Drug Shows Early Promise Against Alzheimer's

The feed delivers news from Ars Technica about a new and promising treatment for Alzheimer's. The drug Etanercept works by disabling the functioning of a cytokine called TNFa, and reportedly caused immediate improvement — in minutes — in mental functioning in one Alaheimer's patient. Double-blind studies have not yet begun.

Comments

What is its effect on "normal" people?

[mark-t]

Because if this drug has even the smallest viability as a memory enhancer for people who otherwise don't have any notable memory issues... then, uh... wow. The possibilities are mind-boggling. I could also see a huge black market segment for this among college and university students. Steroids for brain... what a concept.

Re:Long-term memory restored?

[Phoenix666]

That's interesting. My grandmother has Alzheimer's and while she can remember people and events from 50 years ago with perfect clarity, it's the more recent stuff that escapes her.

Also, it's the ongoing challenge of her wandering off or forgetting basic needs that's been the hardest for my family to deal with. In fact it's sparked a whole family feud among my father and his brother and sister because they're grappling with how best to care for her.

So my family's case is the opposite of yours; and this drug sounds very promising because it would not only restore my 84-year old grandmother's quality of life (and her parents both lived to be over 100), but also stop the disease from shredding my family's ties.