The student news site of Geneva Community High School in Geneva, Illinois

A new hope for Alzheimer’s

This new super drug is changing the lives of Alzheimer's patients.

October 13, 2015

Symptoms+from+Alzheimers+are+the+effect+of+protein++build+up+in+the+brain.

Symptoms from Alzheimer’s are the effect of protein build up in the brain.

Alzheimer’s is the only cause of death in the top 10 in America that cannot be cured or prevented. With Alzheimer’s being the 6th leading cause of death in America one can only think that it’s long overdue that we start trying more in depth experimentation to fight this disease.

Over the past 15 or so years the drug ‘Resveratrol’ (which comes from the antioxidants found in wine, chocolate, berries, etc.) has been used on suffering Alzheimer’s, cancer, diabetes, and heart condition patients.

A new study has shown that when taken in high doses, this drug seems to be helping slow the mental deterioration of Alzheimer’s disease in patients.

A local nurse at Delnor Community Hospital gave some insight about use of resveratrol in hospitals, “It’s a supplement, not a prescription, so a lot of times we don’t have the patients take their supplements when they’re in the hospital because it can interact with medications we’re giving them,” said Stacy Jaeger (ANP).

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Many Alzheimer’s patients often forget what they’re doing and where they’re going. This couple half joking, half serious, wore these shirts during and Alzheimer’s awareness walk.

Not many people are very aware of what Alzheimer’s can do to you both mentally, and physically.

“The body will often stay healthy, so what I’ve seen a lot of times with patients is the Alzheimer’s patient comes in and he is as healthy as can be, and his wife who has all of her mental faculties is very sick with congestive heart failure and other illnesses, so then there’s the concern that the wife who has all her mental capabilities will die from these illnesses before her husband who is still very healthy”, Stacy says.

Although much more research needs to be conducted over the next few years on this specific study, we have made a huge dent in how to slow the process of the disease.

If resveratrol does continue in its research, it will most likely just be added to the medications that are currently available, and already being taken by Alzheimer’s patients.

The drug will likely be taken with a combination of several other drugs, social and mental stimulation, diet, and exercise that will assist in helping with slowing of mental deterioration.

Many people wonder, will we live to see a day when Alzheimer’s is completely cured? It is highly unlikely but there could be a day in the near future when we find a way to prevent it.

With hope in her voice Stacy says, “Well, there’s a lot of research that’s been going on, but I don’t know that there will be a cure for it ever, I don’t know if they will be able to reverse the changes in the brain from the disease. I think that hopefully what will happen is that they can find a way to prevent it from happening and slow the progression of the disease in the next 10-15 years”.

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