The Change Mariner

Hope for halting Alzheimers

MSNBC:

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the modern world’s greatest scourges. Not only does it rob 4 million aging Americans of their minds every year but it costs the country more than $100 billion annually in medical expenses. And unless effective treatments are developed, the problem will only get worse — much worse. About 1 in every 10 people over the age of 65 has the disease. As America’s population ages, the number of victims is expected to soar to 14 million by 2050.

Now, a small clinical trial of a new drug offers hope that it may be possible to prevent the disease’s terrible dementia. Predicts Francesco Bellini, chairman and CEO of Montreal biotech outfit Neurochem: “We’re on the verge of a major breakthrough in Alzheimer’s. This is going to stop the disease.”