As of right now, there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. However, on a very regular basis doctors are taking strides toward getting there. Maybe there is not a cure for this disease, and maybe there is. But even if there is not a cure for this common type of dementia, the research that goes into helping people with the disease is having an impact on bettering the quality of life for those suffering from it today and into the future. The progress we see day to day might be minimal, but hopefully this will result in better lives for those that suffer in the future.
With a new method of treating Alzheimer’s disease, lab rats were given a neuroprotective compound when the disease was introduced to them. This treatment not only stopped many of the cognitive decline symptoms that are so common within the disease, it also prevented depression and memory issues within the rats. If these same results can be replicated on a human level, the impact on the quality of lives of those with the disease would be immense. There’s no guarantee that success in a rodent model will translate to the human brain, but researchers often see success here, which is very encouraging.
In labs, researchers are finding new ways to manage Alzheimer’s disease.
It is of note that although this treatment method to protect lab animals from Alzheimer’s symptoms, it did not prevent the buildup of amyloid plaque that is the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. This implies that it is not a cure for the disease, but rather a way to alleviate the negative symptoms for those that suffer from it. There’s still much work that needs to be done in this field, but this discovery is an important and perhaps very helpful step forward.
Obviously, there’s a lot more that needs to be done in the field of Alzheimer’s research. While this is exciting news, it does nothing to help our loved ones that are currently suffering from the disease. In fact, one of the few things that we can do right now is to just provide help and comfort.
If you have a loved one with Alzheimer’s, or you have in the past, then you know what a huge emotional toll that this has. That toll goes well beyond the person suffering from the disease and extends to everyone that is close to them. It’s hard to watch someone that you love suffer from a slow mental and physical decline. Having help to get you through this journey is a vital part of your wellbeing, and that of everyone else in your family. This help can take many different forms, but the one that we specialize in is senior care. This can ease the burden that you carry when it comes to the daily tasks of caring for a loved one. It won’t make Alzheimer’s go away, and it won’t make the pain of seeing a loved one suffer any less. But it will help ease some of the daily stress that you and your family face. It might just be a small relief, but hopefully it’s one that you will highly value.
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