PUBLICITY & PROMOTION |
Publicity & Promotion: Press Release
Groundbreaking Evening of Programming
THE FORGETTING: A PORTRAIT OF
ALZHEIMER’S ALZHEIMER’S: THE HELP YOU
NEED (working title) Innovative Web Site Developed In Conjunction with MIT Media Lab Public Television Stations and Leading
Support Organizations Mobilized "She has a lot less words now. You can almost see her brain shut down. People ask me, ‘And so, how is your sister?’ And I think ‘What am I going to tell you?’ She‘s losing her mind." Julie Lawson’s sister Fran Noonan Powers has Alzheimer’s disease. And like tens of millions of Americans who have a loved one with this ruthless illness, Julie is scared, frustrated and searching for answers. Today, approximately five million Americans have this devastating disease. But the baby boomer generation may be a ticking time bomb. With each passing year, as the first boomers approach the age of 65, America moves closer to the brink of an epidemic. While recent advances in medical research show exciting progress, effective therapies to combat the disease are still out of reach. On Wednesday, January 21 at 9:00 p.m. (ET), PBS will present a groundbreaking evening of programming that will bring this looming health crisis to national attention — offering insight, context, help and hope. The evening begins with THE FORGETTING: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s, a 90-minute documentary that explores this frightening disease, the human toll it takes on patients and caregivers, and the latest research in the race to find a cure. Hosted by award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce, ALZHEIMER’S: The Help You Need, a half-hour follow-up special, will bring together a panel of experts to provide authoritative answers to commonly-asked questions and direct viewers to organizations and resources that can offer help and support. Hyde Pierce, who watched both his grandfather and his father suffer with Alzheimer’s, knows first hand the challenges of dealing with the disease and the sense of personal vulnerability. “With each year that passes, my fear grows - my fear that the disease process that destroyed their memories, and ultimately their lives, has begun developing in my own brain. My fear grows not just for myself, but also for my generation - the 14 million baby boomers who will get Alzheimer's disease if we don't find a way to beat this dreadful disease.” THE FORGETTING: A Portrait of Alzheimer’s and its accompanying nationwide outreach campaign mark the first major PBS initiative on Alzheimer’s disease. The landmark program, produced and directed by Elizabeth Arledge, was based on the best-selling book The Forgetting – Alzheimer’s: Portrait of an Epidemic, by David Shenk, who served as a consultant to the documentary and appears in it. MetLife and MetLife Foundation have been longtime supporters of both public broadcasting and Alzheimer's disease research. MetLife Foundation is the exclusive underwriter of the documentary, the national follow-up program and the companion Web site. Major funding for the national outreach campaign is provided by MetLife Foundation, with additional support by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “Alzheimer’s affects everyone. As I speak with audiences around the country I find that there is usually only one degree of separation between every person in the room and an Alzheimer’s patient. This is a disease that simply cannot be ignored,” says Naomi Boak, Executive Producer of THE FORGETTING. “We need to attack this problem on many levels, and this project is designed to do just that through an evening of high-visibility programming, a comprehensive Web site, and scores of public television stations working with national partner organizations to reach out to their communities. With this multi-faceted initiative, generously sponsored by MetLife Foundation, we will provide information, support and, most of all, hope.” Death By A Thousand Subtractions While the McKennas’ story might sound like a rare and awful nightmare, it is unfortunately, all too common. “This is depressingly typical” says Dr. John Growdon, Isabel McKenna’s physician. “It’s almost a stereotype pattern.” Isabel McKenna is one of nearly five million Americans with Alzheimer’s – ten times as many as there were only 15 years ago. The disease, which today is the leading cause of dementia and memory loss in older people, already costs the United States over $100 billion annually. “But,” says David Shenk, “that is going to be dwarfed when the baby boomers start to turn 65.” In examining this looming social and economic crisis, THE FORGETTING focuses in on stories of families whose lives have been steadily ravaged by Alzheimer’s. "Like so many coping with this tragedy, the families who share their stories in THE FORGETTING all have one major motivation in common – they want to let other people facing similar situations know that they are not alone, that there is help, and that they too can find the strength to face a tragedy like Alzheimer’s with dignity and grace,” says award-winning producer and director Elizabeth Arledge. “These families are drawing on reservoirs of strength and compassion to stay focused on seeing the person they love instead of the symptoms of the disease,” says Arledge. Gladys and Harry Fuget have been married for 45 years. At the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Steven DeKosky conducts diagnostic tests that reveal that Gladys’ disease is still moderate and she is not yet seriously impaired. But with each day, she is less able to keep things in her memory, even for short periods of time. “The disease is robbing us of what little time that remains,” says Harry, “and it looks bleak and frightening ahead.” In another case, Reda Scully comes to DeKosky’s clinic for testing to determine if her memory lapses are normal aging or Alzheimer’s. The bad news comes back that she probably has early, mild Alzheimer’s. There is no cure and no way to predict how the disease will progress. She will be monitored and take medications that hopefully will slow the progression. She is thankful she has her son to take care of her. And she may need quite a great deal of care over a long period of time. As the disease spreads, the brain begins to shrink, personality changes and long-term memories eventually disappear. In the late stages speech becomes impossible. Then, finally, the parts of the brain that control basic functions like breathing and swallowing shut down. The time between diagnosis and death can be anywhere from eight to 20 years. But Reda’s son will also suffer the effects of the disease. As THE FORGETTING shows, the caretakers of Alzheimer’s patients are themselves often trapped by loneliness, stress and depression as they struggle to face the challenges of their responsibilities. Those who are related to an Alzheimer’s patient also often wrestle with the fear that they may be genetically predisposed to get the disease themselves. For a small number of the children of Alzheimer’s victims, this fear is a reality. And when this genetically-linked strain of the disease occurs it threatens all the siblings, like the ten children of Julia Noonan. Julie Lawson remembers the onset of her mother Julia’s Alzheimer’s disease. “People were wondering if she was having a nervous breakdown,” Julie recalls. “A doctor finally diagnosed it and we had no comprehension of what Alzheimer’s was, none.” When her mother finally died of pneumonia, Julie felt relieved that their ordeal was over. “I almost felt like we’re done. Okay we’re done. We don’t have to do this again. And then Fran came down with it and that’s when we realized we’re not done. That’s when I realized the magnitude of this disease. This is going to hit us again.” Targeting the "Invisible Enemy" While there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s, researchers at many labs around the country are searching for ways to slow the progression of the disease. Some of the most promising research has been focusing on plaque deposits in the brain that seem to form long before there is any noticeable forgetting. But being able to see these plaques inside living brains has eluded the grasp of scientists for over a century, leaving no way to gauge the impact of potential drug therapies short of waiting to observe the effects on patients’ behavior. This could take years. In what may be a key breakthrough, DeKosky’s team
at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has developed a staining
compound called the Pittsburgh Compound that allows scientists see Alzheimer’s
plaques in living brain tissue without harming the patient. This vital
research tool will enable scientists to monitor the impact of drugs designed
to attack the plaques. Working in collaboration with radiologists at the
Alzheimer’s Disease Research Lab at Massachusetts General Hospital,
the two teams have been able use the Pittsburgh Compound to look deep
inside the living brain tissue of research mice. In an extremely hopeful
moment, THE FORGETTING is with the scientists as they begin
their first human tests in the U.S. – tests that show the Pittsburgh
Compound to be a promising leap forward in Alzheimer’s research.
Scientific progress, however, is unlikely to help Gladys Fuget, whose disease is advancing steadily. But, for the Noonan siblings and their children the research could prove to be the difference between growing old with grace or losing their minds – and eventually their lives – to Alzheimer’s.
The program will be hosted by Emmy Award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce, best-known for his role as Niles Crane in the NBC comedy Frasier. Having experienced the ravages of Alzheimer’s first-hand – through both his grandfather’s and his father’s illnesses – Hyde Pierce has been a tireless advocate in the fight to find a cure. Like millions of others, he saw the exhausting emotional, physical and financial impact Alzheimer’s has on both patients and their families. In this half-hour discussion, Hyde Pierce will speak with leading researchers, social workers, family members from THE FORGETTING, and others. They will discuss such topics as: when to go for testing; how to live with dignity and sanity; how to plan ahead; and where to go for more information and support. National Outreach Campaign A downloadable Viewer’s Guide will provide practical
information and answers to common questions. Innovative Web Site Created by the MIT Media Lab, The Living Center section of the Web site is an online destination that can help relieve the stress of visiting with an Alzheimer’s patient by providing stimulating and engaging activities that Alzheimer’s patients will enjoy. Credits THE FORGETTING: Portrait of Alzheimer’s is produced by Twin Cities Public Television. Executive Producer: Naomi S. Boak; Producer and Director: Elizabeth Arledge; Editor: Doug Quade; Original Music: Mason Daring; Executive in Charge: Gerald Richman.
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Produced by Twin Cities Public Television. Funded by MetLife Foundation. Additional outreach funding by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
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