UNDER TIlE WIRE.

Late-breaking facts

TIME ARTICLE FOCUSES ON ALF HAZARDS. "Here comes the latest horror story from the ragged frontier of care for the elderly," began an article in the Aug. 13 issue of Time magazine. It went on to say that the boom in assisted living 'has been accompanied by widespread allegations of substandard care, neglect and even preventable death" and that an upcoming Department of Health and Human Services report wilt show that 32 percent of ALF residents "had been hospitalized in the previous year, a rate higher than for residents of nursing homes." According to Karen Wayne, president of the Assisted Living Federation of America, Time failed to present a balanced picture of assisted living. "This article does some damage," Wayne told CLTG. "It frightens people with a lot of misinformation."

ALZHEIMER's VACCINE TRIAL

Researchers have found that an experimental immunotherapy for Alzheimer's disease appears to be well tolerated in humans. The drug, AN-1792, reportedly targets the beta amyloid plaques that form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Many scientists suspect that these plaques cause cell death and cognitive impairment. The next phase of the vaccine study is scheduled to begin this month at the South Florida-based Baumel-Eisner Neuromedicat Institute. Researchers will measure the effect of AN-1792 on plaque formation in the brains of 375 patients over two years.