New Alzheimer’s Drug Trials to Focus on Prevention Rather Than Treatment

[KeepingItReal]

...

[Jerseygirl08]

Trials will be similar to those starting in South America...

www.nytimes.com/2013/09/19/health/33-million-grant-for-effort-to-prevent-early-onset-alzheimers.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=global-home&adxnnlx=1379566856-vCcccDvRp8rwfBgyy6MfVw&

Glad to see the Pharmaceutical companies will be footing most of the bill once the study gets going. Treating people with the gene predisposing them to the disease (before symptoms appear) seems to be a great way to tackle Alzheimer's. Once the amyloid plaque and tangle problem starts in the neurons, it's all but over.

I did my neurology paper in nursing school on Alzheimer's disease and how it affects families. Just recently attended a one day seminar. Fascinating
to me. Thanks for sharing.

[graciegirl]

Glad to see the Pharmaceutical companies will be footing most of the bill once the study gets going. Treating people with the gene predisposing them to the disease (before symptoms appear) seems to be a great way to tackle Alzheimer's. Once the amyloid plaque and tangle problem starts in the neurons, it's all but over.

I did my neurology paper in nursing school on Alzheimer's disease and how it affects families. Just recently attended a one day seminar. Fascinating
to me. Thanks for sharing.

Jersey Girl, you are one smart cookie! I knew you weren't just another pretty face.

I am hoping that this is the key to preventing this horrible disease from killing us before we are dead.

Research is close to making a couple of major breakthroughs. Some friends in Cincinnati tell me that they have made some promising discoveries on how to control one type of Cystic Fibrosis by riding a changer in on a cold virus. Sounds simple but....

Unlocking the human genome was key to a lot of important things in medicine that I hope will help all of us.

We live in hopeful times.

[redwitch]

Here's hoping. I don't mind aging but I'm terrified of getting Alzheimer's. It has been my biggest fear for a long, long time.

[Schaumburger]

Here's hoping. I don't mind aging but I'm terrified of getting Alzheimer's. It has been my biggest fear for a long, long time.

I am hoping too. My mom starting developing dementia at the age of 64. I don't know if it was ever officially diagnosed as Alzheimer's or not. The last three years of her life she was not the same mom I grew up with. It was like she was falling down a deep hole, sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but there was no pulling my mom back. Fortunately my dad at age 83 still does his crossword puzzle and his Jumble puzzle every day religiously. He also attends Mass daily. Hopefully these are all keeping his mind sharp.

Like Red, I fear Alzheimers. It has been called the "long goodbye" by some with good reason.

[Sunshine Mary]

It very sad watching someone with Dementia I watch my mother for 12 years in a nursing home with it .I think it run in the family my older brother die with it and now my other brother has it .He is 10 years older then me .I am so scared this well be me in 10 years .

[KeepingItReal]

It very sad watching someone with Dementia I watch my mother for 12 years in a nursing home with it .I think it run in the family my older brother die with it and now my other brother has it .He is 10 years older then me .I am so scared this well be me in 10 years .

Mary I'm hoping the best for you and there is a lot of work being done all over to help. The links below are from a previous post but might provide references and some comfort to you..
Best wishes..

These four parts of the news story are really worth the time to watch to help in understanding how Alzheimers developes and how devastating it can be.

Date: Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 11:36 PM
Subject: CNN Documentary

CNN’s documentary “Filling the Blank” produced by Felipe Barral is about research and hope for early-onset Alzheimer’s both in Colombia and the United States. *It was filmed by cameraman Greg Kilday. They interviewed my family and me in September 2010.*
Watch the trailer.*
The Noonan family describes their struggle with early-onset Alzheimer's, and their hope that a cure could be found in Colombia.

http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/international/2011/01/20/wus.filling.blank.preview.cnn?iref=allsearch

• CNN.com

CNN did a documentary on the physician, Dr. Lopera and the family in Columbia.
It is 4 parts and here are the links-
There are four parts to the documentary.

Part 1 -. Fear and Hope
http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2011/02/24/wus.alzheimers.filing.blanks.bk.a.cnn.html

Part 2 -Groundbreaking Alzheimer’s Study.
http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2011/02/24/wus.alzheimers.filing.blanks.bk.b.cnn.html

Part 3 -Waiting and Worrying.
http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2011/02/24/wus.alzheimers.filing.blanks.bk.c.cnn.html

Part 4 -The Search for an Alzheimer’s cure.
http://edition.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/international/2011/02/24/wus.alzheimers.filing.blanks.bk.d.cnn.html


FDA to Alzheimer's researchers: Time to focus on very early stage patients - FierceBiotech (http://www.fiercebiotech.com/story/fda-alzheimers-researchers-time-focus-very-early-stage-patients/2013-02-07?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal)

Genentech: Landmark Alzheimer's Prevention Trial (http://www.gene.com/media/news-features/landmark-alzheimers-prevention-trial)

[Villages PL]

If the drug companies are paying for it, of course it will be biased. The only way to make money is by finding a drug. This could end up the same as "the war on cancer" that started several decades ago. Did we find a drug to cure cancer? No, cancer will soon be the main cause of death, coming before heart disease. I wish them good luck but I'm not going to get my hopes up that they will find a drug to prevent Alzheimer's.

We already know that lifestyle plays a big role in prevention but most people live their lives as though they don't care. What most people want is a drug so as not to have to make any lifestyle sacrifices.

P.S. I'm just "Keeping It Real".

[Easyrider]

If the drug companies are paying for it, of course it will be biased. The only way to make money is by finding a drug. This could end up the same as "the war on cancer" that started several decades ago. Did we find a drug to cure cancer? No, cancer will soon be the main cause of death, coming before heart disease. I wish them good luck but I'm not going to get my hopes up that they will find a drug to prevent Alzheimer's.

We already know that lifestyle plays a big role in prevention but most people live their lives as though they don't care. What most people want is a drug so as not to have to make any lifestyle sacrifices.

P.S. I'm just "Keeping It Real".

It is so troublesome why someone always feels a need to be so negative about anyone's encouraging efforts to help others and then to even blame the victims too. Especially bad is it when it is something they know so little about and there is such a great need for it? Anyone can carelessly make baseless negative comments on anything but it just makes them look bad and shows they don't care about the problems of others. I would encourage anyone to consider how their comments will be interpreted and if they may be hurtful before they post.

I sincerely hope and believe this research will give us a great breakthrough into this terrible disease and for sure we are already a lot closer to understanding cancer which is also great.

Reminds me a famous quote/story by Will Rogers who died in 1935.

Quote from Will Rogers: "After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.
The moral: When you're full of bull, it;s best to keep your mouth shut".

P.S. I agree with Will Rogers, if you cannot say something good, why say anything at all? But then we know it is all just said in fun... :a040: :a040:

[dotti105]

We may not have "cured" or wiped out Cancer.

But those who are diagnosed have a much better arsenal of drugs with which to fight and the outcomes are much better than ever before. I do consider that to be great progress!!

My MIL died of Alzheimer's and it was a slow and very painful thing to watch. She was totally alone in her suffering as she did not recognize any of her family, we were all strangers and she was alone. While we watched helplessly.

I encourage the Drug Manufactors to give it their best. That will mean expensive drugs for the first few years, But drugs, none the less, that will delay this horrible disease from taking it's toll so rapidly.

I say, "The Sooner the Better" for their research and unlocking the answers from which so many will benefit.

[susiejwill]

Dr. David Perlmutter has written a book pertinent to Alzheimer’s called Grain Brain: The Surprising Truth about Wheat, Carbs, and Sugar–Your Brain’s Silent Killers in which he promotes the concept that the food we eat--especially carbohydrates--controls the rate at which the brain shrinks. His website is Dr. David Perlmutter MD | Empowering Neurologist: The food, the facts, the science to control your genetic destiny. (http://www.drperlmutter.com). (This is not the same as the book along the same vein by William Davis called Wheat Belly.) Some interviews with him include a 5” interview at Grain Brain | WREG.com (http://wreg.com/2013/09/19/grain-brain/), or a 41” interview (#725) at 725: Dr. David Perlmutter Blames Carbs For Brain Health Decline In ‘Grain Brain’ | The Livin La Vida Low-Carb Show (http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/8635/725-dr-david-perlmutter-blames-carbs-for-brain-health-decline-in-grain-brain/), or an interview of about an hour forty (#200) at Robb Wolf - The Paleo Solution - Episode 200 - Guest Dr. Perlmutter (http://robbwolf.com/2013/09/17/episode-200-guest-dr-perlmutter/). Very empowering information.

[ilovetv]

If the drug companies are paying for it, of course it will be biased. The only way to make money is by finding a drug. This could end up the same as "the war on cancer" that started several decades ago. Did we find a drug to cure cancer? No, cancer will soon be the main cause of death, coming before heart disease. I wish them good luck but I'm not going to get my hopes up that they will find a drug to prevent Alzheimer's.

We already know that lifestyle plays a big role in prevention but most people live their lives as though they don't care. What most people want is a drug so as not to have to make any lifestyle sacrifices.

P.S. I'm just "Keeping It Real".

Given a choice of "drugs", or a long and agonizing death by cancer, Lou Gerig's Disease, or Alzheimers......

I'll take drugs. ANY day.

Meat-filled drugs.

Wheat-filled drugs.

Gluten-filled drugs.

Caffeine-laced drugs.

Mold-based drugs.
Medicinal molds - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medicinal_molds)

Sugar-filled drugs.
Pouring granulated sugar on wounds 'can heal them faster than antibiotics' | Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2278942/Pouring-granulated-sugar-wounds-heal-faster-antibiotics.html#ixzz2eYvFViYf)

[JPC55]

Thank you for these articles. My Dad has this disease and its hard going through it especially for my Mom.

[Blessed2BNTV]

I just started reading Grain Brain by Dr. Perlmutter. My father died with Alzheimer disease.

Very interesting and informative book.

Would like to talk to others who are reading this book as well.

[Lpierleo]

This post has pulled ay my heart strings in a way you can not imagine. My mother, who is 78 is in the last stages of Alzheimer's. If you watch someone living like this, it is agonizing. My parents have been married for 57 years and my dad who is 77 is her primary care giver day in and day out. He made a promise to her and we can not get him to break it. She is still living at home, fully bedridden, thinks my dad is her father. We feed her, wash her and try to make her comfortable. She can not carry on a conversation and doesn't typically know who I am. She just wants "Dad". I feel I truly lost my mom 3 years ago, and my father is "My Hero". I worry about him so much. He fell the other day outside on the patio and took a big hit to the head. I was so thankful I was there. I carefully laid him back, resting his head in the ivy and went to get a cloth for his face and grab my phone. The first thing he said to me was not to tell my mother, because she will worry. He cracked his wrist and had a good shiner. His one eye was closed for about a week, but my mother doesn't remember. She did tell him one night, she loved him no matter what he looked like. This is a story of true love and "until death do we part.". I truly know my dad is doing everything he can to fulfill a promise but so so worried it is going to take him as well. The only thing I can do now is to support his wishes and help as much as I can, which fortunately for me is daily. I miss my mom so much and if there was a drug for her, we would try it in a heartbeat! Thank goodness for any advancements coming our way.

BTW, this may sound defensive, but my mom led a healthy lifestyle and is a breast cancer survivor as well. She did not deserve for her last years to be like this, nor should anyone else!


Respectfully,
Linda

[Lpierleo]

It is so troublesome why someone always feels a need to be so negative about anyone's encouraging efforts to help others and then to even blame the victims too. Especially bad is it when it is something they know so little about and there is such a great need for it? Anyone can carelessly make baseless negative comments on anything but it just makes them look bad and shows they don't care about the problems of others. I would encourage anyone to consider how their comments will be interpreted and if they may be hurtful before they post.

I sincerely hope and believe this research will give us a great breakthrough into this terrible disease and for sure we are already a lot closer to understanding cancer which is also great.

Reminds me a famous quote/story by Will Rogers who died in 1935.

Quote from Will Rogers: "After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him.
The moral: When you're full of bull, it;s best to keep your mouth shut".

P.S. I agree with Will Rogers, if you cannot say something good, why say anything at all? But then we know it is all just said in fun... :a040: :a040:



Thank you so much for your eloquent comments, very much appreciated.:bigbow:


Linda

[KyWoman]

This post has pulled ay my heart strings in a way you can not imagine. My mother, who is 78 is in the last stages of Alzheimer's. If you watch someone living like this, it is agonizing. My parents have been married for 57 years and my dad who is 77 is her primary care giver day in and day out. He made a promise to her and we can not get him to break it. She is still living at home, fully bedridden, thinks my dad is her father. We feed her, wash her and try to make her comfortable. She can not carry on a conversation and doesn't typically know who I am. She just wants "Dad". I feel I truly lost my mom 3 years ago, and my father is "My Hero". I worry about him so much. He fell the other day outside on the patio and took a big hit to the head. I was so thankful I was there. I carefully laid him back, resting his head in the ivy and went to get a cloth for his face and grab my phone. The first thing he said to me was not to tell my mother, because she will worry. He cracked his wrist and had a good shiner. His one eye was closed for about a week, but my mother doesn't remember. She did tell him one night, she loved him no matter what he looked like. This is a story of true love and "until death do we part.". I truly know my dad is doing everything he can to fulfill a promise but so so worried it is going to take him as well. The only thing I can do now is to support his wishes and help as much as I can, which fortunately for me is daily. I miss my mom so much and if there was a drug for her, we would try it in a heartbeat! Thank goodness for any advancements coming our way.

BTW, this may sound defensive, but my mom led a healthy lifestyle and is a breast cancer survivor as well. She did not deserve for her last years to be like this, nor should anyone else!


Respectfully,
Linda

Deat Linda, I could have written your post as my Dad is also caring for my Mom and will continue to do so until he is physically unable to do so. She is not yet bedridden, but cannot verbally communicate and definitely doesn't know us. I won't go into the other problems here........

I am also very defensive when people tend to "blame the victim" by insinuating that people with Alzheimer's either ate wrong, didn't "exercise their brain" etc., etc,.. This cruel disease has attacked some brilliant minds and I'm sure all of those with Alzheimer's didn't acquire it because they ate "wrong"!

I certainly pray there is hope for a cure and prevention, but certainly am pesimistic after everything we have been through.

God bless your Mom,your Dad and you, Linda.

[graciegirl]

Deat Linda, I could have written your post as my Dad is also caring for my Mom and will continue to do so until he is physically unable to do so. She is not yet bedridden, but cannot verbally communicate and definitely doesn't know us. I won't go into the other problems here........

I am also very defensive when people tend to "blame the victim" by insinuating that people with Alzheimer's either ate wrong, didn't "exercise their brain" etc., etc,.. This cruel disease has attacked some brilliant minds and I'm sure all of those with Alzheimer's didn't acquire it because they ate "wrong"!

I certainly pray there is hope for a cure and prevention, but certainly am pesimistic after everything we have been through.

God bless your Mom,your Dad and you, Linda.


As KyWoman says so clearly, if there was an easy fix, it would be fixed. I hate it too when people are critical of the victim.


There are many who post here who have very respected medical and scientific backgrounds themselves and who have explored all possibilities for help for their family members. It is way too simplistic to offer diet and brain exercise as a cure for issues that are congenital.


I offer prayers for all who are facing Alzheimers directly or in their families.


I pray to see the answer unlocked in our lifetime.

[Lpierleo]

As KyWoman says so clearly, if there was an easy fix, it would be fixed. I hate it too when people are critical of the victim.


There are many who post here who have very respected medical and scientific backgrounds themselves and who have explored all possibilities for help for their family members. It is way too simplistic to offer diet and brain exercise as a cure for issues that are congenital.


I offer prayers for all who are facing Alzheimers directly or in their families.


I pray to see the answer unlocked in our lifetime.





Thank you both KyWomen and Gracie. I too pray for an answer for all of us. So sorry to hear you are going through a similar situation Ky. May God Bless.


Linda

[OBXNana]

I personally read the original post in tears as I remember my mother that died 3 years ago today. She had dementia. She ran (walked in later years), ate the "right" foods, was well educated and never stopped learning. When we generalize we take the chance of hurting others. I appreciate the positive posts. I also empathize with those going through the disease with their loved ones. It's an awful disease that affects so many people.

From my perspective, I will begin opening posts on this forum that I am certain will be entertaining, informative, and avoid posts from those that tend to bring argumentative, hurtful discussions to the forum.

[maureenod]

I have to agree with ILoveTV as far as the drug companys. They are strictly about making money with all their lobbyists. For instance, statins are the number 1 profit maker. Statins not only reduce cholesterol but also stop or slow down the production of COQ10, vital for brain and muscle function. But of course there is no money in it for them. We are the only country that does not recommend COQ10 along with statins. Krill oil, the best omega 3, supports brain function. We don't need more drugs, we are just guine pigs for the drug companies.

[Easyrider]

Thank you both KyWomen and Gracie. I too pray for an answer for all of us. So sorry to hear you are going through a similar situation Ky. May God Bless.


Linda

Prayers for a cure or an effective treatment very soon and strength for all that are dealing with this as it has so many facets that only they can understand.

:pray: