ABOUT THE PROJECT GRANTEE AWARDS TOOLKIT OUTREACH NEWSLETTER PUBLICITY & PROMOTION LOGOS OUTREACH TOOLS FAQ

Publicity & Promotion: Photography   KEY IMAGE Credit: TPT/ Twin Cities Public Television The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's, a 90-minute documentary that premieres in Winter 2004 on PBS, will be a dramatic, compassionate and all-encompassing look at Alzheimer's ­ weaving together the history and biology of the disease, the intense real-world experiences of Alzheimer's patients and caregivers, and the race to find a cure.   DAVID HYDE PIERCE Photo credit: Greg Gorman The documentary is followed by a 30-minute program hosted by award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce (Niles on Frasier), who witnessed the devastating progression of Alzheimer's disease on both his grandfather and his father.   AUTHOR, DAVID SHENK Photo credit: Jon Shenk The PBS documentary The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's is based on author David Shenk's extraordinary best-selling book on Alzheimer's, The Forgetting -- Alzheimer's: Portrait of an Epidemic.     GLADYS FUGET & GRANDSON Photo Credit: TPT/Twin Cities Public Television Gladys Fuget, here with her grandson Chris, is approaching the middle stages of Alzheimer's and the changes in her personality are starting to take a toll on her family. Gladys will often argue and yell at Chris for reasons he doesn't understand and she will not remember. Her husband Harry is left to explain her behavior to his grandson. "My big concern is that he can't understand why his grandmother will love him one minute and then fuss in another," says Harry. "How do I convince him that his grandmother still loves him...and that it's not really her fault that she is that way?  I have to remember, it's not her, it's the disease." A FAMILY RAVAGED BY ALZHEIMER'S Photo credit: TPT/Twin Cities Public Television Growing up, none of the ten Noonan siblings realized that their lives were going to be dominated by Alzheimer's disease. Beginning with the diagnosis of their mother Julia at age 39, the disease claimed its second victim with sister Maureen (middle row, far left), who died only 5 years after her diagnosis at the age of 58. Now, the remaining family members collectively cope with the illness of sister Fran (middle row, far right), who is in the advanced stages of the disease, and the recent diagnosis of brother Butch (top row, far right), who found out just weeks before his 51st birthday that he also has the disease. A gene mutation that can be inherited, which causes a rare form of early Alzheimer's, means that each of the ten children have a 50/50 chance of developing the disease.   MAUREEN & ISABELLE MCKENNA Photo credit: TPT/ Twin Cities Public Television Isabel McKenna, pictured here with her daughter Maureen, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 13 years ago. With each passing year her family loses more and more of the woman they love and soon they know they may have to face heart-wrenching decisions. "I really think making that decision about whether to treat things or not to treat things has been the most difficult," says Maureen, "because...you know what's right, but... it's your mom." DR. RUDOLPH TANZI Photo credit: TPT/ Twin Cities Public Television The Genetics and Aging Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital is one of the nation's leading centers searching for an answer to the fundamental question ­ how does Alzheimer's get started in the first place? A pioneer in genetics, Dr. Rudolph Tanzi discovered a mutated gene on chromosome number 21, which causes a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's and initiates the relentless destruction of the brain.   DOCTORS AT THE FOREFRONT OF ALZHEIMER'S RESEARCH Photo credit: TPT/ Twin Cities Public Television Dr. Steven Dekosky (left) and Dr. William Klunk (right) at the University of Pittsburgh achieved a major turning point in the fight against Alzheimer's with the development of a new chemical compound that allows researchers to see, for the first time, the destructive effects of Alzheimer's on the living brain. It's most significant value will be assessing the success of new drugs to treat this deadly disease. EXCITING ADVANCES IN THE RACE TO FIND A CURE Photo credit: TPT/ Twin Cities Public Television Being able to see harmful plaque deposits inside the living brain of Alzheimer's patients has eluded the grasp of scientists for over a century. However, a new chemical compound, created by a team at the University of Pittsburgh's Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, is a delicate balance of ingredients that can get inside the brain, bind to the plaque deposits and allow scientists to finally see the invisible enemy. DAVID HYDE PIERCE & THE FUGETS Photo credit: Ann K. Marsden Host David Hyde Pierce with Alzheimer's patient Gladys Fuget and her husband and caregiver Harry, at the taping of Alzheimer's: The Help You Need. Hyde Pierce moderates a panel of experts that put key Alzheimer's issues in context, offer answers to commonly asked questions, and suggest resources for finding help. DAVID HYDE PIERCE, JULIE & BUTCH NOONAN Photo credit: Ann K. Marsden Host David Hyde Pierce on the set of Alzheimer's: The Help You Need with Julie Noonan Lawson and her brother Butch Noonan, who was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's just weeks before his 51st birthday. DAVID HYDE PIERCE Photo credit: Ann K. Marsden The documentary is followed by the 30-minute program Alzheimer's: The Help You Need, hosted by award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce (Dr. Niles Crane on NBC's Frasier) who witnessed the devastating progression of Alzheimer's disease on both his grandfather and his father. Contacts:                 Olivia Dupuis, Kelly & Salerno Communications, 203-863-1006, olivia@kellysalerno.com     These images are to be used solely for promotion of the PBS special The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's.  The specified credit and title line must appear next to the image when published. Please do not alter or crop any images.   Produced by Twin Cities Public Television.  Funded by MetLife Foundation. Additional outreach funding by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.