Match It For Pratchett

Word of the Day: Chicklet

Mr Bobowski has sent us this great chicklet for Match It For Pratchett.

I never knew these things had a proper name other than one-of-little-icons-used-to-mark-an-RSS-feed but now I'm enlightened and the Match It For Pratchett RSS feed now has a chicklet. Thank you Mr Bobowski.

Wear the Lilac - Over $500 Raised So Far

Auronsgirl's fantastic lilac pins have raised over $500 so far. I imagine that this has involved a lot of work creating the pins, especially as its five times her original target.

Well done Auronsgirl.

Remember, Wear the Lilac day is May 25th so if you want one you need to get your order in pronto. On the subject of speed, you have less than 48 hours to order a Match It For Pratchett T-shirt before I take the current design offline.

Brain Size and Alzheimer's

Though the cause of Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains unclear, research has indicated an association between AD and accumulations of amyloid-beta plaque and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. While these abnormal brain changes have been viewed as a defining characteristic of AD, autopsies have shown that plaques and tangles can also be present in the brains of people who did not experience cognitive decline while alive. New research from the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland indicates that brain size may be involved in this discrepancy. The study, which was presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Chicago, found that individuals with a large hippocampus were less likely to have symptoms of AD although plaques and tangles were present in their brains.

From: Study Links Brain Size to Alzheimer's

What Is Alzheimer's Disease?

Over on the Sharp Brains blog they are carrying an essay on Alzheimer's Disease by a US High School student called Kristin H. The essay was a project set by their Psychology teacher Jeffrey Gonce to describe a brain disorder that affects behavior and post it online.

Kristen's essay is one of several quality essays produced by the students and it tackles Alzheimer's. Not only is the essay informative but it also cites the scientific studies from which it draws its data. Its good to see that the next generation of scientists is learning its trade because the fight against Alzheimer's Disease is going to be a long one.

"Without (memory), we are hollow persons, not only empty of a past, but lacking a foundation upon which to build the future" (Altman 27). In a brain affected by Alzheimer's disease, neurons, nerve cells, are unable to work properly (Altman 29-30). Studies have shown that Uch-L1, an enzyme which rids the brain of protein, begins to disappear as the presence of the protein amyloid beta plaque begins to increase in an Alzheimer's brain as opposed to a normal brain. The abundance of the amyloid beta plaque partially disables a neuron's ability to communicate with other neurons (Coghlan).

From Alzheimer's Disease: Treatment Directions via Mindhacks.

Dine with Terry Pratchett

A message from the Alzheimer’s Research Trust:

Calling all fans of Terry Pratchett and Raj Persaud!

On 1st May the Alzheimer’s Research Trust will be hosting an exclusive dinner at a private venue in London. The format of the evening is a dinner hosted by consultant psychiatrist, broadcaster and author of various popular publications on psychiatry, Dr Raj Persaud, with acclaimed author Terry Pratchett OBE as guest of honour. Mr Pratchett and Dr Persaud will spend time with our guests talking about their involvement with the Alzheimer’s Research Trust.

Places are strictly limited and seats will be allocated to the highest bidder with monies raised going to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust to support further research into Alzheimer’s and related forms of dementia.

If you would like to join Alzheimer’s Research Trust for this wonderful and unique evening, please register your pledge with us as soon as possible. You can do so by email to terrypratchettdinner@alzheimers-research.org.uk or by letter to the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, The Stables, Station Road, Great Shelford, Cambridge, CB22 5LR or fax to 01223 843325. We need to hear from you by 3pm on 21st April. Successful bidders will be notified by close of business on 24th April.

Seat allocation will operate on a closed-bid basis. In the event of several bids of equal amount being received, where it is not possible to distinguish which bid was made first, invitees will be chosen by process of random selection.

T-Shirt News

This is the last week that the current Match It For Pratchett t-shirts will be available.

Terry's agent, Colin Smythe requested that anything we do doesn't involve Discworld characters. Though the request wasn't specially directed at the T-shirt I feel uncomfortable about the current design. I plan to replace the design with one that is more abstract and less Discworld specific. In the meantime, I've removed the link from the front page but I've left the Cafepress shop running for the time being. If anyone has been thinking about buying a shirt but hasn't yet, you have until next Monday. So get your wallet out now.

So far, we have sold over 170 T-shirts raising $1,700 for the Alzheimer's Research Trust. This is a fantastic amount, and even better, we qualify for a volume bonus worth an additional $321.41. Meaning that in total over $2000 ( £1000 ) will be going to help fund scientific research into Alzheimer's.

Because of how CafePress operate their returns and refunds policy, I do not have access to the money yet. Once I do, I will update the accounts and send the money directly to the trust.

Hello Again

I'm sorry things have been very quiet around here for the last two or three weeks. A close family member is seriously ill, leaving me with little time for anything except work. Things have now stabilised and I hope to posting regularly once again. Many thanks to Pat and Fran for holding the fort.

An Important Message From Andrew Scheuber At the UK Alzheimer's Research Trust:

For UK residents:

Could you communicate this message via your blog(s)? We’re trying to promote a motion in Parliament. It could be a nice way for UK-based fans to help promote the wider message of dementia research funding without having to part with their cash. Please reword as you see fit…

If you’re a UK citizen, please write a letter to your MP urging him or her to sign EDM no. 1337 http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=35577&SESSION=891

The House of Commons motion is called TERRY PRATCHETT AND ALZHEIMER’S RESEARCH FUNDING and it reads:

That this House applauds Terry Pratchett, who is donating $1 million to the Alzheimer's Research Trust; notes that there are 700,000 people with dementia in the UK, a number forecast to double within a generation; notes that for every person with Alzheimer's, £11 is spent each year on UK research compared with £289 for each cancer patient; supports the work of the UK's leading scientists, who recently met at the Alzheimer's Research Trust's Network Conference in Bristol, in researching better treatments and possible cures for dementia; welcomes the campaign by Terry Pratchett and the Alzheimer's Research Trust to increase funding and promote further research into the diagnosis, treatment and a possible cure for Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia.

Your MP’s address is: The House of Commons, Westminster, London, SW1A 0AA.

If you don’t know who your MP is, go to www.theyworkforyou.com and type in your postcode.

Writing a real letter tends to be most effective, but if you’d prefer to do things electronically go to www.writetothem.com

Use your own words; it doesn’t have to be long. Just a message asking the MP to sign EDM 1337 would suffice. If you want ideas on what else you could write, check out http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/info/statistics/ or see what Terry Pratchett has to say about dementia research funding http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/news/article.php?type=News&id=205

A few days after sending your letter, if you have a spare few minutes, call the Parliamentary switchboard on 020 7219 3000 and ask for your MP’s office. Check that your letter has been received, ask if the MP will sign EDM 1337, and explain why you’re concerned about the underfunding of dementia research. Please be extremely polite to the researcher or secretary; they are overworked, underpaid and dedicated to helping constitutents.

I might email a few other bloggers too, see if it can get dugg highly or something.

Thanks a lot as ever!

Andrew Scheuber

Press and Public Affairs Officer

Alzheimer's Research Trust, the UK's leading research charity for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Registered charity no. 1077089

The Stables, Station Road, Gt Shelford, Cambridge CB22 5LR

Switchboard: 01223 843899 Press office: 01223 843304 Fax: 01223 843325 Mobile: 07748 272171
http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk

PS from Pat: Please spread this message far and wide. It's one more way we can help provide more funding for Alzheimer's research!

Important!

We've received a message from Terry Pratchett's agent Colin Smythe asking that the Discworld badges be removed.

They're lovely badges and they were made for a good cause, but Terry Pratchett has no wish for his Discworld characters to be used for advertising of any kind.

They will be dropped from this website ASAP, of course. The idea of the Match It For Pratchett campaign is to raise money for Alzheimer's research in honour of Terry, not to create problems for him or to use his intellectual property in ways that he doesn't want.

I hope that everyone who has supported this campaign so enthusiastically will show respect and support for Terry Pratchett by cooperating.

Further To The Previous Update:

Andy Scheuber says we have now hit £50,000 since 15 March, which I believe marks two weeks that Match It For Pratchett has been in action. We've still got a ways to go but we're making good progress!