Guest MINDSETTER™ Moore: Solving the Alzheimer’s Puzzle

Wednesday, August 09, 2017

Senator Michael O. Moore, Guest MINDSETTER™

Senator Michael Moore

Imagine being unable to recognize your child’s face, or to witness a brother or sister forgetting their sibling’s name. It’s upsetting to think about. Yet with over 5 million Americans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, this is a frightening reality for many. Alzheimer’s permeates nearly every community in our country, forcing millions of families to suffer through the pain of having loved ones gradually forget the people and memories they previously cherished. The burden placed on these families can be overwhelming as they struggle to best take care of their ailing family member while dealing with their own grief and heartache brought on by their loved one’s memory loss.

Despite declining mortality rates for many other diseases, Alzheimer’s continues to be on the rise. It has emerged as the 6th leading cause of death in the United States, with no signs of slowing its upward trajectory. In Massachusetts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict that by 2025, there will be over 150,000 people suffering from Alzheimer’s. That’s more than 427 people in each community in the Bay State.

We are fortunate to live in a state with incredible research facilities and healthcare providers that are working around the clock to combat Alzheimer’s, but there is still more that we can be doing as a Commonwealth to further assist research and to improve the quality of life for those impacted by the disease.

Cognizant of the challenges we face in this ongoing battle, I have filed legislation that would establish the Massachusetts Alzheimer’s Project within the state’s Executive Office of Health and Human Services. Its purpose is to create and integrate a statewide plan to accelerate the development of treatments that could prevent, halt, or reverse Alzheimer’s disease.

This bill would establish an advisory council on Alzheimer’s research and treatment in order to guide the state on matters related to the disease. This council, served by experts in healthcare, would coordinate with the federal government and other states to recommend policies that promote Alzheimer’s care and disease research. Furthermore, this legislation recognizes that certain ethnic and racial populations are at an elevated risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In an effort to decrease health disparities across the Commonwealth, this bill would ensure that a greater focus is placed on these high-risk populations.

Ultimately, this legislative initiative will help our state prepare for the predicted increase in Alzheimer’s diagnoses, as well as educate and raise awareness on the disease. The bill, S.1239, is now before the Joint Committee on Public Health, where I hope it will receive a favorable recommendation. This critical piece of legislation will go a long way to supporting our senior citizens, aging veterans, local families, and the community as a whole.

As our population continues to grow and age, we must be proactive in ensuring we have a coordinated effort to treat and address the impact this disease has on individuals and the families who care for them.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

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MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

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MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

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JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

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YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

Made for iPhone only

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SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android