Not a joke....... one of my fave author's has "been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's".

Sad, sad news, but I'm sure he'll be around for a long while yet.

Keep fighting Terry!!!

I second that.

Big bummer. Stem cell research...stem cell research! Actually, I can't remember the article but they managed to derive a non-fetal source for the stuff. Great news for cases like this!

I've heard on NPR that the test for Down's Syndrome yields stem cells suitable for research purposes, and no one ever complains about that test. And I've seen online somewhere that a British doctor has determined the cause of Alzhiemers to be the absorption of a protien in the brain tha is normally blocked. Sadly this protien kills brain cells so Alzhiemers is irreversible, but prevention should be possible in the near future. the doctor was unsure if it would be a one-time shot, or a lifetime treatment. My dad had it to.

On the plus side, I've also heard that german speakers rarely get it, so language lessons for me.

The last is hear-say, of course. Any Germans care to comment?

Nein.

My family is mainly german accestry, and much of it spoke german at one point in their life.
Not a scientific sampling but: I watched one grandmother waste away with Alzheimer's and now a second member of the family is in the late stages of the disease. It's one of the things I really dread about gettign old.
You can live for years with the disease, but in the end it's really nasty for everyone who supports you. (Particualry when you become violent with people that love you.)

One of the things that has been seen repeataly with the disease is a high concentration of aluminimum in the brain. But they aren't sure if this is a cause or side effect of the disease.

I have to go into the doctor yearly to check if I have Alzheimers, since it seems to run in my family on my mother's side. I watched my great aunt go through some horrible stuff, and I fear that might be my fate someday.

Sad to know that Pratchett has it. I love his books.

I read about that a couple of days ago and it really makes me sad.