February 18, 2008 by Gloria Penner

I didn’t even know that I was having my first experience with someone with Alzheimer’s Disease – that dread destroyer of the once-vigorous and highly functioning human brain.  Actually, none of his friends or family suspected the reason that this highly respected, brilliant academician couldn’t follow the directions of a professional square dance caller hired for the party.  It wasn’t until weeks later that a test confirmed the presence of confused thought and impaired memory.  The cause was laid to the tangles and plaques that invade the brain afflicted with Alzheimer’s, attacking the pathways and connections.  It took about five years for the victim’s disease to progress from forgetfulness to incoherence to incapacity to death.  In that time, his family went from disbelief to devastation.  That’s what Alzheimer’s does to  patients and to many of those who become their caregivers.

An estimated 5 million Americans are afflicted and with age comes an increased frequency of the disease.  Now with millions of baby boomers entering their seventh decade, an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is made every 72 seconds.  It has become the scourge of the first decade of the 21st       century, is expected to become more intense and destructive as each year passes, and has attracted the attention of journalists, writers, and media producers.

It’s been seven years since author David Shenk wrote “The Forgetting,” which was lauded as the definitive work on Alzheimer’s as well as a remarkable addition to the literature of the science of the mind.  In January, 2004, PBS produced a documentary inspired by the book and Shenk remains engaged in the urgency of Alzheimer’s growing toll.  He was in San Diego recently and I sat down with him to talk about his work, the disease, and the future.

Since that interview, at least two pieces of research have been revealed that may indicate progress in the developing battle against Alzheimer’s.  One is an early experiment from Scripps Research involving mouse participants, and I stress that it is much too early to consider this work an answer since no human trials have been involved.  Another is based on a gene therapy trial begun several years ago and which reportedly is being pursued by a team of researchers at UCSD.  Conquering Alzheimer’s will be incredibly expensive and its success will depend on the public and political will to make the disease an immediate public health priority.