The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Alzheimers" ...
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A rampant prescription, a hidden peril
The series investigated nursing homes’ use of antipsychotic medications on the elderly, a practice the US Food and Drug and Administration has long warned against because of potentially fatal side effects in people with dementia. The Boston Globe analyzed data from 15,600 nursing homes nationwide and found that about 185,000 residents received antipsychotics in 2010 alone, despite not having a medical condition that warranted such use. The series also revealed that Massachusetts nursing homes commonly use antipsychotics to control agitation and combative behavior in elderly residents who should not be receiving the powerful sedatives, yet state regulators seldom use their authority to reprimand or penalize facilities for this practice.
Tags: Antipsychotics; FDA; nursing homes; Alzheimer's disease
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De Kooning's Hidden Legacy
Willem de Kooning was an artist who succumbed to Alzheimer's Disease in the late 1980s. Yet, he continued to paint until 1990, and his daughter and only child Lisa de Kooning and John Eastman, his longtime lawyer's son, were appointed conservators of de Kooning's works and estate. They faced a challenge in trying to get fans to accept his later paintings not as the work of a man afflicted with Alzheimer's, but as worthy additions to his large catalog. Eastman and de Kooning liquidated Willem de Kooning's art holdings and attempted to create a market for his work, with the paintings "being placed in prestigious public and private collections."
Tags: Art; Alzheimer's Disease; Willem de Kooning; paintings
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Disappearing Homes
"The topic of this three part series is housing fraud. Our seven month investigation of a local real estate company focuses on transactions involving sellers who claimed they never sold their property." The investigation showed the use of Alzheimer's patients, a dead woman and forged documents in the process of completing a sale.
Tags: house fraud; forgery; Alzheimer; real estate
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"Memories, Dreams & Reflections: Living with Alzheimer's disease"
Extensive coverage of Alzheimer's disease. Includes 14 stories of different lengths, about the disease and its symptoms and treatments; patient care; care for caregivers, and much more. Three stories tell personal experiences. Includes tips for spotting symptoms and story on the costs -- monetary and otherwise -- of Alzheimer's.
Tags: Alzheimer's; Alzheimers; brain; caregiver; nursing home; neurons; degeneration; patient
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Nursing Home Crisis
An eight-month investigation by WUFT-TV into the Florida nursing home system depicts the failure of social workers, officials and legislators to provide reliable help to patients. The report reveals that at the Oaks Residential and Rehabilitation Center "people were screaming for help and nobody would help them." The story sheds light on the death of a patient who spent a few months at the home, and ended up with "multiple infections and ulcerations," listed in the autopsy records as the cause of death.
Tags: TAPE; TRANSCRIPT; neglect; abuse; elderly; aging; dementia; Alzheimers; lawsuits
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Who owns my disease
Mother Jones reports on an unprecedented effort of a family to deal with their children's congenital defect by patenting the gene for the disease. "The Terrys have gained something no other family or patient group now has: a way to make sure that the genetics revolution benefits those with the most at stake," the magazine reveals. The story examines a recent pattern of genetic patents impeding new science developments, and looks at the efforts of various nonprofit groups to run their own scientific programs, funding researchers directly.
Tags: Human Genome Project; genetics; cancer; Canavan disease; Human Genome Sciences; PXE International; Alzheimer; U.S. Patent and Trademark Office; Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
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An End to Alzheimer's?
"Researchers have found a new molecule they believe is the key culprit in the development of Alzheimer's disease." Technology Review investigates drug companies efforts to block gamma-or-beta secretase, therefore preventing the plaques that build up between the nerve cells causing Alzheimer's disease. The article details the molecules involved in Alzheimer's and the new strategy experts believe may lead to a cure.
Tags: medicine; alzheimer's disease; U.S. Food and Drug Administration; DNA; treatment; molecules; drugs
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Gene Blues
Washington Monthly examines whether the Patent Office is "prepared to deal with the genomic revolution." The report looks at the administrative procedure by which the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) examines the overwhelming flow of applications for patents on genes. The story describes how "examiners initially reject most submissions but subsequently accept about half after the applicant makes suggested revisions." It also reveals that from all the 30,000 humane genes in the genome, "about 1,000 have already been claimed, and an estimated 10,000-20,000 applications are pending..." The author draws the conclusion that PTO - although tightening its rules in a way - "has not yet tackled the ... issue of how companies use patents," thus potentially allowing corporate interests to harm public interest in the future.
Tags: law; pharmaceuticals; health care; Celera; Alzheimer's disease; diagnostic tests; research; government funding
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Home away from home?
Texas' largest nursing home operator, Texas Health Enterprises, says it provides a "better place to live" for the elderly. Texas Monthly examines reports from state investigators that tell a much different story.
Tags: Alzheimer's Disease Abuse Department of Human Services
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Who speaks for the patients?
When two professors from the Medical College of Georgia were indicted for stealing $11 million in research dollars from the college, officials stated that money, not research misconduct or patient care, was the issue at hand. But an investigation uncovered widespread research misconduct and inappropriate treatment of patients with schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease who had come to the doctors hoping that an experimental drug might help them.
Tags: None