More than 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease—and that number is expected to triple in the next 30 years.
Given the staggering costs and impacts of patient care, medical researchers are keen to head off this statistic. But so far, pharmaceutical drugs can only slow the onset of Alzheimer’s, and those that have been approved perform only modestly better than a placebo. The drugs are also expensive and are only effective for some patients. For those who do see their symptoms improve, the effects are usually temporary.
