Research Path
I want to know about the research being done to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is a very common disease in elderly people and affects not only the lives of the patient themselves but their family and friends as well. Knowing about the hard and challenging work being done to cure a disease that has no known cure, will inspire me and others to not give up on obstacles that have no known solution at this point in time. Anyone can take inspiration from the scientists who have not given up on their fight to find a cure, so why should anyone else give up on their goal. It may not be finding a cure for a disease that affects millions, but incorporating that same mentality to persevere through challenges can be implemented into an average person’s life.
I know that Alzheimer’s is a disease that most commonly affects elderly people causing their memories to slowly deteriorate. Alzheimer’s is a genetic disorder and having a parent with the disease increases the odds of the child having it as well. The loss of memory is a gradual process and becomes as extreme as forgetting who they are. In some cases of Alzheimer’s patients, they may randomly remember everything that was forgotten but these cases are fairly uncommon. For most, Alzheimer’s patients tend to have to be under constant care, typically through a nursing home or in the care of a family member.
My search began by scouring the internet for trusted information regarding trials being conducted to cure AD. I found many books and articles discussing experiments being done and picked three methods that interested me the most. I then followed up this research with and interview with Dr. Raul Gomes Nogueira. He provided me insight on his experience treating patients with AD as well as discussed the viable options of experiments currently being tested. His interview allowed me to understand how a doctor would approach prescribing medication for AD patients and his thoughts on the different methods of treatment available now and in the future.
Currently there are only a few medications available to provide relief for those who have Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). However these medications are only able to reduce the symptoms of AD and are not a cure for the disease. There are plenty of alternative methods that can potentially delay the progression of AD, but few are FDA approved and not guaranteed to have beneficial results. Though there are not a lot of options available to patients right now there are plenty of experiments being done to find a cure. Some of the experiments that I researched used methods including suppression of the HO-1 protein, low intensity focused ultrasound, and hydromethylthionine. Each of these trials has presented promising results and could be potential cures after further research and testing have been done.