With Mayo Clinic health education outreach coordinator Angela Lunde

Like all of you, I remain optimistic and hopeful that a cure for Alzheimer's will soon come. I personally have family members affected and I witness firsthand, each day, the impact it has on persons with the disease and their families.

I also understand that during this painful journey, we can become enchanted by news of what appear to be miraculous cures; case in point an arthritic drug you may have heard being touted as a "miracle cure."

The drug, approved for treatment of immune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, is not currently available as a treatment for Alzheimer's. Keep in mind, this "miracle cure" rests on just a handful of case studies rather than on randomized clinical trials. Before it could become an accepted therapy for Alzheimer's, it would need to go through the FDA approval process, including randomized, blinded clinical trials.

I often receive questions from families affected by Alzheimer's who have heard or read about a "cure" such as the one I described above. While I desperately want to confirm for them that the cure is just around the corner, I cannot in good conscience offer that at the present time. I am saddened by the premature media attention that only builds unrealistic expectations for families who are far better served when well researched information reaches them.

One source for reliable information can be found at Alzheimer's Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR). As a government-funded resource, the ADEAR Center strives to be a current, comprehensive, unbiased source of information about Alzheimer's. All information and materials about the search for causes, treatment, cures, and better diagnostic tools are carefully researched and thoroughly reviewed by NIA scientists and health communicators for accuracy and integrity.

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