“Although there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease yet, a new drug that could come in pill form is giving hope to millions of dementia patients around the world. Researchers say the potential Alzheimer’s drug prevents the disease in mice, rats, and monkeys during lab experiments.
The results are so “promising,” researchers expect clinical trials to begin in the next few months. Such a drug may also ward off the cognitive breakdown in genetically prone people who don’t have the condition yet. Study authors say vulnerable individuals would be able to get the medication after a simple blood test.
Targeting plaque buildups in the brain
A team from the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Massachusetts General Hospital say the treatment belongs to a family of drugs called GSMs (gamma-secretase modulators). It works by destroying rogue proteins, beta-amyloid (Aβ), that form sticky clumps in the brain and destroy neurons.” FB
Comment: Keep your fingers crossed. Maybe this time … pl
If this works, it will have far reaching effects on everything. As our population ages, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias will dominate our healthcare and elder care. I doubt our economy and society can cope with the coming changes. This “miracle pill” could change all that.
The Great Courses program offers a series called “The Aging Brain” which provides good basics about the physiology and state of current research. Sadly there is no one thing called “dementia” so even if ALZ is “cured” (unlikely since most attempted “sticky plaque” interventions have failed so far), there are plenty of other ways to “start losing it” regardless. Not even clear if “sticky plaques” are a precursor or a sequelae when later diagnosed with ALZ..
I personally can no longer multi-task, have occasional long lags between thought and recall. At least I remember I can no longer remember so I remember at least to leave notes to myself. The upside, it I am no longer distracted and feel much more immediately focused with the task at hand. Long-term memory remains keen, day to day imprinting no so much. When does short-term imprinting become long-term memory? Or will there now be years or decades that just simply get fuzzy in recall, while those events before age 50 are cemented in there?
There are unfortunately plenty of other conditions that have the potential to do us in as well – Parkinson’s dementia operates in an entirely different part of the brain and has nothing to do with “sticky plaques”, while sluggish pre-frontal cortex inefficiencies are hard to escape by anyone due to the sheer passage of time spent on this planet. Pushing 80 myself.
The costs both financial and emotional of any form or dementia are cruel. I join you in wishing for a magic wand to eliminate any form of cognitive decline. Meanwhile, education and understanding of brain function, as best we understand it today, remain our best practical defense.
Yes, this would be beyond wonderful. My stepdad got Alzheimer’s at 55 at the height of his career. Had it for 17 years. We treat dogs more humanely. His ending was a torture bath.
A lot of promising approaches have failed in this field of research. Of course, it only takes solving it one time. Let us hope.
With nothing but disconcerting news lately, hope springs up. Great news.
I certainly hope this pans out. I just went to the linked article and it only talks about Alzheimer’s, not the other dementias. It is too bad this drug won’t work on them too.
I hope they send some to the White House A.S.A.P. He had a meeting with the house members yesterday and at the end of it he appeared ready to take questions! “I’d be happy to take questions if that’s what I’m supposed to do, Nance,” Biden told the speaker. “Whatever you want me to do.”
The feed ended seconds later, after a brief pause from the president.
I saw this today and thought I would send it along for those who may be interested:
https://www.statnews.com/2021/03/13/eli-lilly-releases-detailed-results-on-alzheimers-drug-as-data-divide-researchers/