Download - Francis X. Shen, "Law and Dementia"
Law and DementiaDr. Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD:: Petrie-Flom Center, Harvard Law School:: Harvard MGH Center for Law, Brain & Behavior:: MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Law & Neuroscience:: University of Minnesota Law School
Petrie-Flom Sixth Annual Health Law Year in P/Review
Harvard Law SchoolDecember 12, 2017
Photo by Rene Böhmer on Unsplash
Disclosure Information
Petrie-Flom Center Health Law Year in ReviewDecember 12, 2017
Dr. Francis X. Shen, JD, PhD
Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships
I have no financial relationships to disclose.
Disclosure of Off-Label and/or investigative Uses
I will not discuss off label use and/or investigational use in my presentation.
For more:http://clbb.mgh.harvard.edu/elders/
• Bad News & Good News• The Challenge of Market Regulation• The Challenge of Legal Doctrine• The Challenge of Dementia and
Democracy
Law and Dementia:Reviewing 2017 // Previewing 2018
• Bad News & Good News• The Challenge of Market Regulation• The Challenge of Legal Doctrine• The Challenge of Dementia and
Democracy
Law and Dementia:Reviewing 2017 // Previewing 2018
Effective drugs for Alzheimer’s remain elusive.
In the absence of solutions, speculation is rampant.
Solutions? No.
Speculation? Yes.
https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/883034/dementia-symptoms-diet-uk-Alzheimer-s-disease
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/marriage-reduce-dementia-risk-researchers-find/story?id=51440361
Source: http://www.newnownext.com/singing-showtunes-proven-to-help-fight-off-dementia-alzheimers-disease/11/2017/
We are making (slow) progress toward a cure.
Better Research,Better Data
Source: https://sciencebusiness.net/healthy-measures/news/who-launches-global-dementia-observatory
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/health/bill-gates-announcement-alzheimers/index.html
It's one of the holy grails of science: a cure for Alzheimer's. Currently, there is no treatment to stop the disease, let alone slow its progression. And billionaire Bill Gates thinks he will change that. "I believe there is a solution," he told me without hesitation.
http://theddfund.com/
Society is Responding
(across the globe)
https://timesofsandiego.com/tech/2017/12/04/study-millennials-increasingly-looking-loved-ones-dementia/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2017/11/12/memory-cafes-offer-connection-in-dementia/#57e4d63225db
Source: http://www.columbiachronicle.com/metro/article_0a87cb48-d712-11e7-b628-bbaa0561a57f.html
Source: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/health/sd-no-alzheimers-team-20171205-story.html
Source: https://phys.org/news/2017-11-built-robot-people-dementia.html
• Bad News & Good News• The Challenge of Market Regulation• The Challenge of Legal Doctrine• The Challenge of Dementia and
Democracy
Law and Dementia:Reviewing 2017 // Previewing 2018
MarketRegulation
Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/jellyfish-memory-supplement-prevagen-hoax-ftc-says-n704886
• Bad News & Good News• The Challenge of Market Regulation• The Challenge of Legal Doctrine• The Challenge of Dementia and
Democracy
Law and Dementia:Reviewing 2017 // Previewing 2018
In 2017, legal doctrine around issues such as capacity, competency, and undue influence remained unchanged.
On April 26, 2018, we will begin to revisit these doctrines in light of new neuroscientific insights.
• Bad News & Good News• The Challenge of Market Regulation• The Challenge of Legal Doctrine• The Challenge of Dementia and
Democracy
Law and Dementia:Reviewing 2017 // Previewing 2018
AgingJudges
Source: https://www.fjc.gov/history/exhibits/graphs-and-maps/age-and-experience-judges
Source: https://www.fjc.gov/history/exhibits/graphs-and-maps/age-and-experience-judges
AgingPoliticians
https://newstarget.com/2017-05-01-how-long-before-nanci-pelosi-is-officially-diagnosed-with-alzheimers-or-dementia.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/donald-trump-dementia-early-onset-cnn-ana-navarro-commentator-news-phoenix-rally-a7907696.html
Source: https://www.statnews.com/2017/12/07/donald-trump-brain-specialist-disease/
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2017/12/trump_continues_to_be_accused_of_dementia_let_s_administer_the_mini_mental.html
when the stakes are this high, we can’t turn our backs on these kinds of questions.
So what, exactly, is the problem?
The problem is a combination of five factors:
1. Life tenure: Federal judges have life tenure, and politicians have very significant incumbent advantages.
2. Living longer: Judges and politicians (like everyone else) are living longer than ever before.
3. Not retiring: But (unlike most) judges and politicians don’t want to spend retirement sipping mojitos on the beach.
4. Some But Not All Develop Dementia: We know that some subset of these older judges / politicians are experiencing worse than normal cognitive decline, to the point where they are no longer processing information sufficiently well to execute their job functions.
5. Hard to Identify Dementia in Individual Cases: But (unlike many jobs) it’s hard for us to know if any particular judge or politician is experiencing such cognitive decline, and the extent to which that decline is affecting job performance.
Because we don’t typically have access to relevant data on individual judges and politicians, the public and media are left to guess as to whether a particular judge / politician has dementia.
In 2018, we ought to address this issue.
• Bad News & Good News• The Challenge of Market Regulation• The Challenge of Legal Doctrine• The Challenge of Dementia and
Democracy
Law and Dementia:Reviewing 2017 // Previewing 2018
Extra Slides:
https://www.ft.com/content/8d0db012-cda0-11e7-b781-794ce08b24dc
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/689d1aba-dab6-11e7-a039-c64b1c09b482
Source: https://www.sciencealert.com/brain-training-reduces-dementia-risk-by-almost-30-10-year-study-finds-speed-cognitive