BrainStuff Classics: Why Is Alzheimers's So Difficult to Treat?

Despite being a widespread condition, Alzheimer's is notoriously difficult to diagnose and treat. Learn why (plus how researchers hope to make it easier) in this classic episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/dementia/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-cure-for-alzheimers.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio.
Hey brain Stuff Lauren vog obam here. Today's episode is
a classic from the archive that deals with the difficulties
of diagnosing, treating, and curing Alzheimer's even though it's fairly common.
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren vog obam Here. People are living

(00:23):
longer now than ever before. But with this triumph comes
a truly unfortunate foe, Alzheimer's disease. Symptoms of the progressive
brain disorder, which is the most common cause of dementia
for older adults, typically start to show up around the
age of sixty, just when many people retire and plan
to start enjoying their golden years. The disease is incurable

(00:44):
and is listed as the sixth leading cause of death
for older people in the United States, but the National
Institutes of Health says more recent estimates indicate it should
rank third, behind only cancer and heart disease because many
cases are not reported correctly. Worse, alzheimer is the only
disease in the top ten causes of death United States
for which there is neither a cure, nor means of

(01:06):
prevention nor treatment. To slow down the disease, we spoke
via email with David Lusk, founder of an issue advocacy
consulting company called Key Advocacy. Lusk's mother, at age sixty five,
began exhibiting symptoms like short term memory loss, struggling with
basic paperwork, and making decisions with difficulty, but she was
not diagnosed until age seventy. In two thou eight, Lusk said,

(01:29):
by early twelve, my mother no longer believed I was
her son. It was crushing to have my own mother
thinks she wasn't my mother. And she even stopped saying
I love you. That is the most painful thing to
ever endure, never hearing your own mother saying she loves
you ever again. Lusk's mother died after following a pattern
of cognitive and emotional decline that has become sadly familiar

(01:51):
for people dealing with Alzheimer's. Lusk wonders if he will
get the disease himself someday, as it tends to run
in families. He said that back of your mind concern
and I try to ignore it, but there's also a
part of me that wonders if I'm not already walking
down the dark, fatal path. So many millions have and
will as the numbers of people with Alzheimer's skyrockets, it's
troublesome that a cure or effective treatment hasn't been found

(02:14):
after so many years of research. It's not for lack
of effort. In fact, more than one hundred drugs have
been studied in clinical trials since two thousand two, to
the tune of billions of dollars in funding, but none
of these have proved effective enough for patient use. So
what gives? Why is it so hard to find a
treatment for Alzheimer's. We also spoke with Rebecca edelbay Or, PhD,

(02:35):
Director of Scientific Engagement for the Alzheimer's Association. She said,
some of the difficulty has been in being able to
identify really what the initiation of the diseases in people.
We've learned that some of the changes are occurring maybe
ten to twenty years before they're experiencing the cognitive difficulty.
That's the crux. We need to understand what's happening in

(02:55):
the brain before you're experiencing symptoms. We're really trying to
understand the biology underpinnings of the disease. This is where
researchers are most focused at the moment. Part of the
problem is figuring out which people to study ten years
before they're showing any signs of dementia. Edel Mayer said,
we're trying to I D people we believe to be
at risk, and maybe the candidates have a primary relative

(03:17):
that had full blown Alzheimer's. Maybe they have risk factors
poor cardiovascular health or difficulties with their sleep. All of
these things put you at risk for being someone to
develop Alzheimer's. Of course, not everyone with poor heart health
gets Alzheimer's. Edel Mayor notes that one of the ways
to try to find people at risk is through bio markers,
which are measurable substances that show up in a living

(03:39):
thing when a particular event is occurring. Checking people who
aren't yet symptomatic over a period of years and comparing
them against people with Alzheimer's and varying stages can shine
light on which biomarkers to look out for. Some potential
biomarkers which could eventually help to pinpoint those at risk
of Alzheimer's include blood and urine tests, genetic profiles, brain imaging,

(03:59):
and pre teens in cerebral spinal fluid. Identifying some of
these biomarkers might even lead to the development of preventative measures.
New evidence from one of the largest clinical trials of
its kind revealed in July the people who aggressively lower
their systolic blood pressure to below one twenty may reduce
risk of cognitive impairment. Edel Mayer said, we can modify

(04:21):
some of our risk factors by very significantly controlling cardiovascular health.
What's good for your heart is going to be good
for your brain. Other modifiable risk factors could be related
to diet, exercise, drugs that harm the brain, and even
sleep quality, but those require more study before definitive recommendations
can be made. In the meantime, continuing efforts are underway

(04:41):
to find a treatment. Edel Mayer says that it's crucial
to figure out how to quote remove those built up
proteins in the brain that we believe are inhibiting neuronal
communication in the brain. An additional area of study focuses
on better managing the behavioral systems of Alzheimer's that can
be so disruptive in day to day life, like sleep problems, agitation,

(05:01):
or even bouts of aggression. Better management of these symptoms
would mean a better quality of life for patients and
their families. To improve detection, the Alzheimer's Association is planning
to release twenty recommendations to help doctors make timely diagnoses
and establish best practice protocols for how Alzheimer's should be handled.
These guidelines are expected to be published in late For

(05:24):
Lusk's part, he says that if a treatment or cure
for this disease was discovered, he'd feel amazingly relieved to
not have to dread a diagnosis of Alzheimer's, he said,
to no longer have to worry about that and have
that concern. That would be a huge weight lifted off
my shoulders. Today's episode is based on the article why

(05:50):
is it so Hard to find a Cure for Alzheimer's
on how Stuff Works dot Com, written by Aliyah Hoyt.
Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership
with how stuff Works dot Com, and this produced by
Tyler Clang and Ramsay Yut. Four more podcasts from my
heart Radio visit the heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or
wherever you listen to your favorite shows.