Quote:
Originally Posted by Villages PL
What if bigger and better studies are done and the result is that they can use the smell test to diagnose Alzheimer's disease decades in advance. Then what? Would that mean the person is doomed to get Alzheimer's no matter what lifestyle that person chooses?
I'm not asking for myself; thankfully, I have a very good sense of smell.
I'm just wondering what others would say as far as options for such a person. Do you think that person should just give up and accept their fate? Or should they try hard to prove the diagnosis to be wrong?
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We encountered that exact problem several years ago. There was evidence that someone with Alzeimers would show a reaction to a weak eye drop that shouldn't cause a reaction at all. If we used this test, was it specific enough that it accurately predicted the disease? And, since there is no cure, what do we tell the patient, if anything? The discussion was intense. There were strong feelings that we had to tell them so that they could perhaps plan for the future, make lifestyle changes, even make career changes. There was concern that some would take the info and sink into depression, leaving family in the lurch. We called in bioethicists and others to try to formulate some plan. It turned out the test was not specific enough to make any judgement from the results in a normal person, so it was not adopted as a screening test. So we never got to a final decision, but the debate was interesting.
Personally, I would want to know so I could make some plans before I was incapacitated. Things I wanted to do or see, or say. I had a dear patient whose husband developed the disease. They had a wonderful marriage, but as he got worse, he started to say awful, mean things to her, even accusing her of stealing from him. Sometimes she would come to the office and just talk and cry until she felt better. Fortunately, we had a multi-disciplinary group that she also could visit for support. From this, I would want to talk to people important to me to let them know how much I cared for them in case I may follow that path.
A very interesting, thought provoking question.