Researchers seek clues to delay Alzheimer's
Researchers are seeking and uncovering clues that may eventually prevent, slow or even reverse Alzheimer's, according the New York Times. Perhaps even in the next two decades.
"Things are more hopeful than perhaps people think," Dr. Karen Duff of the Nathan Kline Institute of New York University told the Times. "We are on the cusp of having something really useful."
Researchers are testing whether medications, some of which already on the market for other disorders, might protect from Alzheimer's or delay its progression. Studies have pointed to a potential link between Alzheimer's and cholesterol, raising the possibility that statins, drugs that lower cholesterol, might delay Alzheimer's onset. Similarly, anti-inflammatories might hold off Azlheimer's. And some scientissts theorize that Alzheimer's may result from "multiple hits" -- someone on the cusp of developing the disease may be pushed over by other pressures on the brain, such as a stroke, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.
The New York Times article is the second in a series about Alzheimer's entitled "The Long Goodbye: Drugs and Desperation."