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Contents
Introduction
Although descriptions of dementia are found in literature
from ancient Greece and the Middle Ages, it is only in the
past 25 years that Alzheimer's has come into prominence. This
has happened because we have an ageing population and the
condition strikes far more frequently as people move into
their 70s and 80s. Almost every family in Britain is probably
touched in one way or another by this disorder.
Though any serious illness is bound to be distressing for
both the individuals concerned and those who care about them,
dementia is perhaps more awful than most, because at present
it is a relentless, one-way process. Unlike many physical
illnesses, there is no cure and once diagnosed, the person
you love gradually slips away into a twilight world of fear,
confusion, emotional disruption, isolation and ultimately,
physical dependency. In the early stages, when they are aware
of what is happening, people with Alzheimer's can be very
frightened and apprehensive. No less, of course, the family
who has to cope with the distress as well as the usual pressures
of daily life.
Alzheimer's belongs to a group of disorders that are characterised
by a physical degeneration of brain or nerve tissue - other
examples include Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea,
and multiple sclerosis. In all of these, the past 25 years
have seen dramatic progress in unravelling the causes and
nature of the damage. In Alzheimer's, the brain changes have
been mapped in some detail, and several biochemical and genetic
defects that correlate with the development of the illness
have been discovered. As a result of this progress, we are
on the brink of exploiting exciting new possibilities for
the development of medicines that might halt progression of
the condition or, at best, prevent it starting in the first
place. The discovery of specific genes which predispose people
to Alzheimer's even opens the longer term possibility of screening
for ‘at-risk' people and giving them preventive treatment
such as a vaccine. Less successful have been attempts to find
triggers for Alzheimer's in the environment - though the evidence
would suggest that some must exist.
In its booklet 'Opening the Mind', the Alzheimer's Society
estimated that the cost of caring for people with Alzheimer's
was over £1 billion every year, not including carers'
loss of earnings. The Wellcome Trust estimates the total costs
to be nearer £5.5 billion. Yet it is a striking statistic
that if the onset of Alzheimer's could be delayed on average
by only 5 years, the number of people developing it (and hence
the costs) would be halved. It is therefore vital that research
directed towards controlling the disease process is encouraged:
medicines that simply treat the symptoms are just not good
enough.
This booklet, written primarily for the relatives and friends
of people with Alzheimer's, focuses mainly on the advances
being made in understanding the condition and on the many
opportunities for developing new treatments that are now being
pursued. It is hoped that it will complement the many excellent
publications already available from the Alzheimer's Society.
For many who already have moderate or late-stage Alzheimer's,
current medical advances will be too late, but for younger
people and future generations, there does now seem to be a
real prospect of slowing or even halting the illness. A cure
may not be just around the corner, but if the onset of Alzheimer's
can be prevented, that would be even better.
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