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engthy waiting lists for rooms for Alzheimer’s patients are forcing caregivers to put their loved ones in less specialized facilities — which often levy additional fees for every extra service required to keep those vulnerable residents safe. Does the patient need a daily prompt to take her medication? Tack $25 on to the monthly bill. Does he need to be reminded to go to lunch and dinner? That’ll be another $75 a month. Checking blood sugar might cost $55 a month. Double that if the staff is also in charge of injecting insulin. Showering. Dosing out medication. Clipping toenails. It all carries a fee. (Thielking, 7/27)

Two studies released at an international Alzheimer's meeting Tuesday suggest doctors may eventually be able to screen people for this form of dementia by testing the ability to identify familiar odors, like smoke, coffee and raspberry. In both studies, people who were in their 60s and older took a standard odor detection test. And in both cases, those who did poorly on the test were more likely to already have — or go on to develop — problems with memory and thinking. (Hamilton, 7/26)

We tend to think about Alzheimer’s disease as affecting our brains. But as we try to arm ourselves against it, maybe we should be worrying about our bowels as well. According to a recent study done at the University of Chicago Medical Center, mice who underwent a long course of antibiotics had more diversity in the community of bacteria living in their guts than did mice who did not. They also showed significantly fewer "amyloid plaques” — a key element of Alzheimer's — in their brains. (Betuel, 7/26)