News from the Alzheimer's Research and Prevention Foundation

2nd Quarter 2020

President's Message New Research on Covid-19 & Your Brain Dear John, As we all know, we are in the midst of a viral pandemic. As a physician, I am urging you to maintain all the safety measures we know about: staying home as much as possible, social distancing, wearing a mask and gloves when you do go out, and hand washing and sanitizing when you return. We already see a spike in illness and death in areas that “open up,” without following these guidelines.

By now we understand the typical symptoms of Covid-19 infection: fever, shortness of breath, cough, and also some new findings such as wide spread bodily inflammation. But what is startling is that emerging research reveals that some patients with Covid-19 also develop neurological ailments such as confusion, seizures, strokes and loss of smell. One such patient is a 58-year-old female airline worker who went to the ER with the usual symptoms. But beyond that, she was disoriented, confused, and unable to remember anything but her name. She received a brain scan, which revealed what her doctors called “A Brain Aflame.” The scans also illumined dead and dying neurons in regions that usually relay signals of alertness and access to memory. So what is the name of this newly discovered dangerous complication of Covid-19? Medical scientists call it acute necrotizing hemorrhagic encephalopathy or ANE. ANE is a rare condition that causes severe brain damage by inflammation-inducing molecules called cytokines; what some doctors call a cytokine storm.

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FOLLOW US Discover all the exciting activities ARPF has in store by visiting us on the web at: alzheimersprevention.org

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Introducing Our Newest Medical and Scientific Advisory Council Member Annie Fenn, MD  Dr. Annie Fenn is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist specialized in menopausal health. After practicing medicine for more than 20 years in Jackson, WY, she realized that helping people change their diet was more effective at improving health than prescriptions. She traded her stethoscope for an apron and went to study culinary arts around the world.

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Special Achievements SAC Member Helen Lavretsky, M.D. Receives Research Awards 

Your ARPF is honored to share that Dr. Helen Lavretsky, professor-in-residence of psychiatry at UCLA and member of our Medical & Scientific Advisory Council (SAC), has received 2020 distinguished research awards from the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the American College of Psychiatrists, and the American Psychiatric Association. This is an outstanding achievement and unprecedented in the field of geriatric psychiatry.

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Donor Spotlight Mitchell Senior High School 

– Mitchell, South Dakota We would like to share our sincere gratitude to the Mitchell High School sophomore English class for their donation to ARPF. Students raised money for non-profit organizations of their choice as part of a class assignment that combined writing and research skills with real world application. After selecting a non-profit organization or charity, each student composed a research paper to persuade classmates to support his or her choice. Students hand wrote letters to local and national businesses asking for donations in our honor.

We all know someone who has been afflicted by Alzheimer’s. Your ARPF is striving to protect families from ever experiencing this grueling ordeal. We sincerely thank the Mitchell High students for their contribution to ARPF. If you are interested in holding a fundraiser to support AD prevention, education, outreach or our research initiatives, please contact [email protected]

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Research Update A New Scientific Paper Published About Kirtan Kriya Meditation and Improved Quality of Life 

We are delighted to report a new article published about the following research: Emotional and Cognitive Improvement with Kirtan Kriya Meditation: A Pilot Study for Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients in a Catalan Community. Paper Authors: Toni Cañete PhD, Gloria Borras MD PhD, Silvia Ramos, Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD Objective: Study the effects of Kirtan Kriya Meditation (KKM), an 8-week yoga program on emotional and cognitive status in participants with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) while undergoing Cognitive Training Program (CTP). Fifteen adults participated in the study. None had previous experience of meditation or yoga. Seven participants practiced KKM for 12 minutes every day, a weekly yoga session, and the standard cognitive training program while 8 participants only followed the CTP.

Results: Mood and cognitive parameters became normal after 8 weeks for the KKM group: decreased tension, hostility, and confusion. Depression and anxiety levels were also reduced. The KKM group improved their psycho-emotional and cognitive health compared to the CTP group. The yoga class elevated the perception of wellbeing.

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Donate Now In Memory/ In Honor Donors January to April, 2020 Thank you for giving ARPF the opportunity to honor your loved ones and your special occasions. Donor list from January to April 2020.

Your ARPF is honored to be a part of Ever Loved’s memorial website. This is a beautiful way to celebrate a loved one’s life in an elegant, community-oriented memorial fund. Ever Loved makes funeral planning and connecting with providers, friends, and family as simple as possible. If you would like to leave a legacy for your loved one through supporting ARPF research and initiatives, please visit our page. We are so thankful to those who wish to include ARPF during such a sensitive time. We will continue to make strides in Alzheimer’s prevention in memory of all those who have been afflicted by dementia. We are forever grateful.

WORKPLACE CAMPAIGNS ARPF is a proud participant in all workplace campaigns; these are only a few of the better known ones: Aetna Foundation American Express Bank of America Citibank Colgate Discover Expedia GE Google Intuit JP Morgan Chase Lab Corp Liberty Mutual Group Macy’s Mayo Clinic Microsoft Morgan Stanley Paypal/Ebay PepsiCo Sherwin Williams Co. Sony Corporation Starbucks State Farm Insurance Subaru The Coca Cola Co VISA Wells Fargo Whole Foods Market Please click here to see if your company participates in workplace donations and is a possible match. ARPF NOW ACCEPTS ALL THE FOLLOWING DONATIONS Securities and Stocks IRA Charitable Rollover Required Minimum Distribution Your vehicle: car, truck, boat, motorcycle Please contact ARPF’s Vice President Randy Brooks at 1-888-908-5766 or [email protected].

LEAVE A LEGACY: Remember Us in Your Will  If you would like to receive information on how you can leave a legacy to support the Alzheimer’s Research and Prevention Foundation’s critical research initiatives, or to support one of our many other programs, please contact ARPF’s Vice President Randy Brooks at 1-888-908-5766 or by email. ARPF LEGACY SOCIETY Gold Level Mrs. Ethel A. Hoff Dr. and Mrs. Dharma Singh Khalsa Ms. Barbara Joan Davis  Silver Level Mr. and Mrs. Claude and Billye Boucaud Mr. Carl G. Crawford Union Congregational Church Bronze Level Mr. and Mrs. Randy Brooks Ms. Mary Gilbert Mr. Edward T. Haats Mrs. Marjorie Olmstead Shaol and Evelyn Pozez Endowment Fund

Officers and Board Members PRESIDENT/MEDICAL DIRECTOR - Dharma Singh Khalsa, M.D. VICE PRESIDENT - Randal Brooks, MA, LPC TREASURER - Bert Beatty, MHA SECRETARY - Kirti K. Khalsa  MEMBERS - Fletcher Wilkins, BS -Edward Gellert, BSM Executive Staff VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION AND OUTREACH - Chris Walling, PsyD, MBA, C-IAYT SENIOR ADVISOR - Simran S. Stuelpnagel NEWSLETTER EDITOR - Chelsea Pyne Follow Us! Discover all the exciting activities the ARPF has in store for you by visiting us on the web at alzheimersprevention.org, following us on Twitter, ‘Liking’ us on Facebook, following us on Instagram. ARPF is a Proud Member of:

Medical and Scientific Advisory Council CHIEF SCIENCE OFFICER George Perry, Ph.D., Professor of Biology & Chemistry, Chief Scientist, Brain Health Consortium University of Texas at San Antonio, TX  ----------------------------------------------------------------- Daniel Amen, M.D., Director of the Amen Clinics, Costa Mesa, CA Ma Gloria Borras-Boneu, M.D., GRD Health Institute - Barcelona, Spain Hiroko Dodge, Ph.D., Kevreson Research Professor of Neurology University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Oregon Health & Science University Nancy Emerson Lombardo, Ph.D., Adjunct Research Assistant Professor of Neurology Boston University, School of Medicine, Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Boston, MA Elissa Epel, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA Annie Fenn, M.D., Women’s health specialist & Founder of Brain Health Kitchen, Jackson Hole, WY Karen E. Innes, MSPH, Ph.D.,Professor of Epidemiology, Western Virginia University School of Public Health, Morgantown, WV Richard S. Isaacson, M.D., Director, Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY Sat Bir S. Khalsa, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital – Boston, MA Tejinder Kaur Khalsa, M.D., M.S., FRCP, Senior Associate Consultant, General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN Miia Kivipelto, M.D., Ph.D., Aging Research Center and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Karolinska Institute - Stockholm, Sweden Karen Koffler, M.D., Medical Director of the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at University of Miami, FL Helen Lavretsky, M.D., M.S., Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UCLA Semel Institute and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital- Los Angeles, CA Lisa Mosconi, Ph.D., Associate Director, Alzheimer’s Prevention Clinic Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY Andrew B. Newberg, M.D., Director, Marcus Institute of Integrative Health –Myrna Brind Center Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA Arti Prasad, M.D., FACP, Chief of Medicine, Hennepin Medical Ctr Professor/Vice Chair of Medicine, University of Minnesota Minneapolis, MN Kateřina Sheardová, M.D., Head of the Memory Center ICRC St. Anne´s University Hospital Brno, Czech Republic Michelle Sierpina, Ph.D., Founding Director, UTMB Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, TX

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