I'd want to know

New Alzheimer's Detection Study Promising, Protein Patterns In Spinal Fluid Could Help Confirm Disease Early

This article brings up the question as to whether someone would want to know that they're in the early stages of a disease that is progressive and has devastating repercussions, without a cure. I'd want to know. I'd want to make plans to enjoy what time I had left as myself. I'd want to make sure that my family would not be overly burdened with my health care.

My great-grandmother lived with Alzheimer's for fifteen or more years. I watched a woman I loved and admired unravel as I grew up. I watched my grandmother spend countless hours providing care for her mother, only to discover once she was dead that she, herself, had lung cancer. She only outlived her mother by a year or two. I sometimes wonder if it was partly burnout as a caregiver, in addition to the cigarettes, that led to her decline.

Alzheimer's is a real fear of mine. I live in a state with a high proportion of the disease, so if environmental issues are a factor, then there is risk from that. If heredity is a factor, then I have that, too. I already have a much worse memory than I did when I was younger, and I sometimes wonder if it's early signs of the disease, even though it could be a host of other issues. I don't want to slowly fade away as a person. Alzheimer's is horrible in that way, although I suppose it's a blessing that eventually the patient is unaware of what is happening. The one disease that I can think of that is worse is ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), where your mind stays intact, but your body shuts down progressively.

Maybe these markers that may indicate Alzheimer's in 90% of cases may also help scientists understand the disease and eventually find a cure. But in the meantime, it can help patients go on drugs that can help slow down the progression, and give them time--time to be with their loved ones, time to spend doing the things they always wanted, time to live.