Archive for February 7th, 2009

You bloggers remember when you packed your suitcase, wondering when Junior would deign to surprise you at 1am?

We are kind of reliving that – respite call could come and there is a lot of preparation – well, not a lot but I like to be organized – every item labeled from tooth brush to deodorant. I have his t-shirts and a long sleeve shirts on hangers, enough for the duration of his stay.

I really don’t look forward to the pain this time, either.

I tuck him in – literally – after finding him sleeping in jeans, even slippers several times. (I would go to my bathroom and he would use the ensuite in ours so I didn’t catch it – and he wouldn’t get up and remove the clothes.)

Anyway, last night, tuck him in, go to my bathroom. I had an spooky feeling and peaked out toward the kitchen. When he saw me, he got “angry”, well, angry for Wayne’s personality.

Asked what he needed, water? the cat? the toilet? – - – -

He angrily retorted he couldn’t find his eye glasses. Lately, he has been obsessed about them. He places them “just so” in the “just so” spot at night. Last night, as I settled him, he couldn’t find the “just so” spot so I helped. I think his brain worried him about it til he got up, ending up in the kitchen.

Every day is something new and it’s all downhill, my precious man. Hoping for peace tonight.

My brother saw this on the news last night – tests are being done on humans in Calgary, Alberta. I will fax our specialist asking if “we” are eligible. Please pass the word to anyone you know who may need this info.

But now researchers are helping to test a new drug that is offering hope.

The way it works is similar to a vaccine.

Given to patients intravenously every 13 weeks, its job is to find and dissolve plaques that build up in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.

“It goes into the brain and it’s designed to attach to the plaques to sort of chew it up and get it out of the body just like your immune system would remove infection or things that don’t belong,” says Dr. Douglas Scharre.

Dr. Scharre is helping to test the drug. He says it’s favourable that these brain plaques are made up of proteins — because, unlike cancer or certain viruses they won’t try to outsmart the medicine.

“It’s virtually the same in almost everyone you know very little differences. So the target can be made very specific for it. So it does not mutate, it’s not a virus, it’s a stable protein.”

After success in the lab, the drug is now in large scale tests in humans. The researchers are hoping the drug will someday make Alzheimer’s just a memory.