A devastating disease that can rob you of your memory has an Alabama woman traveling to Missouri for help. The mother of three is taking part in a ground breaking study led by Washington University. Carrie Richardson, a 34-year-old preschool teacher and mother of three is in the fight of her life.
Most research into dementia is about finding treatments for people who are already affected by symptoms. But a trial is under way in London which aims to prevent Alzheimer’s in people at high risk, before they show any physical signs of the disease.
At the University of Washington’s School of Medicine there is a computer database that states with certainty – albeit heavily encrypted – whether or not Sophie Leggett will develop a form of genetically inherited early onset Alzheimer’s disease. But she has chosen not to find out what it says.
Researchers at the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre in London, UK, want to accelerate early-stage treatment trials for neurodegenerative disorders. Dara Mohammadi speaks to the investigators about the need to stimulate drug discovery.