A newly-published Alzheimer’s Society study projects that one in three people born today will develop dementia.
It is thanks to a letter written by Carol Jennings some 30 years ago, detailing all her family members affected by Alzheimer’s and putting them forward for a research project, that a hereditary mutant gene was discovered. And that breakthrough has been instrumental in the development of the first treatment that tackles the root causes of Alzheimer’s.
Yes, it is upsetting to see how all the family members have been and still are affected, but it is also a wonderful tribute to an inspiring woman who died in March aged 70. Not only did she donate her brain to research, her MRI scans over a 25-year period, starting before she had symptoms, have proved invaluable.
Her dream was that there would be a cure for future generations. Here’s hoping.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001z9vf/the-jennings-v-alzheimers
