Bogota and the Andes Mountains
As of mid-2015, 5.3 million Americans had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, with 5.1 million aged sixty-five or older. The remaining two hundred thousand were younger.
Alzheimer’s treatment potential takes us to a city in Latin America where 16 year old Alejandra becomes the primary care giver to her forty-something year old mother. With an age-old history reaching all the way back to the Conquistadors, Alejandra is among approximately 5,000 others in 26 extended families throughout the Colombian province of Antioquia who are at high risk of a rare genetic form of Alzheimer’s.
Alejandra and her sister, who dropped out of high school to help, care for their mother and an uncle who is also afflicted. They feed, clean and try to make their relatives as comfortable as they can. At 24 years of age, now, Alejandra feels as though her life is passing her by.
This fated biological group, though, offers research a small advantage in drug treatment testing.
With such high prevalence of the disease, preventative studies can be examined for results. One such current drug testing will conclude in 2018. Test subjects receive MRI’s and PET scans, as well as drug treatment aimed at binding and removal of toxic beta-amyloid protein fragments in the brain.
There is good fortune in such an astounding collection of subjects. Testing can begin at a much earlier age, monitoring brain function to discern changes. It is believed once alterations take place in the brain, therapies have no chance to effect positive changes. This story is hoped to provide a happy ending.
Some items Alejandra and her sister may find helpful are:
Heavy Duty Bariatric Shower Chair and Aqua Wash Gloves
