A young man approached me as I exited the room where my Bible study class had met. He was clasping his hands tightly and had a demeanor of concern. Then he told me about how worried he was about his grandparent who has Alzheimer’s disease. He thought since I had written a book on the subject I could offer him hope. I did my best, but I knew it would fall short of what he needed.
The word hope takes on a new meaning in relationship to Alzheimer’s. At this point we accept that there is no cure for the disease, but there is hope in several categories: early treatment, drug treatments, nutritious diet and exercise, coping skills for the caregiver, and research and public policy developments. The probable longevity of the journey with the disease makes the search for hope even more intense.
The “Help and Hope” category of my web page will pass along works in progress, positive outcomes, and even breakthroughs in the subjects noted above as I discover them.
Promising drug research deserves attention. Of course, every patient is unique and the drugs of choice will be different. As in most complex diseases the drug treatment for most Alzheimer’s patients will most likely be a “cocktail” approach. A qualified physician will both recommend and monitor any drug treatment regimen. This article is a report only, but optimally can provide hope to concerned families.
The Alzheimer’s Association reports that “results from clinical trials of four possible therapies raise hope for an emerging new era in treatment of the disease . . .” This news should be understood in context, however.
1. It takes roughly 12-15 years to develop a new medicine at a cost of as much as $800 million.
2. Approximately 1 medicine in 10,000 is finally approved for patient use.
3. Current testing focuses on not only relieving symptoms (as current drugs do) but changing the course of the underlying disease.
4. The tests focus on decayed lumps of protein called beta amyloid with these hoped for results:
- Inhibit the chemical that creates beta amyloid
- Create antibodies to destroy beta amyloid
- Combine these two operations.
The most encouraging drugs currently discussed in research reports are Alzhemed and Flurizan. If successful these two could be available in 2008 and 2009 respectively. We await results on these and other efforts with cautious hopefulness.*
Meanwhile, physicians will offer patients help with existing drugs when they seem appropriate: Aricept, Cognex, Exelon, Razadyne, and Namenda. These are helpful treatments and are known to bring relief for symptoms of Alzheimer’s for a time.
Scientists see their mission clearly. It is to prevent, destroy, or clean out the beta amyloid plaques causing Alzheimer’s disease. We hope for breakthroughs to lift our loved ones out of the lostness they experience.
*Most of the research information reported here is from the Summer 2007 Newsletter, Mid-South Chapter, Alzheimer’s Association; US News, December,11,2006; and AARP Bulletin, June 2007