Prevention, not cure, may be key to stopping Alzheimer’s disease

[rangerrebew]

Prevention, not cure, may be key to stopping Alzheimer’s disease
 

April 12, 2017

It has been 111 years since Auguste D. became the first person described with what is now called Alzheimer's disease. German psychiatrist Alois Alzheimer, for whom the disease is named, first publically reported his observations of Auguste in 1906, upon her death at age 56. Now, as life expectancy grows -; there are 29 nations with an average life expectancy of 80 years of age or older -; the specter of Alzheimer's disease looms larger than ever.

"In my experience, Alzheimer's disease is the most feared disease in people over 65," said David Geldmacher, M.D., the director of the Division of Memory Disorders in the Department of Neurology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. "And while it's true that efforts to find a cure for AD have not yet proved successful, much of that fear may be misplaced, since we have learned so much about the disease in the last several decades."

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170412/Prevention-not-cure-may-be-key-to-stopping-Alzheimere28099s-disease.aspx

[rangerrebew]

Shouldn't prevention be the ultimate goal of science rather than treatment?

[thackney]

"In my experience, Alzheimer's disease is the most feared disease in people over 65,"

I can believe that.  Dealing with Dementia/Alzheimers with my In-Laws has awaken my own fears.  I can handle become physically disabled.  The thought of no longer being me, or know those around me is terrifying.

Wednesday, my Father-In-Law realized income taxes were due.  He called my wife in a panic, asking her to help get the information together to send to the tax preparer they used before.  My wife explained she had already done his taxes, and mailed it in along with a check to cover what he owed.  He got furious, swore he didn't owe anything (he has no taxes withheld from his savings earnings).  Told my wife to get it back from the IRS and let the old preparer handle it.  Then hung up on her.

15 minutes later, he calls again and they have the exact same conversation, with the same initial concerns, progress to rage and hang up.

And again three more times over the next couple hours.

And three times yesterday....