Saturday, August 09, 2008

TauRx Therapeutics-- New treatment halts progress of Alzheimer's disease

The results of the Phase 2 study of TauRx's new treatment strongly suggest that it is possible to halt progression in mild and moderate Alzheimer's. TauRx is continuing to refine its treatment and hopes that restoration may be possible at least at the earlier stages with improved versions of its drug. Tangles are already destroying nerve cells in parts of the brain critical for memory in people in their fifties and upwards. The ultimate goal is to develop a product that is convenient for patients that could be widely used at the very earliest stages of the disease, long before patients experience the first symptoms of Alzheimer's.
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Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Assisted living costs for Alzheimer's patient is tax deductible

clipped from www.usatoday.com
Q: My mother just went into an assisted living facility due to Alzheimer's. It costs over $4500 per month. Are any portion of these expenses tax deductible?
Answer from AICPA member Kenneth J. Strauss: Sorry about your mother but the good news is that the entire $4,500 is fully tax deductible as a medical expense.

The rules can get pretty complicated but it is clear that Alzheimer's disease is a severe cognitive impairment which is the threshold for determining if the taxpayer is entitled to a full medical deduction.

Like all medical deductions the total amount of medical deductions is an itemized deduction. The medical expenses in excess of 7.5% of her adjusted gross income are deductible.

Depending on how high her income is will determine the full tax benefit. This might be a year to take some extra money from her retirement account. If your mother does not have the resources and you or another family member is paying then you should see if your mom can qualify as a dependent.

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Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Alzheimer's Reading Room: Memory And Thinking Problems Decline Among Older Americans

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A new US study suggests that brain health is improving among older Americans as demonstrated by a decline in thinking and memory problems in this group. The
researchers said improved cardiovascular care, better education, and being financially better off could be the main reasons.

The researchers found that:
  • About 40 per cent of the decrease in cognitive impairment over the decade ending in 2002 was likely due to increases in education and personal wealth.
    They found this by comparing two groups of seniors, one at the start of the decade and one at the end.

  • School attendance requirements, graduation rates in high school, enrollment rates in college or technical school, all went up in the period when the
    adults in the study were children and young adults.

  • 72 per cent of people aged over 65 living in 2003 had a high school diploma compared with 53 per cent in 1990.

  • The proportion of college-educated elderly also went up during that time, from 11 to 17 per cent.
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