Soledad, CA: Alzheimer's Drug Found To Do The Reverse Of Intended Treatment: View From A Private Duty Caregiver Serving, Carmel, Carmel Valley, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Hollister, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, San Juan Bautista, Seaside & Soledad CaliforniaIn what is every Doctor, patient and drug company's worst nightmare, it was announced on July 20 that a drug produced by Eli Lilly & Company to treat Alzheimer's disease (semagacestat) may have done the exact opposite of what was hoped for, and the effects were long-lasting. New research showed that the drug had a long-term negative impact on patient's cognitive abilities. This has raised questions about other drugs in the same class. Lilly halted a trial for the drug after disturbing results were found earlier this year, but decided to follow the patients in order to provide them with safety monitoring and to try and discover what went wrong. The new data from a follow-up of those clinical trial patients 32 weeks after their last dose found the experimental group's cognitive decline did not reverse after they discontinued use of the drug. The data, revealed at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Paris came with other bad news. Safety data at the conference showed another late-stage treatment for the disease called bapineuzumab caused serious side effects such as brain swelling. There have been many promising developments on Alzheimer's treatment but from the tone of the Wall Street Journal article, this year's conference presented numerous concerns. Unfortunately, there aren't many drug treatments for Alzheimer's patients and even when they are effective it is sometimes only for a short period of time. I found that out with my grandmother who lived with me for the last five years until she passed away in January. She took many promising drugs which had an immediate short-term improvement on her condition. However, unfortunately the effects diminished over time and eventually she ran out of treatment options that were effective. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304567604576456370650937208.html

About Richard Kuehn & Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey:
After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to the elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog