New Alzheimer’s treatment fully restores memory function

That's good stuff!

Great news. I just wish it had been available 15 years ago.

Sweet. I wonder if there is a time window in which Alzheimers sets in and treatment is effective.

4Q Basket Case said:

Everything comes at a price, even a cure for Alzheimer's and cancer. And I'm not referring to out of pocket cost of the treatment.

Look up Albert Brooks' book 2030. It's fiction, but it rings true, and it ain't pretty.

Bottom line is that none of our retirement programs were built for average lifespans into the 80s. The numbers simply don't work.

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Hence all the new young workers entering the country - got to shore up the base of the ponzi.

TIDE-HSV said:

You would have to believe that the less damage, the better the treatment would work. It's a lifelong process...

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Yes that is what you would think. Obviously any improvement in memory is a good thing. Specifically I wonder; memory can be use it or lose it, even long term memory can be difficult to recall if you do not access it often, such as middle school classmates names. If someone has had Alzheimers for, say, 15yrs and then takes this treatment, would it clear the pathways so they would have access to long-term memory-for example the names of family members- or would it clear the pathways so they could once again remember names, but due to lack of use the names they previously knew have been forgotten and need to be relearned?

Regardless, I am pretty excited about this development.

Is it sad that I had to check the date to make sure the date of the article wasn't April 1?

It would be great news if it proves to be true. There is too often a problem making the jump from mice to man.

RammerJammer14 said:

Yes that is what you would think. Obviously any improvement in memory is a good thing. Specifically I wonder; memory can be use it or lose it, even long term memory can be difficult to recall if you do not access it often, such as middle school classmates names. If someone has had Alzheimers for, say, 15yrs and then takes this treatment, would it clear the pathways so they would have access to long-term memory-for example the names of family members- or would it clear the pathways so they could once again remember names, but due to lack of use the names they previously knew have been forgotten and need to be relearned?

Regardless, I am pretty excited about this development.

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I lost my mother to Alzheimer's. She lived for 7 years from the time she was diagnosed until her death in 2000.
Think of Alzheimer's like a complete reversal of life. It does more than rob the patient of their memory. The memory is "erased" starting at the most recent and going back. I can't tell you how depressing it is to look at the parent who gave you life and realize that they don't even know who you are. [She didn't recognize me, but she knew that the elephant and big "A" on my shirt represented her own alma mater, and she said "Roll Tide"!]
But that's only the starting point. It's like it robs them of their ability to perform the simplest of tasks that they've learned through out their lives, but in a sort of reverse order. Alzheimer's is also excruciatingly slow in it's progression as it slowly effects every single part of the patient's lives. The patient will go from fully ambulatory to being total bedridden. Their body will forget how to walk, how to talk, how to control their bodily waste functions; then how to eat and finally, how to breathe.
I don't know the effectiveness of this new treatment. It gives me relief though in knowing that thanks to it, fewer patients and their families will have to suffer the traumatic effects of this horrible disease.

mikes12 said:

Is it sad that I had to check the date to make sure the date of the article wasn't April 1?

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That wouldn't be a prank; that would be evil.


Edit:

This, for example, is an awesome April Fool's web prank:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/1ba3/

It's like it robs them of their ability to perform the simplest of tasks that they've learned through out their lives, but in a sort of reverse order. Alzheimer's is also excruciatingly slow in it's progression as it slowly effects every single part of the patient's lives. The patient will go from fully ambulatory to being total bedridden. Their body will forget how to walk, how to talk, how to control their bodily waste functions; then how to eat and finally, how to breathe.


recalling these things with my mother is heart-wrenching! she died in 2012.

lost my grandmother last month to this horrible disease. Any progress is great news.

Thanks for the info GR8Hope. Would be wonderful if this treatment is proven to work with humans.

Gr8hope said:

Just throwing a question out for your consideration. Unless there is something I don't know (certainly a good possibility) about this type of ultrasound, it should be harmless if tried on humans. Why wouldn't it be a good idea to try it on patients who have little to lose because of late stage progression of the disease?

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I was thinking the same thing. It's supposed to be tested on humans in 2017 according to the article. How exactly does one test the memory recall of mice and sheep?

It's great news, for sure.

Gr8hope said:

Just throwing a question out for your consideration. Unless there is something I don't know (certainly a good possibility) about this type of ultrasound, it should be harmless if tried on humans. Why wouldn't it be a good idea to try it on patients who have little to lose because of late stage progression of the disease?

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Agreed. It should be.