ACOL Contract Bridge Hand. With 20 – 22 points and a balanced hand open the bidding 2NT.
The Longest Day “Bridgeathon” designates the all-day, June 21, summer solstice event developed by the American Contract Bridge League to help fund the work of the Alzheimer’s Association in its support of research and knowledge about this debilitating disease.
Bridge-at-the-Village, an ACBL-sanctioned club, is hosting such a bridge extravaganza on that day in Laurinburg at Scotia Village, from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. The Alzheimer’s Association both supports research by others and commissions its own studies.
An example of the latter is the Alzheimer’s Association U. S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk, a two-year clinical trial to evaluate whether lifestyle interventions that simultaneously target many risk factors protect cognitive function in older adults who are at risk for cognitive decline. Increasing age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. With the aging of the global population – and the slow progress of developing and testing drug treatments – prevention is pivotal in managing the inexorable rise in global cases of Alzheimer’s and other dementias. This is the first such study to be conducted in a large group of Americans across the United States.
Begun in 2018, 2,000 volunteers 60 to 79 years of age were identified through five large healthcare networks across the United States. These enrolled volunteers expect to be followed for two years. Two lifestyle interventions are being compared, which vary in their intensity and structure. Local Alzheimer’s Association offices in participating regions and partnerships with community organizations are assisting with intervention delivery to set the stage for an accessible and sustainable community-based model for prevention.
olunteers are evaluated for changes in cognition every six months using gold-standard cognitive assessment tools. Vascular and metabolic health, physical function, mood and quality of life are also being assessed. The Alzheimer’s Association is providing funding for this effort.
This study is patterned on a 2014, large-scale, two-year study in Finland in healthy older adults at increased risk of cognitive decline and dementia which reported that a two-year combination therapy simultaneously targeting physical exercise, nutritional guidance, cognitive stimulation, and self-monitoring of heart health risk factors had a protective effect on cognitive function.
In speaking of this world-wide effort, a spokesperson for the organization stated, “We must test all options to treat and prevent this horrible disease. We must find the answers for the millions dying with Alzheimer’s and their families, and the tens of millions more who will become affected if we do not act now. The Alzheimer’s Association is extremely proud to launch this clinical trial with our scientific partners.”
To support research like this, bridge players and bridge clubs in this area are invited to plan time on The Longest Day, Friday, June 21, to play bridge in the Morris Morgan Entertainment Center at Scotia Village. If you are working during the day, come play in the evening, as play will continue until 9 p.m. Heavy refreshments will be provided, so players can enjoy them both before and after playing.
Each player will be asked to pay $5, and more if any wish to do so. For information and to schedule playing times, contact Mac Doubles at 910-277-7512.
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