Time magazine arrived in my mailbox on Saturday. The cover art features an outline of a woman taking a bright blue pill along with the headline, “The Alzheimer’s Pill.” The Time article, penned by Alice Park, features the subhead, “A radical new drug could change old age,” and it highlights new Alzheimer’s research.
My knees felt weak. Was this it? Did it finally happen? Is it the breakthrough we’ve all been hoping and waiting for? My hands were practically shaking as I turned to page 64.
Alzheimer’s Research, It’s Complicated
As I read, I fall back to earth. It seems, as always, the answer is complicated. The short answer is ‘no,’ there is no Alzheimer’s pill. The longer answer is there might be a cocktail of pills, eventually, but the new research is barely out of mice trials.
Yet, it is very much worth the read and you get a copy of Time or read it online at this link.
If you follow Alzheimer’s research closely, the story will be interesting. It focuses on Dr. Frank Longo, a Stanford University neuroscientist, who is leading the first human-phase testing of a drug called LM11A-31, which had success in mice trials. Longo’s drug isn’t targeting the ubiquitous amyloid plaque that is found in an Alzheimer’s-riddled brain. Rather, it aims to protect brain cells and keep them strong and multiplying and as the Time article notes, “…if it works, it could be a game changer.”
LM11A-31 is part of the new approach to the Alzheimer’s puzzle, which for years has been centered on removing the amyloid plaque from the brain. The article points out that in the last 15 years, there have been 244 Alzheimer’s drugs tested but only one proved effective and was approved.
What a dismal result.
New Focus for Alzheimer’s Research
In a sidebar, the Time article also noted research that is focusing on insulin, inflammation and tau (which appears late in the disease).
The article points out that today’s research is focusing on how to intervene early to stop the disease in its track, and how to help those who already have the disease. The solution is highly complicated and will probably involve a cocktail of drugs and interventions. Alzheimer’s was first identified in 1906 and there has been little progress in stopping the disease.
That 110 years. How long must we wait?
*Photos Purchased From Dollar Photo
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