Central Park area of the village [of Mykhailivka], a verbal altercation took place between Kadyrivians and Dagestanis from another division of the Russian Armed Forces. During the quarrel, one of the occupants opened fire in the air from a small automatic weapon. In the course of the fight, one of the occupiers was inflicted with numerous stab wounds, incompatible with life. This led to an open confrontation between units using underbarrel grenade launchers GP-25 “Koster”, hand grenades and small automatic weapons. Click through for story. “Friendly fire.” I often go to the original when a story is from a single source, but I thought I would take their word for this information from the Ukrainian government site. I trust Ukraine … but it’s also under attack – and as my intro noted, Russia has hackers.
The 19th – After hottest summer on record, heat-related illnesses are now being tracked nationwide
Quote – “Each year heat kills more people than any other type of extreme weather event, and the heat is getting worse,” said John Balbus, acting director of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Climate Change and Health Equity. Balbus’ department, in partnership with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, is responsible for developing and maintaining the dashboard. Balbus told The 19th that the dashboard has been in development for about a year and was initially inspired by a similar dashboard that tracks opioid overdoses. Click through for details. I’m glad someone is taking climate change seriously. It’s sad that this is necessary – but it is. The highest temperature at which a human can survive is probably lower than you think it is.
