Dad’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s stayed
hidden from everyone until I took over the medical administration of my parents
in 2015. Once I found out, there was a deafening silence from most of the
people I know even though virtually all of them would add, “My _____ had
Alzheimer’s…” But there was little help, little beyond people sadly shaking
heads. Or horror stories. Lots of those. Even the ones who knew about the
disease seemed to have received a gag order from some Central Alzheimer’s
Command and did little more than mumble about the experience. Not one to shut
up for any known reason, I started this part of my blog…
This is a question
that plagues me every day; whether I’m visiting Dad to fix his TV, giving up on
an idea I had for him to put together a small bookshelf, or when I see those
idiotic commercials on television that promise to restore his memory – and how
excited he is when he calls me to ask, “Do these really work?”
According to the
article below, “…the fact remains that over the past decade Alzheimer's drugs
have a 100% failure rate.”
Ouch.
“…FDA guidelines
have traditionally called for improvements in both cognition and function [in
Alzheimer’s patients]. Clearer guidance, and a faster path, would keep
companies from fleeing the field in the absence of a victory. But that might
also risk giving patients drugs that don't do all that much.”
In September of
last year, Forbes Magazine reported this: “More than 5 million Americans are
living with Alzheimer’s disease, and the number
is expected to triple in another 35 years. By far the most common brain
disorder, Alzheimer’s has long eluded researchers’ attempts at finding its
cause. Efforts to develop long-term treatment protocols have fared no better.
Most pharma organizations are attacking the disease in either of two ways:
pursuing possible triggers or seeking treatments to help subdue symptoms.”
(Emphasis mine) [http://www.forbes.com/sites/oppenheimerfunds/2016/09/26/battling-brain-disease-the-new-frontier-in-treating-alzheimers-patients/#79d54c40254f]
In 35 years, I’ll
be 95. There is a chance – probably a likelihood – that I will develop
Alzheimer’s. I will be one of 15 million people who will be living (or dying
from) the disease.
Perspective?
15 million people
are living with some form of cancer.
30 million
Americans are living with Type 2 diabetes.
30 million
Americans are living with heart disease.
33 million people
world-wide live with the effects of stroke.
How intent will
drug companies be in finding a cure – especially if there has been virtually
100% failure? The first article has this to say, “…says Paul Aisen, an
Alzheimer's researcher at the University of Southern California who is involved
in studies run by various drug makers. ‘I think this is not a refutation of the
amyloid hypothesis, I think this is a confirmation of the amyloid hypothesis.
In fact I think this is the strongest confirmation to date.’”
Hmmm…interesting.
Hopefully, the Chinese curse will not come into play in subsequent research. (Which
turns out to be neither Chinese, nor a curse… http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/may-you-live-in-interesting-times.html)
The curse: “May you live in interesting
times.”
As I did with breast cancer, I’ll keep you posted.
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