I don’t know about you but I absolutely dread the thought that I or any of my family might be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a very de-habilitating disease. I’m 60 years old now and every time I forget something, or can’t remember something; a name, a place, something I did last week, I wonder, is this it, am I getting it, Alzheimer’s. You see, it’s been a few years, but I haven’t forgotten, I watched my Dad struggle with the disease starting in his mid 70’s until he died with Alzheimer’s, he was in his early 80’s. My Dad was a big strong man with a work ethic that would put most men to shame. But Alzheimer’s reduce him to a very frail man with no memory and hallucinations beyond belief. He spent his last couple of years in a nursing home unable to care for himself in any way. I lived in another city 70 miles away but I tried to visit him a couple of times per week. It was not uncommon, when he could still talk a little, to tell me about the bears in the hallway. That wasn’t possible though, he lived in Angleton, Texas. Bears do not live in or near Angleton, Texas.

When he was first diagnosed with the disease, my Mom told me about it, but I didn’t realize how serious it was until I was driving my Dad to the grocery store on afternoon.It was a trip he’d made many times. He was completely lost. He was so confused he thought I was going the wrong way. I wasn’t really prepared for how bad he was going to get or how bad he got after that. Slowly but surely he lost all his memory short term and long term, and in the end all ability to function. He was a vegetable in a wheelchair.

That was in the late 90’s and still today there has been very little advancement in treatment and drugs that are available to help in the fight against Alzheimer’s. The drugs that we do have just treat the symptoms not the disease itself. That is one of the reason’s I think The ICARA Study is so important. The goal of the study is to determine if an investigational drug, bapineuzumab, can slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Current therapies treat the symptoms, not the disease. There is no charge for the study and if you or someone you know between the age of 50 and 88 and have a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer’s you may be eligible. It’s important for patients and families affected by Alzheimer's disease to participate. Please join the fight. Your help is needed. Click on this link now to determine if the person that you know that has a probable diagnosis of Alzheimer’s might qualify.