Experimental Drug Compound Found To Reverse Effects of Alzheimer's In Mice

Zothecula (1870348) writes "While there has been progress made in the fight against Alzheimer's, our understanding of the dispiriting disease remains somewhat limited, with a definitive cure yet to be found. The latest development comes at the hands of researchers from Yale's School of Medicine, who have discovered a new drug compound shown to reverse the effects of Alzheimer's in mice."

Re:Why worry?

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Unless your proposal involves turning the old people into soylent grey, there definitely is. It's a particularly slow and very, very, unpleasant way to die(not so much because of any gruesome physical symptoms as because gradual and relentless loss of assorted important congnitive functions is both terrifying and increasingly incomprehensible as you lose more of them) and makes the victim substantially dependent on caregivers some years before they otherwise might be. Very hard on the patient, very hard on their relatives, and quite expensive, often for a number of years.

Re:Why worry?

[Mashiki]

It's only old people who get Alzheimer's. No loss there...

Unless of course you're so unfortunate to have early-onset. In which case it can start at the age of 15.

Re:Mice don't get 'Alzheimer's disease'...

[mark-t]

How about this [alzheimers.net]?

Domestic dogs and cats often live long enough to develop cognitive dysfunction. Although little data has been collected on older animals in the wild, if they were to develop dementia-like symptoms, they wouldnâ(TM)t survive very long after.

Simply put, such dementia would leave the animal without essential survival skills, and unless they are being cared for by people, they would die. Rabies causes irrational behavior, but does not deprive the animal of the ability of the cognitive skills necessary for survival. Certain other forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's, which is also what this slashdot story is about, does.