It runs in my family and if you are reading this it probably runs in yours. Of course, that’s like a fortune teller’s guess in that it’s right most of the time. By some estimates more than half of us will have Alzheimer’s or some other form of dementia if we manage to live past 85 years of age.
Personally, if it happens to me I hope it’s after I’m 85. The problem is that it tends to start earlier than that in my family. My grandmother was 70 when her memory began to falter and her stories would repeat. My mom was only 58. The disease is sobering, but early onset is tragic.
A few years ago I was sifting the chaff of the internet and found a study showing a promising treatment for Alzheimer’s so I clicked through. I can understand enough biology and chemistry to follow along (though sometimes the journey is fog shrouded) and thanks again to the internet I can look up pretty much everything I don’t understand and I’m happy to do it because I really enjoy learning. Thus commenced my research into the research. A nearly daily trip down the rabbit hole that leads…somewhere.
The reason that this site exists is because sometimes you have to create what you can’t find. With a topic as broad and complex as Alzheimer’s, it seems that useful information is either hopelessly buried, too general, too conservative, or too dense. What I really hope to do here is provide a summary of research as it comes out, that is both informative and entertaining (if that’s even possible), and that includes links so that you can delve further if you are so inclined. If I strike the right notes, the summary will be more informative than most while not overwhelming the reader.
