Baby Boomers Pushing Alzheimer’s Research in Directions

The aging Baby Boomer generation is once again driving research into new areas. Now that they are beginning to retire and suffer the consequences of aging, the baby boomer generation is leading demand for increasing research into new drugs, diagnosis methodologies and treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Once promising treatments are proving to be ineffective causing researchers and therapists to look in other directions for treatment. One of these is the suggestion that additional vitamin D, eating more walnuts and drinking a cup of tea or coffee in addition to more exercise can be effective in helping to lower the probability of getting the disease. A study from the University of California claims that people over 65 who drank one cup of tea a day lower their signs of dementia by 37%.

There are now better brain scans to predict risk as well as the identification of additional genetic markers for Alzheimer’s. For the first time in over 100 years a new tool has been developed to detect the disease. A brain scan using a radioactive dye, called Avid’s Brain Dye can now predict where the plaque formations typical of Alzheimer’s can be found in the brain. This will allow doctor’s to have a fast and definitive test to diagnose the condition. Up to now doctor’s have had to rely on such things as memory tests, interviews with families and family histories to try to infer the presence of the disease.

Doctor’s still report that there is no effective drug to prevent the disease. Most drugs in use today can only treat some of the symptoms.