According to the Alzheimer Society of Canada, an estimated 290,000 Canadians over 65 have Alzheimer’s. Researchers at UCLA have discovered a new compound that can map the plaques and tangles in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s. This may help detect and treat the disease earlier and more effectively.
 The compound, named FDDNP, may help test new treatments for Alzheimer’s. There may also be a reduced need for volunteers in clinical trials.
Susan Molchan, M.D., program officer in the United States’ National Institute on Aging (NIA) Neuroscience and Neuropsychology of Aging Program, said “The ability to image brain changes may allow us to see how drugs affect the accumulation of proteins in the brain that cause Alzheimer’s plaques and tangles, possibly preventing or delaying the progression of Alzheimer’s.”
All the breakthroughs I’ve been seeing on Alzheimer’s truly provide a reason for hope. This is a disease that has affected more than one of my family members, and hopefully there will be a cure before it can take its turn on me!
My grandmother, her sister, and now my mother have this horrible disease. What do I do to help prevent it from happening to me?