Be the Cure

If you or one of your loved ones have recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, one of your options is to wait and hope that someone else finds a cure for you.

It could happen. Maybe.

But based on the millions of people who currently have Alzheimer’s disease, and on the millions who’ve died from it over the last few decades, waiting may be a losing proposition.

Another choice is to fight. Instead of waiting for better treatments or for a cure, you yourself can join the search. If you have Alzheimer’s disease, is there anyone with more incentive than you to find successful treatments?

Some people describe Alzheimer’s disease as incurable. This is a mistake. There are diseases for which the cure is known, and there are diseases for which the cure is not yet known. There is no reason to believe that there is any disease that will never be cured. The very high probability is that all diseases will eventually be cured.

Over time, new diseases will appear. As currently known diseases become cured, more resources will be freed up to be devoted to new ones, and cures are likely to be discovered more quickly.

But if you have Alzheimer’s disease today, that cure might not come soon enough to help you, which is a reason to consider joining the search for effective treatments. If tens of thousands more brains begin working on this problem, it increases the probability of finding a cure in time to help some of the people who have Alzheimer’s disease right now.

We live in a universe of cause and effect. Diseases begin at molecular and cellular levels. Those causes can be extremely difficult to isolate. Finding the cause or causes helps immensely in the search for successful treatments or a cure, but the fact is that the cause doesn’t have to be fully understood in order to find successful treatments.

For thousands of years, cultures all over the world used folk remedies that helped, but the people who used them had no idea how they functioned. Online, you can find lists today of drugs that are approved for certain conditions, but for which the mechanism of how they work is not yet known. If you find something that works, it doesn’t matter if you don’t know why it works. People employed in research laboratories can figure that out later.

Maria Montessori was an Italian educator who lived in the early part of the twentieth century. There are Montessori schools worldwide that base their way of teaching on her writings. In a book called “The Montessori Method”, she wrote that teachers should be more like scientists. The gist of her idea was that instead of restraining children in desks, like butterflies pinned to a board, and throwing education at them, we should be more like scientists and observe the children, and learn from each individual how best to teach that individual.

This idea of thinking more like a scientist can also apply to you as you battle this disease.

Science isn’t an arcane process that requires years of study and someone else’s approval for you to participate in it.

Science is the methodical search for knowledge, and the knowledge thus obtained.

One scientific method is to gather data, then draw conclusions from that data. This is the method that was used by Jane Goodall when she was studying chimpanzees in Africa.

Another scientific method, the one they usually teach in schools, is to start with a hypothesis, which is a guess about something, and then to test that hypothesis.

Both of these methods require good record-keeping. Neither of them are magic. Nor do they belong to people whose permission you have to seek in order to use them.

Science is not a priesthood. Scientific methods belong to everyone. No one has the authority to tell you that you are not qualified to try legal substances or activities, and to record the results. The choice of whether to do so is yours, and yours alone.

There are many things you can try that are not controlled substances. Record what you try, when you try it, and record any changes you notice. Examples of things you can try without a prescription include physical exercise, mental challenges, Fiji water, potassium supplements, glutathione supplements, and hyperbaric chambers, to name just a few. The more brains that are focused on curing or treating Alzheimer’s disease, the more quickly we are likely to make progress.

It is possible that the solution is not one single thing, but a combination of things. If a particular item doesn't seem to benefit you, but it is not harmful, instead of removing that item, try another change in addition to the one that doesn't seem to be effective. The combination might be more powerful than either item alone.

You are also free to establish your own tests to measure any cognitive decline. These could include remembering lists of names, addresses or phone numbers; matching games; the electronic game Simon; math quizzes; puzzles of various sorts; singing songs and/or playing a musical instrument; or some other mental tasks that you feel are relevant or interesting. You can test yourself and record the results, and periodically retest yourself to determine if there has been some decline or improvement after making dietary changes, or changes in physical or mental activity.

Read as much as you can about your condition, and about studies that have been done or are underway. Knowledge is power.

The benefit of applying scientific methods is not limited to Alzheimer's disease. It could also be useful for many other conditions as well, such as Parkinson's disease, vascular dementia, diabetes, or depression.

This was not written by a medical professional, and is not specific medical advice. It would be wise to consult a doctor to see if there is any known harm in any plans you intend to try regarding your health. You can also consult your doctor for suggestions on how you can measure your own cognitive health.

Good luck.