Lecturer sees hope in research aimed at preventing Alzheimer’s disease
Dr. Charles D. Smith LEXINGTON, Ky.—Combating Alzheimer’s disease through early detection and preventive therapy may prove to be a more successful strategy than attempting to cure the disease in its more advanced stages, said University of Kentucky professor Dr. Charles D. Smith in an April 7 presentation that was part of the Alltech Lecture Series at Transylvania University. “We don’t need a silver bullet to cure Alzheimer’s where it is already present, we need to help a person stay ahead of the pathology that causes the disease,” Smith said. “Instead of turning around and shooting it, we should outrun it.” Smith is Robert P. and Mildred Moore’s Professor in Alzheimer’s Research in the department of neurology at UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. He spoke to a near-capacity crowd in Transylvania’s Carrick Theater. Smith told his audience that no significant breakthroughs in the understanding of Alzheimer’s disease had occurred from the time German physician Dr. Alois Alzheimer first described the disorder in 1906 until 1978, but that more recent research offers the hope of effective treatment. “Clinical trials for practical, preventive measures for Alzheimer’s disease are within immediate view,” he said. “The goal is to devise treatment for people who are at high risk for the disease.” Alzheimer’s is a progressive and fatal brain disease that affects as many as 5.3 million Americans, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The disease destroys brain cells, causing problems with memory, thinking and behavior that
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