Don’t Forget to take This Vaccine
On July 19th a small pharmaceutical company based in Austria, Affiris, announced the beginning of clinical trials for a new drug intended to halt the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in humans. The drug, currently known as Affitope AD01, will be administered to 24 patients diagnosed with mild to moderate symptoms of the disease. Patients will be vaccinated four times over the course of 3 months, with the intent of studying the safety, efficacy and sustainability of the treatment over the 6 months following the last vaccination. You can read more about the clinical trial here, in a report on Bio.com.
I think this kind of development is extremely encouraging, considering the debilitating damage the disease does to the human mind. I had an uncle growing up who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s right around the time he was getting ready to retire. He owned 2 beauty shops and was a generous both in time and in spirit. One day, he had left one of his shops in Massachusetts to purchase some supplies and told his wife he’d be back in a couple of hours. Several hours later, he was found on the side of the road by the Vermont State Police, apparently stopped because he had run out of gas. There was no indication that he was aware anything was wrong; he knew he was going to this beauty supply store, but had gotten lost on his way and was not aware of how much time had passed. It was, however, the first sign of things to come.
I remember when he was first diagnosed after this incident and my mother and I had stopped by to visit. He behaved completely normally, such that we would not have been aware anything was even wrong. Then, at one point during the conversation, he asked my mother how her father, “Uncle Louis”, was doing. At that point, my grandfather had been dead for several years, and the reality of the disease hit me and my mother like a brick. I watched in sadness as my aunt coaxed back the memory of my grandfather’s passing to him, and upon realization of the mistake he had made, how apologetic he became to my mother.
He deteriorated slowly over time, gradually losing recognition of names, faces, and eventually, language. I remember the last time I saw him before he died he was a shell of the man he once was, simply sitting at the barbecue we attended and watching the world as it happened around him. I often wondered what kind of thoughts he had, and how frustrating it must’ve been for him to be unable to express them. With the advent of this vaccine, I wonder if it could’ve helped to prevent his imprisonment in his own mind.
For these reasons, I applaud the efforts by Affiris and other drug companies working towards a cure and/or vaccine for this disease. It’s unclear in this article whether those treated with their vaccine will actually get better, as I’m reading the article the vaccine will just prevent any further deterioration. Regardless, it is a step in the right direction.
Personally, it’s frightening to me to think that my twilight years could be spent in the haze brought on by Alzheimer’s, and I fear the loss of my memories and my identity more than I think I fear death itself. For that reason, even if the clinical trial identifies potentially harsh side effects, if I were to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease I’d rather take a risk and be of sound mind than to do nothing and perpetuate only a sound body.
What are your thoughts? Would you take the pill, regardless of any risks that might be identified in the clinical trials? How would your decision change if you were at high risk of a side effect? Would your decision change if you were making it for a family member who is no longer capable of making the decision on their own? I welcome your thoughts.
