'Not done yet': Well-known broadcaster reveals Alzheimer's diagnosis
A well-known broadcaster has announced she has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
Janice Forsyth, an award-winning BBC Scotland presenter, revealed her diagnosis in a recent statement after first suffering symptoms in 2022.
The arts and culture presenter stated that the news came as a 'huge blow' but also gave her 'some relief' as she had been experiencing deep feelings of anxiety and finding some tasks to be challenging.
Forsyth explained that she had just hoped it was exhaustion from spending many years as a broadcaster but that she now has "a firm diagnosis".
She said: 'Some of you may have noticed that I've been absent from your radios for a while, and I feel it's time now to let everyone know the reason.
'From 2022, I'd been experiencing deep feelings of anxiety and finding some tasks, especially navigation, extremely difficult.
'I'd hoped that I was simply worn out by my many years as a freelance broadcaster and perhaps exhausted following the loss of our dear Mother, Patricia, the previous Christmas, but sadly, I now have a firm diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
'It's been a huge blow, but I'm also feeling some relief that I finally have an explanation for lapses I'd been experiencing, and I'm managing to remain buoyant most of the time.
'As much as I have loved seeking out and sharing the best of music/literature/theatre/cinema with you, I'm happy now to have the time and freedom to enjoy all of these simply for my own pleasure.
'Call it living in the moment, and you won't be far off.'
The 65-year-old stated that she is 'not done yet' as she plans to continue with The Big Light, a podcast production company that she founded five years ago with Fiona White.
She also thanked NHS Scotland for their care and noted that she will be coming off of social media 'for now'.
Janice added: 'On another positive note, I've been able to continue to contribute to The Big Light - the podcast production company I founded five years ago with Fiona White.
'The company is going from strength to strength and we're excited for more to come. I'm not done yet!
'Finding the cause of my trouble took a while, but I at least now know what's been happening and am grateful for lovely friends & family, as well as for fine post-diagnosis care from NHS Scotland.
'Dear Listener - I never took my role lightly and hope I always gave my best, both for your sake and that of my interviewees.
'It's been a blast, and I send a high five to everyone who tuned in on Saturday mornings or on more recent weekday afternoons and heard something interesting.
'For reasons of privacy and mental health, I plan to withdraw from social media for now, and I wish you all well.'
Forsyth has worked for the BBC for more than three decades mostly at BBC Radio Scotland and some TV as well as BBC Radio Five, BBC Radio Four, and BBC Radio Three.
Between 2013 and early 2024 she presented programmes including the Culture Studio which then became the Janice Forsyth Show and the Afternoon Show.
Louise Thornton, head of commissioning at BBC Scotland, said: "Janice has been a hugely popular personality on our airwaves for many years.
"The many production teams she has collaborated with have appreciated her outstanding skill as a presenter on radio and television.
"Her warmth, relaxed interviewing style, and peerless knowledge of arts, music, and culture in Scotland and beyond, have made her a firm favourite with audiences over the decades.
"Everyone at BBC Scotland wishes Janice all the very best and we'll be pleased to continue to explore suitable opportunities where we can work together."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
FDA clears first blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease
The test is for those aged 55 and older who are already exhibiting signs and symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
San Francisco Chronicle
9 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
New Alzheimer's blood tests make diagnosis easier — but they're not right for everyone
The number of Americans with Alzheimer's disease, the most common cause of dementia in the U.S., is projected to rise significantly in the coming decades. The devastating disease has no cure, but the past several years have brought promising developments in new drug therapies and blood tests that help doctors treat and diagnose the disease. Here's what to know about the blood tests that diagnose Alzheimer's, one of which got full FDA approval in May. How they work Several commercially available blood tests have become available the past few years, most recently from biotech company Fujirebio Diagnostics, which got full approval from the FDA last month. Each test measures slightly different things, but overall they look for abnormal levels of certain proteins — amyloid and tau — in the blood. The accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain, often called plaques, are hallmark signs of Alzheimer's. If someone has tau plaques in the brain, for instance, some of that will leak out of the brain into the blood, resulting in a blood test result showing higher than normal levels of tau. In patients with symptoms of cognitive impairment, the tests predict an Alzheimer's diagnosis with about 90% accuracy. Why they're important The blood tests are a notable development because they are less expensive and less invasive than other types of testing that doctors have long used to diagnose patients with Alzheimer's. One is a PET scan, which involves injecting a patient with a radioactive tracer that binds to amyloid or tau in the brain so the presence of the proteins can be seen in a scan. It can cost several thousand dollars, compared to several hundred dollars for a blood test. The other is a spinal tap, which is painful or uncomfortable for many people. This method measures different forms of amyloid and tau in the spinal fluid. 'Up until these blood tests came out, a physician was stuck doing a PET scan or spinal tap, so not great options,' said Dr. Frank Longo, a professor of neurology at Stanford Medicine. 'The big breakthrough is finding something to measure in the blood that's about 90% accurate of what's going on in the brain, about as accurate as spinal fluid or a PET scan.' Doctors use the blood test as part of a broader medical evaluation that also includes a patient history, neurological exam and other testing. The blood test can help rule out Alzheimer's as the cause of a patient's cognitive impairment and potentially avoid unnecessary further testing. If someone's blood test comes back normal, for example, they may not have to undergo the PET scan or spinal tap, and their doctor can look into other potential causes of the cognitive impairment. 'That's the biggest practical thing it's doing now,' Longo said. It's important to distinguish Alzheimer's from other types of dementia because there are Alzheimer's treatments that have come out the last few years that help slow the progression of Alzheimer's. But patients must be in relatively early stages of the disease, with mild impairment or mild dementia, to be eligible. Some of the therapies have significant side effects, so patients would not want to start them unless they knew it was Alzheimer's, and not something else, causing the dementia. They're not for everyone The tests are approved only for people who already have symptoms of cognitive impairment and are of a certain age — 55 and over or 60 and over, depending on the test. They are not approved for healthy adults with normal cognition who want to diagnose or rule out Alzheimer's, or who are simply curious if they are at risk for developing Alzheimer's. They must be ordered by a doctor. They're becoming more common, but may not be covered by insurance Some of the blood tests have been available for a year or two, Longo said, but they were under an earlier and more limited type of FDA approval, not the full approval that the agency granted last month to the Fujirebio test. So they are poised to become more common. 'A year ago, most of my colleagues and I were not ordering these,' Longo said. 'I'd say less than 5% or 10% of the time we were ordering these. Now people are starting to order them in symptomatic patients. It's not rare now. They're starting to be recognized more.' Some primary care doctors are starting to order the tests as well, said Dr. Armen Moughamian, medical director of Sutter Health's Ray Dolby Brain Center at CPMC in San Francisco. The center treats patients with memory disorders. 'It's definitely a minority, but I've been seeing it done,' he said. As with many new medical tests, insurers may not cover them yet, but that usually evolves over time. Full FDA approval may help make the case for the tests to be covered, Longo said. 'There is some uncertainty and lack of clarity about whether insurance and Medicare pay,' Moughamian said. 'That creates some hesitancy for providers to order it.' They may one day be used to screen and diagnose healthy people earlier In people with Alzheimer's, amyloid plaques begin to form in the brain as many as 20 years before they show symptoms. Right now, newer therapies for Alzheimer's — like lecanemab and donanemab, which slow the progression of the disease — are approved only for people with symptoms. Those symptoms are mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia, the early stages of symptomatic Alzheimer's. This means people who have not yet developed symptoms, but who have amyloid plaques in the brain, cannot get these treatments. So if a blood test could be used in pre-symptomatic people, it could mean better screening and earlier diagnosis to larger groups of people. 'What we want to push for is earlier diagnosis because new therapies are available when we catch people in earlier stages,' Moughamian said. Moughamian is leading two clinical trials that examine whether drugs that remove amyloid in the brain, donanemab and another drug remternetug, can work in people who have amyloid plaques but have not yet developed symptoms. They are using an Alzheimer's blood test to see whether patients are eligible for the trial.
Chicago Tribune
10 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Jim Taylor: What my wife's experience with Alzheimer's has taught me
After several unexplained memory slips, there came a day when my wife, Geri, didn't recognize her own face in the mirror. That's when we knew it was time for her to get checked out. It was 2012, and Alzheimer's was a feared diagnosis. At the time, billions of dollars of investments into research and development had failed to produce treatments that could prevent, slow or cure the disease. Getting a definitive diagnosis would be extremely difficult, but the alternative was living with years of the landscape for Alzheimer's diagnosis and treatment has taken a great leap forward. It is increasingly possible to manage the disease and live a fulfilling life. We have reached a historic moment with the FDA's approval of the first blood biomarker tests for Alzheimer's. This long-awaited breakthrough means physicians can now detect early signs of Alzheimer's — which accounts for 70% of all cases of dementia — using a simple blood test that can be done during a regular check-up with your PET scans remain important for confirming a diagnosis, they are only available at specialized centers, typically in urban medical centers, and they are expensive. Blood biomarker tests now offer an easy first step in the diagnostic journey. They provide fast answers for people experiencing memory problems and can even spot early signs of cognitive decline years before symptoms appear. Without these tests, most people have a long, challenging path to wife Geri's path to diagnosis was anything but simple. In 2012, a neurologist confirmed she had mild cognitive impairment, a common precursor to Alzheimer's. It was a life-altering event. Over the next few years, we knew we had to dig deeper into the cause of her condition, to uncover any potential medical options. Eventually we found a clinical trial for an experimental Alzheimer's drug, and she received a PET scan to determine whether she qualified for the trial. Her brain scan detected amyloid plaque, the telltale sign of Alzheimer's. The diagnosis was difficult to face, but it meant we didn't have to struggle with uncertainty. We could act.I understand the fear that surrounds an Alzheimer's diagnosis, but catching it early helps. Changes in the brain begin years before memory problems become noticeable. The earlier the diagnosis, the more options people have. Research shows that anti-amyloid therapies are more effective when administered earlier: In one clinical trial, patients with early Alzheimer's showed 35% slowing of cognitive decline, compared with those on the placebo. These treatments can help people maintain their independence longer and make the most of their lucid was fortunate to participate in a clinical trial that significantly slowed her disease progression. The seven-year trial period was a game-changer for us. The regular infusions were a source of hope as we saw her benefit from the medication. This precious time allowed Geri to develop coping strategies to manage her disease. Together, we traveled across the country giving talks about living with Alzheimer's disease, and Geri needed very little assistance. We cherished this time together — years made possible because we sought answers early. Following the FDA's landmark approval of blood biomarker tests, the next step is making these tests widely available. Hospitals and health care systems across the country should ensure primary care physicians are aware of these tests and understand how to use them. Public education campaigns can raise awareness with people who have concerns about cognitive impairment and their detection gives people meaningful choices, and most importantly it gives people time. Time to benefit from lifestyle changes, participate in groundbreaking clinical trials, and access treatments when they can make the greatest difference. Although facing a potential Alzheimer's diagnosis is daunting, waiting only limits a person's options. If you're concerned that you or a loved one might have signs of cognitive impairment, please don't stay in the dark. Blood biomarker tests offer real hope in a new era of Alzheimer's care. The sooner we embrace these advances, the more precious time we can preserve.
