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Until we have a way to actually treat Alzheimer's, this seems like a mixed blessing at best. I suppose you could get your affairs in order, you but won't be enj

Until we have a way to actually treat Alzheimer's, this seems like a mixed blessing at best. I suppose you could get your affairs in order, you but won't be enjoying much of those 10 years.

RhysU 2y ago
Why does one need a looming Alzheimer's issue to get one's affairs in order? Wills, etc should be done decades before that stage of life. As soon as one has any spouse or dependents one should do all that jazz.
- codingdave 2y ago
  There would be a different level of detail if you knew for a fact you were going that direction. Living wills and power of attorney are often fairly generic, as you don't know what situation will arise that will make them necessary. Well, now you would know a specific likely scenario, and you can get specific about each step of the expected progression. You may even change your financial plans - you would know that you need to get all the life you can out of the next 10 years, and you know you will have above average costs for medical care after those 10 years. I do not envy the work/life balance decisions to be made in such a scenario, but at least you get the opportunity/burden to make them.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
pedalpete 2y ago
There are multiple pharmaceuticals which are used to slow the progression of the disease. We're in the neurotech/sleeptech space and have been developing slow-wave enhancement tech for the last few years, our technology is beginning to be used in clinical studies. These studies (using other less effective devices) have shown promise https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10758173/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10758173/ https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10778 https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10778
- kcplate 2y ago
  > There are multiple pharmaceuticals which are used to slow the progression of the disease My father tried a number of them. Some quite lovely side effects on those—-it was basically the worst night terrors ever or the shits. Neither of which makes the already difficult job for Alzheimer’s patient caregivers any easier, nor does it improve the quality or dignity of the patient’s life either. My father’s torture with Alzheimer’s ended last year. Slowing the disease may not always be the best approach in my opinion in hindsight. If anyone is currently going through this with a loved one, my advice is to think hard about the value of slowing the disease if the patient has reached the moderate dementia stages.
  - pedalpete 2y ago
    I am sorry you had to go through that. My uncle had Alzheimer's, and though I didn't hear about those stories, you are correct, the disease itself is incredibly cruel. When I think of "slowing the disease", I'm not thinking of the later stages, which I agree with you, what's the point. We should be (and my company is) more focused on increasing quality of life, not time in illness.

Until we have a way to actually treat Alzheimer's, this seems like a mixed blessing at best. I suppose you could get your affairs in order, you but won't be enjoying much of those 10 years.

RhysU 2y ago

Why does one need a looming Alzheimer's issue to get one's affairs in order? Wills, etc should be done decades before that stage of life. As soon as one has any spouse or dependents one should do all that jazz.

codingdave 2y ago
There would be a different level of detail if you knew for a fact you were going that direction. Living wills and power of attorney are often fairly generic, as you don't know what situation will arise that will make them necessary. Well, now you would know a specific likely scenario, and you can get specific about each step of the expected progression. You may even change your financial plans - you would know that you need to get all the life you can out of the next 10 years, and you know you will have above average costs for medical care after those 10 years. I do not envy the work/life balance decisions to be made in such a scenario, but at least you get the opportunity/burden to make them.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]

pedalpete 2y ago

There are multiple pharmaceuticals which are used to slow the progression of the disease. We're in the neurotech/sleeptech space and have been developing slow-wave enhancement tech for the last few years, our technology is beginning to be used in clinical studies. These studies (using other less effective devices) have shown promise https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10758173/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10758173/ https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10778 https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.10778

kcplate 2y ago
> There are multiple pharmaceuticals which are used to slow the progression of the disease My father tried a number of them. Some quite lovely side effects on those—-it was basically the worst night terrors ever or the shits. Neither of which makes the already difficult job for Alzheimer’s patient caregivers any easier, nor does it improve the quality or dignity of the patient’s life either. My father’s torture with Alzheimer’s ended last year. Slowing the disease may not always be the best approach in my opinion in hindsight. If anyone is currently going through this with a loved one, my advice is to think hard about the value of slowing the disease if the patient has reached the moderate dementia stages.
- pedalpete 2y ago
  I am sorry you had to go through that. My uncle had Alzheimer's, and though I didn't hear about those stories, you are correct, the disease itself is incredibly cruel. When I think of "slowing the disease", I'm not thinking of the later stages, which I agree with you, what's the point. We should be (and my company is) more focused on increasing quality of life, not time in illness.