Study gives Alzheimer’s patients hope

What worries Ann Massengill and George Stone most about getting older is Alzheimer’s disease. “To me, that’s the worst disease known to man– including cancer and heart problems,” he said. “You’re robbing someone of their entire life… their entire memory from when they were a child to an adult.” “Some days you’re not as sharp as other days, and that scares me,” Ann added. Ann is part of an Alzheimer’s study at St. Petersburg’s Meridien Research . She’s in the beginning stages. Meridien introduces George as her caregiver. “No, I’m her roommate,” he said. “I hate caregiver means that you’ve gone past the last stage that you’re right there at the end. I’m her roommate and we hang out together and do things together and if I can help her by giving her a pill fine.” Ann is trying a new medicine, a strong antihistamine not legalized in the United States. In Russia, it has shown signs of improving memory function. So she’s giving it a try to avoid what she fears most. “Not being able to do things, not be able to care for myself all those awful things that happen to you,” she said. “We are in the dark ages of brain research,” said Dr. Mildred Farmer, a lead researcher at Meridien who’s spent 20 years studying Alzheimer’s. Despite how far medical advances have come researching disease, she said Alzheimer’s continues to elude doctors and scientists. “The reality is that there was a lot of data but not a lot of information,” Dr. Farmer said. “We know a lot of pieces of the puzzle but the puzzle is not entirely put together yet.” At Meridien, they are working to find a cure, with patients like Ann to preserve memory function and perhaps more groundbreaking— focusing on a new treatment for more advanced patients. It centers on the presence of plaques of ameloid that build on the brain, and an investigational drug that scrubs the brain. It’s taken 15 years to get to human trials on patients with Alzheimer’s, but they are there. Current therapies treat only the symptoms of the disease. This would target the disease itself. “We’ll know the answer in a year or so, so we’re right on the cusp of determining whether the ameloid theory is going to work,” Dr. Farmer said. She said everyday they are pioneering, looking

for answers to this riddle locked deep in the brain. “By removing ameloid or preventing it from settling in the brain we may we’re hoping we may be able to change the course of the disease,” she said. And if they can do that, they can change the course of life for Alzheimer’s patients like Ann and those who love them like George. So they can get on with living and not have to worry about being robbed of the years they worked so hard to enjoy. Click here for more information about the Alzheimer’s study , or call (727) 347-8839. Alzheimer’s disease facts and figures Source: The Alzheimer’s Association As many as 5.3 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s and dementia triple healthcare costs for Americans age 65 and older. Every 70 seconds, someone develops Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s is the seventh-leading cause of death. The direct and indirect costs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses amount to more than $148 billion each year. Myths of the disease Source: Alz.org Myth 1: Memory loss is a natural part of aging. Reality: In the past people believed memory loss was a normal part of aging, often regarding even Alzheimer’s as natural age-related decline. Experts now recognize severe memory loss as a symptom of serious illness. Whether memory naturally declines to some extent remains an open question. Many people feel that their memory becomes less sharp as they grow older, but determining whether there is any scientific basis for this belief is a research challenge still being addressed. Myth 2: Alzheimer’s disease is not fatal. Reality: Alzheimer’s disease has no survivors. It destroys brain cells and causes memory changes, erratic behaviors and loss of body functions. It slowly and painfully takes away a person’s identity, ability to connect with others, think, eat, talk, walk and find his or her way home. Myth 3: Only older people can get Alzheimer’s. Reality: Alzheimer’s can strike people in their 30s, 40s and even 50s. This is called younger-onset Alzheimer’s. In 2009, it is estimated that there are as many as 5.3 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease in the United States. This includes 5.1 million people age 65 and over and 200,000 people under age 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

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Study gives Alzheimer’s patients hope

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