Thursday, October 25, 2007

Evercare Unveils Details Of Nation's First Alzheimer's Disease Special Needs Plan In Phoenix

I am looking forward to learning more about this program. I will investigate when this program might be coming to South Florida.
Evercare, one of the nation's, and Arizona's, largest health care coordination
programs, today unveiled the details of the first-ever Medicare Advantage
Special Needs Plan designed exclusively for people with Alzheimer's disease and
chronic dementia. Residents of Maricopa County, Ariz. will be the first in the
country to have access to this innovative health plan with tailored benefits and
services, including special prescription drug coverage and the Alzheimer's
Association Safe Return® program. Evercare Care Managers will collaborate with
memory disorder specialists from the prestigious Phoenix-based Banner
Alzheimer's Institute, with the goal of enhancing Evercare's innovative model of
care. <BR><BR>The <I>Evercare® Health Plan for People with Alzheimer's Disease
and Related Dementia</I> provides benefits that go beyond traditional Medicare
coverage
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Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Discovery suggests new ways to treat Alzheimer's cause, not just symptoms

For some time, scientists have blamed Alzheimer's disease on a small molecule called amyloid beta protein (A beta) that leaves large gummy deposits in the brain. Recent studies suggest that these A beta proteins stick together to form floating toxic clumps that kill brain cells. Now, UCLA scientists have identified a tiny loop in A beta as the likely culprit behind the adhesion process.
The UCLA team discovered that gene mutations in A beta increase the loop's flexibility, enabling it to join easily with loops from other A beta proteins and form clumps. The loop also appears in the region of the protein that regulates how — and how much — A beta is made.
Principal investigator David Teplow, professor of neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, is available for interviews.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the findings in its Oct. 10 online early edition. For a PDF of the study, see www.eurekalert.org/pio/tipsheetdoc.php/237/zpq7481.pdf.
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