Comment by amluto
5 hours ago
I am not personally aware of any treatment for which there is particularly compelling evidence that it meaningfully slows progression even when started early. I wish there was.
It’s also not clear that one can measure progression well enough that an n=1 data point is meaningful. And I’m also far from convinced that very early Alzheimer’s that would progress rapidly enough to be noticeable can be detected with enough specificity to rule out fairly common cases of people who test positive but effectively don’t have the disease.
Best wishes to your friend’s wife.
Agreed that that it’s an interesting question on how to detect Alzheimer’s and also how to treat. My Dad is starting to show signs of mild mental impairment (he’s 87) - more forgetful than usual, more confused than usual, not able to work his computer like he used to…
He has taken a personal interest in preventing dementia and wants to take the first generation Alzheimer’s drugs, specifically leqembi that works on amyloid plaques. And this is definitely a tough choice, because eventhough it does show some slowing of the disease, it has lot of side effects that may not be worth it.
Personally, I am against it and don’t think it’s worth it as he could do permanent damage to himself. Think he should hang on until the second generation of drugs come out, which should be in the next 1-3 years (there a lot of Alz drugs in the pipeline, but you never know of course if anything will pan out). It’s a tough choice and don’t know if there is a good option at this point.
I'm sorry your dad is facing this disease. Hopefully he can find something that helps slow it. I don't know what the side-effects are that he could be facing but, as someone who lost a parent to alzheimers, let me say that anything is probably preferable to advanced-stage dementia. I hope to see real, reliable treatments in my lifetime.